Post-Election Thread

Aangeliceus

Aangeliceus

Kitteh's Meow
FC/Leadership
I've been checking the status of the election like most Americans abroad probably have been...

Now that Obama is declared the winner, anyone have some words to share about this historic event?

While we all know that you cannot just take the entire country and make a u-turn, it certainly is possible to make a new road map of where America can head. I for one am very sick of hearing so many negative comments about America while living abroad and I hope that those thoughts will change with a new leadership that is now incoming.

A good majority of Japanese people I have spoken to, wanted Obama to win and some even saying that they wish they could vote in the American elections... Not sure how other people from different nationalities feet, but we as Americans are tired of the negative images that have represented us for the last number of years. [I realize I don't speak for everyone, I'm sure there are many who wouldn't argue with that statement though!]

Time will only tell what this new administration will bring. I only wish that they would stop focusing on "Changing the world" when we can't even keep our own house in order.

Thoughts anyone?

[PS: Keep it clean, please. Abuse Stuff Goes Here]
 
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We (democrats) have our chance. I have never been so proud of my country. i am so happy for african americans. i know how big this is for them, but also, its big for all of us other groups. after eight years of such a conservative dominance, im just glad we can look at things differently. We need to find the center, and i think President Obama can do that for us. No, hes not gonna fix everything over night, but i believe he can take us down the right path. And im so happy we can now maybe get the world to respect us again. President Obama has a hard road ahead of him, but i believe in him. Thank you America

P.S. me and pit gonna win in 2012!!!
-ara
 
I'm so happy to be an American right now!!!

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THANK YOU, AMERICA.
 
A lot we can definitely say, but thus far, with watching McCain's speech and before watching Obama's, I do have to say that McCain saved face as best he could. The speech was somewhat to the point and he did touch on many things ranging from congratulating Obama for winning, to him being the first African-American to win this position. We all can agree that America has come a long way in a short amount of time and to have Obama win the Presidency, speaks highly of this fact. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what changes will come our way.
 
wow eticket, thats awesome!

-ara
 
Aang, I wish I could vote. :/ I live here, and although I'm sure the American government would like it to be on a less permanent basis, I got my damn foot in the door; I wanna stay lol. So I can't help but feel a slight desire to have a voice, however tiny, in the future of this country. :) I love America.

I feel really honored to have been able to witness a historical event like this, and oddly moved considering I normally don't give a fucking hoot and a half about politics normally. I actually read up on both candidates this time, though. Very unusual of me.

The general consensus from Norway (both my friends/family, and the heavily biased media) is that they're definitely favoring Obama, and really happy he won. But a lot of younger generation Norwegians don't really know (or care) about American politics and the candidates' actual stance on things, they just want Obama because he's a democrat, and Bush is a republican, and "OMG U GUISE Bush started lyke a WAR NEEDZ MOAR DEMOKRAT PLZ!!" There's a lot of mis-informed Norwegian youths who only learn about American through newspaper articles detailing the fat, stupid, or... well, Michael Moore movies. (I didn't know or care much until I came here and got to see it from the inside, so to speak.)

I wish people would stop making fun of ppl I know who voted McCain, though (I live in Nowhereland Northwestern PA, my county and like every county around me went red, so I know a lot of McCain voters). As long as they make an informed decision, it should all be gravy, IMO.
 
Lexa said:
I wish people would stop making fun of ppl I know who voted McCain, though (I live in Nowhereland Northwestern PA, my county and like every county around me went red, so I know a lot of McCain voters). As long as they make an informed decision, it should all be gravy, IMO.
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Exactly.. I'm in same boat in that I don't usually pay much attention to politics.. although I start to once a presidential election approaches so as to not feel like an idiot... and this is the first year I actually registered to vote. Rather thankful to live in a small town for this reason actually.. there was no line when I went to vote.. yayyy.

There's very few times I could say with absolute confidence that I'm happy to be an American in recent years, but this is certainly one of those times that I am.

It was rather touching, during both speeches by McCain and Obama, to see certain citizens in the crowd with tears running down their cheeks.

At the same time, while I could only expect such a thing.. I was rather disgusted when people boo'd as McCain tried to publicly congratulate Obama on the win. Yeah, Obama supporters are bound to be upset, but at least have some respect here..

But as you said "it's all gravy" at this point.. yeah. My dad voted for McCain, and I'm not going to pester him about it. It's all said and done, making fun of him for not voting for Obama is stupid. It would serve no purpose except to prevent him from fixing my car in the future! Voting is over, people ought to respect everyone's respective votes and move on.

I'm very glad at this point that we've moved to a point where any racial group can become President. This was history in the making and I was glad to see it with my own eyes as it happened.
 
We haven't been a country for too long either. We have very real racist roots and to see such rapid advancement is such a positive thing.
 
I have kept a lot of my emotions about this campaign to myself for the last year because of my personal stake in its outcome. I wanted to stay objective and not get too wrapped up in my feelings and get distracted by any possible negative outcome. Now I feel I can breathe easier and speak without fear of jinxing it!!!!

I took notice of Barack back before he was even a blip and was interested in him, but didnt have any serious personal view on him as a politician. It wasnt till I went to Iowa for the Caucus's and watched everything unfold that I realized what it was all about. Then while I was in New Hampshire when I saw him lose the primary there, I realized how much was at stake. Either way, after listening to him address the crowd of people in both Des Moines and Nashua I was determined to answer the call of Obamas movement.

I could go on and on about my political opinions about Obama, but ill save everyone the agony because I know not everyone will share these views.

But, I can say this if I learned anything in the past 8 years its that you cant just sit around hating Bush and stay neutral in the process and get anything done. You must stand up and make your mark and support something... anything. Whether it be Obama, McCain... or Nader even. It is only then that you can have any stake in what direction the country or even the world is headed.

I feel truly vindicated by this win and even though my vote for Obama/Biden in Texas was drowned out by a smashing defeat in the state... I still feel like I stood up for what I believed in and have been rewarded by the outcome.

I think the race part of this whole election while historic, is a real underscore to who Obama is as a person. From following him so closely Ive come to the conclusion that America didnt need a Black president as much as it needed Barack Obama to inspire our consciousness.

I hope the next 4 years is kind to us all, I feel like we have a man in charge that will do his best to see fit that they are.

Anyway my respect goes out to all that voted, regardless of who it was for.

Dar~
 
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Living in south-central Kansas (not all of us can escape, Ara), a majority of the area is red to the core (my parents included--that has made for "fun" conversations lately); however, I think that even the McCain supporters are willing to step up and accept that change is good considering how things have been going.

The local commentary has been pretty interesting this morning. As Rek said, racism is still extremely strong here, but perhaps we'll see things change. Looking past the difference in race, most simply want the economy and jobs to be "fixed" and are looking for anyone who can help. Cessna is laying off another boatload (urr.. planeload?) of people this week and various other aircraft companies are cutting like no tomorrow. These are days that I'm glad to work in education--they're pretty much the last to get cut. :D

It'll be about a year before, I think, we see anything major. Time for Obama to settle in, assess, and figure out which pile of crap to go after first. For now, I can go back to being depressed about various local races now where it seems that the only chance to get a few out of office is to outlive them. >_>; Oh, and apparently my taxes, sales tax, and property taxes are going up--by a piddly 1500 votes. Fail.
 
Aangeliceus said:
A good majority of Japanese people I have spoken to, wanted Obama to win and some even saying that they wish they could vote in the American elections...
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I read a survey of Japanese people that showed that most didn't actually know anything about the candidates other than that an overwhelming majority were obsessed with Sarah Palin's glasses.
 
Kalia said:
I read a survey of Japanese people that showed that most didn't actually know anything about the candidates other than that an overwhelming majority were obsessed with Sarah Palin's glasses.
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God, I don't know who they were talking to... So let me clarify my statement: Of the educated Japanese people I spoke to, they were hoping Obama was going to win. The average Yuki or Daisuke on the street may not have a clue what's going on.

Of the Japanese people I directly work with everyday, they were fairly in-tune as to what the magnitude of this election meant, no matter which way it went. Not to discredit the female population, but I think Obama made the bigger splash in the pool.

Pussenboots and I spoke this evening and he and I both had heard or knew other women who didn't like Sarah Palin because she was too brazen and unbridled.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing Darwen's film. There was some good insight in catching this... "Lightning in a bottle" A very true statement.
 
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I think everyone first heard about Obama back in 2004. I wasn't interested in Obama until after reading to his book "Audacity of Hope." And strangely enough, I believed in his book and his message of change. Unfortunately, change is something that is hard to implement because Washington does not like change when change can lead you unemployed. Now that he's president elect, it'll be interesting how he tries to implement change.

Some of the questions I keep asking myself were:
1. Why do I care about "winning the war" in Iraq? McCain stressed this a few times. Its a war that should never have been declared.

Why can't we (as a nation) win the war against obesity? Or win the war against AIDS? Or win the war against cancer? Or even... win the war against declining educational test scores compared to other industrialized nations? These issues in my opinion should be more central to the discussion on making US great.

2. Why should I care about foreign policy experience? I don't. I find this issue to be pretty ridiculous. Look at Bush/Cheney. They have probably one of the better foreign policy experience compared to Gore and Kerry and what did they do? Declare war against Iraq. A war... that is from what I've heard... our era's Vietnam war.

3. Where has the American Dream gone? With so many people losing their homes and with the economy as it is, how will/can US remain strong. I certainly hope Obama's legacy will be to establish a strong foundation for the economy where anyone's American dream can come true.

4. Finally, Why is the religious right so active in politics? I still believe in separation of church and state but these days I think that line is becoming very thin.
 
I'm done being outraged @ Prop 8. Now I'm just incredibly sad.

Why must they ruin my happy Obama-day? ; ;
 
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