Barack the Vote!

This past Tuesday (Nov 4th) history was made. Senator. Barack Obama was chosen by the nation as the new democratic president-elect. He won by a landslide, receiving 364 electoral votes (far exceeding the 270 to win), while his rival John McCain only received 173 electoral votes. Obama, the prior senator for Illinois grew up in Hawaii and graduated from Occidental college in L.A. later transferring to Columbia University and afterwards receiving his law degree at Harvard. Obviously a well educated man, Obama’s refreshing political views and plans for the country are different from any president to date. A fitting, “Vote for Change” was Obama’s campaign slogan; and change is definitely what the U.S needs right now. Over the past 10 months the United States has been experiencing an economic crisis, a financial recession only comparable to the 1930’s Great Depression. In total 1.2 million jobs have been lost this year, more than 10 million Americans are now unemployed.

As well as new hope for the economy, Obama will be the first African-American to be president. Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson was seen crying tears of joy at the Obama-Biden election rally in Chicago on Tuesday. The fact that Barack Obama was elected, and with such a landslide victory, truly shows that America has overcome many social issues like racism to a large extent. That in itself says we as a country are moving forward in a positive direction.