| Home | Our Leadership | Our Economies | Our Wars | Our Perspectives | Our Culture | Links | About |
Aiya Kenny (UWT)
Though I first voted for a president four years ago, I felt that this election year was much more momentous for me. As the loving wife of a deployed soldier, I was forced to think in terms of how this will affect him now and later. And, how will it affect not only our marriage, but the dynamic between my husband and baby girl (who he won't see again until she's 14 months old).
To be completely honest, I wasn't thrilled about either choice. McCain is an old warhorse; he understands our military and has been around long enough to know what mistakes have already been made. Obama is a young senator who doesn't have much experience in any arena and already has vast plans for our military; plans that I don't necessarily agree with. I'm also reluctant to embrace his new tax structure.
But, regardless of what I think of our new president, I have only one hope: that he brings my husband home safe in a manner that precludes him needing to go back over to fix the ruin that could ensue due to the early withdrawal of our troops. I am an American, and I believe that no matter where you stand before an election, you should always stand behind your Commander-In-Chief afterwards, because a divided country is a weak country.
Alex Newman (UWT)
Despite the fact that the election of an African American man as the president of the United States is an historic event (one of which we can assuredly be proud), I was disappointed on November 4th, when Barack Obama was announced president-elect and that John McCain had given his concession speech.
My concern arises not only because of personal differences in opinion on Mr. Obama’s policies (resulting in my voting for John McCain), but also because of my beliefs regarding the concept of our government and the balance of power.
The balance of the major powers (executive, judiciary, and legislative branches) of the United States government is what I believe to be the single most important element securing our republic’s freedom. As result, I would feel more comfortable with a person from Democratic Party in the Executive office if there was a Republican majority in Congress. If there were a Republican president, I would likewise prefer a Democratic majority in Congress. It is the only way to ensure checking and balancing of interest-based legislation. Whenever there is a concentration of power in government, I cannot help feeling a little discomfort.
Artyom Galustyan (MSU)
I was watching America going crazy on the election night. I went across Seattle with a huge Obama poster, and people embraced me. I was drinking to his victory and shouting “YES, WE CAN!” along with the rest of the crowd all night long. Thousands of people flooded Seattle’s streets. It was a day of national unity. Barack, honey, all for your sake!
Daniel Nash (UWT)
I was having dinner at The Hub with students from Moscow State University when the election results were announced. It began as a trickle, with non-consequential coverage of famous persons' projections of what was to come, including a bizarre holographic projection of hip-hop artist Will.I.Am in the CNN studio. The numbers for the electoral votes began to build little by little, growing from a slight lead for Senator Obama to a torrential wave of votes in his favor, until CNN made its announcement. The restaurant's patrons, including a group with a cardboard cutout of the Democratic candidate, burst into cheers and applause.
I was numb to the whole affair, and this perplexed and disappointed me because I couldn't provide some anchor of joy or anger for my guests to latch onto and help them feel a part of this event. I realized why during Senator McCain's concession speech. I consider myself a libertarian, which is the theoretical conservative ideal, yet I voted for Obama. But as the crowd gathered for McCain's speech booed and hissed at the mere mention of their victorious rival's name, while the former Republican candidate tried (rather fruitlessly) to quell them into silence, I was overwhelmed with disgust for the voting base that uses the word 'conservatism' so amply, yet so impotently. Conservatism ought to be an objective and rational pursuit, with conclusions drawn from a fully-utilized intellect. Can this compliment be paid to a people that derive laws from religion, and use the name 'Hussein' as an assumed signifer of evil for a man who just happens to share it with a monstrous dictator? No, of course not, and may I add that I suddenly pity every man who was stuck with the (once fairly popular) name Adolph after World War 2.
I respected Senator McCain, but I despise what he had to lower himself to in order to gain the favor of his party. Who knows if he would have returned to his reasonable and moderate form after assuming power? The answer now is 'no one,' because the unfortunate tactics he used have proved fruitless.
The Republican party, since the 1950s, has been a Frankenstein's monster built from separate and often conflicting ideas. Its brain is made of religion, its heart from fear, its muscles made big by military might, individualism in its voice-box and fiscal conservative merely resting on the skin. But the skin should be the brain, the voice-box should be the heart, the muscles need shrinking, and the current heart and brain ought to be ejected from the political body entirely.
My hope is that the party uses this time out of office and out of Congress to sit in a corner and rethink its platform.
Elena Kornilova (MSU)
Imagine pins, bills, placards, stickers “Vote for Obama”, flags, books, a bunch of diverse articles and opinions, even small books a kind of the Bible for children, then multiply it by 10 and yo
You will see the obvious and visual work of the people’s acknowledgment and overwhelming PR-campaign that preceded the evening of November, 4, 2008.
About 8PM that day sitting with other students in one of the bars in Tacoma near cardboard Obama, I became a witness of the breaking moment in the history of the USA. People were screaming, laughing, applausing and crying. I’ve never seen such a reaction on a political event. It was as if people really trusted Barack.
Helen Potapova (MSU)
I was fascinated by watching the election campaign in the USA. Being in Tacoma (WA) during the last few days before the elections and reading U.S. newspapers, I felt Americans’ excitement about their forthcoming political choice. On Election Day everybody with whom we were in touch with in Tacoma was excited. Most of the talk focused on probable election returns, and not only presidential but governors’ as well.
Logos and photos of Barack Obama were almost everywhere in Tacoma and Seattle. Having visited local bars, we understood that we were in the democratic cities. So, when Obama was eventually elected, it was real euphoria and craziness among The Hub’s (one of Tacoma’s bars) visitors: congratulations, kisses and tears…
Kathleen Burdo (UWT)
I appreciate the historic significance and symbolism of the outcome of the presidential election. It is important to remember, however, that President-elect Obama's politics are moderate enough to have warranted support from many of our nation's most prominent conservatives. Significant change is therefore unlikely in terms of the global inequities that have empowered the few on the backs of the many since the industrial revolution and before.
Obama's charismatic, eloquent, and serene visage will scarcely hide the unfair and unjust policies which benefit the West at the expense of the rest of the world. He will continue to extend our power and influence through economic and military force. A President Obama will only be a change insofar as he makes American imperialism look nice, progressive, and humanitarian.
Masha Danova (MSU)
Last night was definitely epochal, whatever the final outcome of the event. As one American blogger put it, ‘When my grandchildren are studying about this event I can proudly say that I lived this moment’.
I’m gonna tell them just the same - that on the 4th of November I was right in the middle of history. But now it’s not yet a thing of the past, so memories of the hugging, crying, laughing, drinking, shouting people on the Seattle streets are still fresh.
Standing in line to one of the election parties, I was shocked by how similar politics in America is to sports. People were passing by holding American flags, cars were rushing through the streets, some of them with Obamians sitting on the roof.
I can only compare the bacchanal bliss of the Seattle crowd last night to the football-victory euphoria in Moscow this summer. Not to the elections in Russia, though. Their results are way too predictable.
However, there’s also a dark side in this huge event, which I think was mostly positive. A lot of madmen were hyper-active – the poor, the crazy, the left-behind. I’ve seen a lot of them, both in Seattle and Tacoma, and it seems like America is not that ideal as it wants to present itself to the world.
As Baudrillard, a French philosopher, wrote in his book ‘America’, whole social classes in the pseudo-paradise of the U.S. are thrown aside to preserve the success façade. If Obama solves this problem, then good. If not, all his promises and ‘change’ mottos were simply a means of political PR.
Of course, it’s impossible not to admit that his campaign was an extraordinary one. But sometimes the technologies of this PR were too impertinent, such as the notorious Obama-fairytale – a real fairytale where Barack is very transparently represented as the new Jesus.
No wonder that some Americans do not succumb to the obvious Obama charm and say, like one blogger, - ‘I'm so sick of Jesusland!’ Yes, maybe the messiah-component was a bit too prominent, but then again, why not? Humanity has always needed strong leaders.
Yesterday’s rejoice WAS strong. And, I hope it’ll go on like that – at least approximately - in the Obama-years to come.