Rarely in the course of American history has one singular date marked a watershed moment in the story of our nation.
Nov. 4, 2008 will forever be remembered as one of these dates.
In Tuesday’s presidential election, Illinois Senator Barack Obama became the 44th president-elect of the United States, marking an unprecedented moment in which Americans not only cast a vote for change but also ushered in a new generation of race relations.
At around 11 p.m. Tuesday, CNN announced that Obama had secured the presidency with 297 electoral votes to John McCain’s 139.
Two hundred and seventy are needed to win the office. Cheers erupted in the lower level of the Barone Campus Center as well as across the country as people celebrated.
The victory for Obama and running mate Joe Biden of Delaware signifies the first time in the history of the United States that a minority candidate will claim the office of the Presidency of the United States.
Faculty and students at Fairfield were quick to recognize the historical significance of Obama’s election.
‘In my estimation, this is far and away the most historic election in American history, since it involved the first African-American ever to run for president on a major party ticket and the oldest man ever to run for president,’ journalism professor Jack Cavanaugh said.
‘Nothing can ever reverse the brutality and murderous events which tolerated slavery in the past or ongoing racism in the present,’ art history professor and Open VISIONS Forum director Phillip Eliasoph said. ‘But having a biracial man who identifies himself as an African-American, as the leader of the Free World is an enormous step in the right direction.’
‘The big difference about this election is the greater involvement of young people and African Americans,’ said religious studies professor Paul Lakeland.
An apparent consensus among Fairfield voters was that a sound economic background, as well as a specific platform of addressing the nation’s current economic condition, differentiated Obama from Sen. John McCain, whose proposals did not stray far from current President George W. Bush’s fiscal policies.
‘The economic situation and the reaction of the candidates to it had a great deal to do with how people voted,’ finance professor Michael Tucker said. ‘Obama appeared more in control at that point and was able to come up with a few creative proposals.
He also relentlessly tied McCain to Bush’s economy and Bush’s war in Iraq.’
‘It was clear that the last eight years incubated this financial crisis,’ Tucker added.
Connecticut was among several northeast states to fall to the Democratic Party.
Additionally, several Congressional victories for Democratic candidates provide Obama with a clear mandate for his administration.
‘Obama’s victory shows that the people get it,’ Tucker said. ‘The failed policies of the last eight years have been rejected.’
Aside from an obvious desire for a change in national direction, Obama’s election may parallel with the dawn of improved race relations.
‘In large measure, I think, it’s because a younger generation has grown up without harboring racial biases which had been shared by their elders, including, in many cases, their own parents,’ Cavanaugh said.
‘In a nutshell, racial prejudice is far less prevalent today than it was as late as the last decade of the 20th Century,’ he added.
Now, as Obama readies candidates for his cabinet and prepares to take an office that many feel he was destined for since the outset of his political career, Americans look toward Inauguration Day in January as the beginning of another chapter in the American story.
‘[Obama’s victory] means a new degree for American engagement and participation in the global community of the 21st century,’ Eliaosoph said. ‘In a nutshell: I am thrilled to tears!’
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