Short write-ups from Hatchet staffers and Opinions writers about their experiences and thoughts on historic Election Night 2008.
The Last Speech
You must surround yourself with good people. This has seldom been so clear to me as it was election night, watching two good men give breathtaking speeches in vastly different circumstances.
I did not expect to be moved by John McCain, the old war horse who had never moved by cynic’s soul with his rhetoric.
But election night, I was moved, moved by the stoicism of a man who has fought the good fight so many times and showed us all watching what it means to surrender with grace.
In that moment, he became just a man again. Devoid of all the trappings hung upon him by a campaign that should have done better by an American hero, he was just a man, and I remembered why I have always liked him so much.
What happened? Where on the messy McCain campaign trail did the good man get covered up by something more politically acceptable and inifinitely less human?
I don’t know. It might have gone differently, if he’d surrounded himself with people more like him. It might have gone differently, if the John McCain I saw tonight had beena ble to show us that he was there all along.
-Claire Autruong, opinions editor
Not Time to Rest Yet
My mom told me to remember the name Barack Obama back in 2004, and I’m happy I did.
As the night began to turn in Obama’s favor, I asked people on my floor if they wanted to go to the White House if everything worked out.
My friend and I sprinted to the White House, and with our group of friends went to the middle of the throng.
Being some of the first there, the only way to tell how much the crowd was growing was by the increased volume of chants.
Euphoria is one of the many words that will be used to describe the night, but after losing my voice and hearing, a sense of uneasiness overtook me.
I wondered if the party outside the White House was just today’s party, and that the students who seem so impassioned would just move on to the next one tomorrow.
I do not think Barack Obama will find a minute for complacency, but as my eardrums shook I hoped my generation, the one that has put Obama in the White House, will not either.
-Matt Grifferty, opinions writer
A Celebration for the Ages
Would it be an exaggeration to say that the District of Columbia exploded when Barack Obama was declared the next president? Hardly, considering the enormity of the hordes that flocked to the White House. Shouts could be heard from blocks and perhaps miles away. An explosion could be an understatement.
However, before the cheering and the singing began, there was no better venue on campus than the Continental Ballroom. The room was filled past capacity, and any and all pleas to adhere to the fire code and move were cheerfully ignored. An undeniable electricity filled the air and there wasn’t a single soul present who would miss out on it.
With mounting tensions that weren’t helped by the graphics-happy CNN crew, the GW College Democrats prepared to hold on for dear life. And so we did. Screaming filled the air with every win and streamers were tossed haphazardly. When Obama won Ohio, the walls reverberated with our yells. Our voices cracked for Virginia. As the final announcement played across the screen, the floor shook.
As I stood there amongst my peers, I knew that history had just been made. And that there was no place that I would rather be.
-Samantha Villella, opinions writer
Finally Time for Obama Fans
“Follow us! We’re going to the White House!” A random Obama fan yelled at my roommate and me.
We were on our way to the Marvin Center for some free food around 11:05 p.m. We changed direction and followed the small group to Obama’s future home. Once in front, about 30 of us yelled, chanted, and cursed at the iconic home.
Then it became less of a small gathering and more of an all-out mosh. Our small group watched as hundreds of people came from all directions, converging on our little spot. And it was beautiful. At first the group of hundreds was just college kids, a mixture of Howard and GW students. Then adults came from U Street and Northeast. Random people were hugging, high-fiving and rejoicing with one another.
The sheer jubilation on the faces of everyone in the crowd amazed me. Those who weren’t screaming and cheering were crying tears of joy. As I massage my shoulders, sore from giving piggyback rides for two hours, I can’t think of a time or place where I had ever seen such pure emotion.
Phillies fans were happy last week, Bush fans were happy four years ago, but on this night, Obama fans showed the passion only induced by the knowledge that change has come.
-Lucas Hagerty, opinions writer
A Black President
Unlike the elections of years past, this year’s election was surprisingly bereft of any psychological tension or electoral controversy; instead the true excitement of the night belonged to the history at hand.
Last night we saw the triumph of resilience against 400-plus years of racial oppression. We saw the election of the first black president of the United States. The image of Rev. Jesse Jackson weeping upon hearing the results emphasizes the significance of this event to the Civil Rights struggle.
The election of Barack Obama is far from a paradigm shift, however. This is clearly evident from the spiteful reaction of McCain’s concession speech audience. In this context it is impossible to ignore the racial undertones of such a nasty response.
Perhaps with a bit of irony, Obama’s success and legitimacy largely depended upon his ability to separate himself from race. As opposed to previous runs for office by Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, Obama did not use his racial identity as political clout.
Although he is no more than a politician, he is my president – and my president is black.
-Chris Merino, opinions writer
A New Wave
The phrase, “A rising tide lifts all ships” never rung as true as when waves upon waves of demonstrators spontaneously left their dorm rooms, their viewing parties and their houses, and descended upon the White House here in D.C.
Many of us don’t fully realize the history.
I, for one, stood outside in a light rain next to 5,000 strangers and tried to take it all in. I screamed into television cameras, I high-fived total strangers, I hugged and yelled and clamored so loud outside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue that I hope President Bush had to scream as he congratulated President-elect Obama over the phone.
Now, hung over and wiped out and finally victorious, America looks towards the future. A future where America will no longer be a joke on the national stage, where Microsoft Word spellcheck will recognize “Obama,” and where we as a society will have burst forward into the future. That was no more apparent as the waves of people cleaned out the mess that has inhabited the White House the last 8 years.
Now if only people will stop honking horns so I can go to sleep.
-Evan Schwartz, opinions writer
An Explosive Atmosphere
At the College Democrats’ election party, an optimistic tone could be felt right from the start.
As CNN brought out one ridiculous technical gimmick after another the advantage to Obama was becoming clear, but nobody was celebrating too much. That changed about a minute before polls closed on the West Coast. In the final 30 seconds of this election, the room cheered then counted down. We were expecting California and other states to be called immediately but with Virginia recently declared this meant Obama had wrapped it up, and CNN called the election right then.
The room exploded. The noise was deafening as tears streamed and hands rose upward in elation. As I left the Marvin Center for the White House it seemed all of D.C. had the same idea. People were sprinting through the streets, high-fiving car passengers and chanting. At the White House thousands cheered with American flags waving high and hoarse voices still chanting, “Yes we did.” The crowd danced, kissed, cried, hugged and cheered as the rain seemed to cleanse eight years of anger and disenchantment. Finally it felt, we were writing history not simply watching it.
-Justin Guiffre, opinions columnist
On Race
Race wasn’t the only issue at play in this election, and to be honest, it wasn’t even close to being the most important, but I find it hard not to comment on the real and symbolic implications of last night.
I grew up in an area that is roughly 98 percent white. The white Italians are known to dislike the white Irish, so you can just imagine how they feel about blacks. Last night, Obama won that part of the country.
While encouraging, we have had an unsettling history of racism and any who imagine that last night means it’s over is naïve in the worst of ways. Still, it speaks to something deep and mysterious about the very nature of our country that we have accomplished this. Feel proud.
-Rob Griffin, opinions writer
A Defining Moment
One month ago I wrote a column about how tired I was with the endless stream of politics. While I am still relieved at the prospect of no more election ad campaigns, I wouldn’t trade my election night experience.
As the polls where closing, everyone in the Marvin Center Continental Ballroom had their eyes glued on the screen to see the results. Even though I was curious to find out who our new president would be, I kept my gaze on the crowd of students and let their jubilant explosion clue me in. Seeing that much energy packed into one room is a powerful and emotional experience, and will be one of those defining college moments we all relive at our 20 year reunion.
Watching my peers sprint down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, excited by the new leader of our country, was possibly the most inspiring moment of the entire campaign season.
-Diana Kugel, contributing opinions editor
Capturing the Moment
When CNN announced Obama the projected winner, I was recording video in a packed Busboys and Poets restaurant surrounded by a mob of cheering supporters.
It was dark, so I was concerned about my exposure. It was extremely loud, so I was concerned about my audio. I raised my 15-pound camera above my head and spun in circles, searching for an emotional moment to hold on to. I was overwhelmed and my footage reflects that.
I know that if I had not been working as a journalist during this moment, I would have been screaming, jumping and fist pumping. But my responsibility to record history in the best way I possibly could almost completely suppressed the butterflies in my stomach and the joy in my heart.
Out on U Street, everyone I pointed the camera at became a performer – whooping and cheering until I stopped recording. As much as I wanted to stay with the celebration on U Street, duty called. A phone call from Hatchet editor in chief Eric Roper demanded my presence at the White House, and as the rain began to fall, I hopped on my bike and peddled vigorously to the next assignment.
As I rode, I high-fived people celebrating in the streets and it seemed that every car was honking. “O-BAM-A!”. Finally, chills came over me and reality sunk in: “Yes we did.”
-Ryder Haske, multimedia editor
Part of History
Not long after McCain’s concession speech, one of my friends returned from canvassing in Virginia for Obama. He was very worked up and during Obama’s acceptance speech, he wept silently to himself.
I leaned back and took a healthy sip of champagne to consider the night. Historic is probably the most appropriate word; being nipped on the heels by emotiona.
From an Obama supporter, I was instructed about how the U.S. finally has a president that plays basketball, listens to good music and has smoked pot: a generational triumph. “The world wants this,” he said.
From a McCain supporter, I was repeatedly lectured on the “diplomatic coup” of the evening: thousands of American flags waving for our first African-American president. “I want to see this on Al-Jazeera and Le Monde tomorrow,” he said.
After Obama’s speech, I grabbed my camera and ran down to the White House. I took pictures until my battery went dead. This is why I came to GW: to take part in history. Or at least, to be present when others make history.
Only one picture turned out from the hundred-or-so I took: an Obama cut-out held high over the crowd in front of the White House. I think it is about the most appropriate picture I’ve seen so far from this election night.
-Ross Griffith, opinions writer
