Obama has been inaugurated

Yesterday evening, 18h local time, I had the pleasure of watching the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States of America. And man, what a humdinger. Over two million people showed up in the blistering cold to watch this historical moment, and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it. As of noon in the US, we had a very new president. It was such a relief, after Obama had taken the oath of office, to hear the chief justice say: congratulations, Mr. president. I mean sure, he had said the oath wrong, and Obama was a good sport about it (because he had learned the words) and kind of laughed it off. That’s a likable president – one who keeps his humor and his calm even at the utmost moment of a very official ceremony.

And then – his speech at capitol hill, in front of this sea of people, all chanting his name. Man that dude can talk. All I need to do is see him there, before a lectern, and I am filled with positive feelings. I feel hope. I feel pride. I feel inspired. The best part is that not only can he speak well – choose the right words, use the right intonations – but that what he says is intelligent and sensible. I believe his is capable of great things, all by staying humble. Am I saying too much, getting too gushy? But did you see all these people? How they were so happy that they cried? I am part of those people – and finally, we hold together again. I seriously (and I know I’ll be teased for this later) was so caught up in the moment, that when the band played the national anthem and everyone was asked to rise – I stood up, put my hand to my heart, and sang the star spangled banner along with them. Well, kinda. Because I haven’t done that in at least 15 years, so the lyrics were sort of rusty.

Everybody was smiling and crying at the same time, there was just so much joy. The citizens in the crowd, the members of the government, his family… Even the reverend who held his own speech made jokes. I guess the only one who wasn’t happy was George. Oh, poor Dubya. Having to sit there, hear the new leader take sharp distances from his administration (even though Obama does respect Bush Jr.), hear millions of people who were so fed up with him, chant and praise and call out to Obama. May you never be bestowed with responsibility you can’t handle, ever again. But oh, how nice it was to finally hear: president Obama, former president Bush, when they were accompanied to the helicopter. As the reporter on CNN said: the Bush’s have now left the White House (huzzah!) and are leaving for Texas. Even the crowd waved to the helicopter as it flew by, seemingly saying: so long, and thanks for nothing.

Welcome, Mr. President Obama!

Or as Stan’s father would say: wooo! obama! yeah! we did it – we effin’ did it! yeah! change! he’s so perfect and awesome! yes I can!

YES WE CAN

OMFG do you have any idea how huge this is?! HUGE, people. I know I should have posted about it as soon as I heard, but sadly I’m still preoccupied by such things as seminars, family visiting and the cold to spend as much time as I’d like in front of my computer, or in front of the tv to follow the coverage for that matter. But we made it! Barack H. Obama is president elect of the United States – and will finally move George Dubya Bush out of his seat five days after my birthday: January 20th. Couldn’t have hoped for a better present.

First, some numbers:

• Obama got 349 electoral votes (you need 270 to win), McCain (soon we’ll be going: who?) has 163. That’s sad for them. But it also points out the absurdity of an electoral college. If it weren’t for them, Gore would have won in 2000, since he had the majority of the popular vote. Speaking of which:
• Obama had 64,043,290 people vote for him (53%), McCain had 46 %. Obama is the first democrat to have over 50% of all votes since Carter (1977) and is also the first president from the senate since Kennedy (boy, what an original comparison…).
• I am proud to say that my home state of New Jersey also clearly went for Obama, as well as the democrats for the senate. You can see the map of the red / blue states and their number of electoral votes here.
• Obama won because of the so-called “minority votes” of african-americans, women and younger voters (almost all first-time voters picked him). McCain would only have won if it were solely up to white men over the age of 65 (this time I’m not joking). We sure showed them.
• It was a record turnout of voters. I can’t find exact statistics, but I do know that of the 200-some million eligible voters, at least half went to vote. That would be a record anywhere, mind you. It is a first that this president was chosen by the majority of the inhabitants of the country.

Second, the emotions. I cannot begin to describe what this means. To me, or to any of the millions of others who wished for this. Excitement, joy, relief, hope, anticipation, … Change is coming. Our chance is here. And for all of you trying to kill our buzz: do not tell me he is just another president. This is something different. If you can’t understand why we are getting so worked up about this victory, if you can’t understand the happiness – keep that to yourself. This is huge. I believe Obama was elected because he understands what he has to do. Yes, it is a historic moment because he is the first black president, and that is important and it stands for a lot. But that’s not all. I think he was elected because he wants to unify the country, because he speaks for many people and did not put his skin color forward. Because it shouldn’t matter. And now he proved that that is not the issue. He speaks intelligently. He is young and dynamic. He will bring health care and women’s rights. He cares about the working class, the middle class and the environment. As my sister put it: we can actually consider moving back to the states now. We don’t have to be ashamed, when we’re abroad, to say that we are Americans. It is a true shifting of consciousness – there couldn’t be anything bigger.

I could go on and on about the million of things rushing through my head right now, but I’d rather share. So, if you want to, start up the conversation with me. In the mean time, you can watch Obama’s inspiring speech in Chicago after the results - I actually teared up in the end, I am so glad.

Go vote! Go vote! Go vote!

Umm… in case you’ve been living in a hole this last year, I have news for you: today is election day in the United States (let’s just assume those states will still be united once it’s over). After the longest campaign in US history, after eight years of running the country downhill and ruining foreign relations, it is finally time to take a stand and voice your opinion. So for those of you who can: GO VOTE. Otherwise, you don’t get to complain afterwards. I think that’s a good argument.

I sent my vote a month ago, and I’m really excited to see how this thing turns out. I believe it’s one of the biggest chances in the history of American voting, an EPIC VOTE if you will. Of course, there is reason to be optimistic – Obama has been leading for several points for some time now – but that was also the case for Al Gore in 2000. So either way, as soon as I wake up tomorrow morning, I will be rushing to my nearest news source to get the results (I don’t think staying up all night would be effective) and will be drinking by tomorrow night. Either in glee and celebration or utter frustration, humiliation and distrust. Care to join me?

Ah, the suspense, it is thrilling.