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Covering the Coverage? (Presidential Election ’08)

10:15 pm
This is what I know so far. Question 1 was NOT passed (holler), question 2 WAS passed (HOLLER) and question 3 was passed (yay!). Not sure if these are projections or what.

I also know (based on projections) that Obama took Pennsylvania and Ohio which means he basically has this shit on lock.

I’m sitting in my friends’ apartment watching the coverage. We are all drinking and hanging. I am SQUEALING inside. AJHGALJHGA. Just had to call my mom.

This is AMAZING. The first prez election I’ve been able to vote in and it is the most historical election ever!!!

We have been switching back and forth from CNN to MSNBC to FOX News. So CNN is like, “Obama is projected to win here, here and here,” and MSNBC is like “BOOO YAHHHH! OBAMA IS TAKIN’ IT AND MCCAIN HAS NO CHANCE!” and FOX is like, “Sooo…*looks around* annnywayy…”

Comedy Central is on now. I feel this crazy buzz of excitement and disbelief spreading across the country. I am actually proud to be American in this moment.

11:03 PM

OBAMA IS PROJECTED AS THE WINNER OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESIDENT!

THIS IS AMAZING.

PEOPLE ON-CAMPUS ARE SCREAMING, RUNNING AROUND OUTSIDE.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

Between 11:05-11:20
A bunch of us head outside armed with cameras and a notepad (I had the notepad). Groups of students were walking around and most of them heading to the Father Dean Dining Commons for Pancakes with the President! You could tell that students just wanted to be outside sharing in the vibe. The campus really did feel alive. We all gave each other high fives. (Rhymes mcgee over here. But seriously, we did.)

11:25 PM
I’m watching CNN. McCain is giving his concession speech. The crowd is pretty disheartened. Sarah Palin looks bummed, or maybe it’s just relief? Cindy and Sarah are wearing matching chiffon(?) suits.

I see McCain people hugging, chatting. Me and my roomie (and Buntology photog) are smoking a victory bowl! Sorry but it’s true. We are. We must.

“Barack Obama will become the next President of the United States,” says this dude on the news.
“People will always remember where they were the moment they first heard…”

11:40 PM
Christina and I are still watching CNN. Obama won by a LANDSLIDE. I feel so weird inside. It’s like I’m finally part of something historical and awesome. This is the first time I’ve ever felt truly connected to America and iiii like it!

12:00 PM
Obama is speaking now. He sounds great, but I can’t help being jaded about the fact that this speech was probably written weeks ago. Barack really tugs my heart strings when he says he misses his family tonight.

I’m trying to see through Obama’s presidential facade and figure out what he is actually thinking.

His speech was good. I wasn’t really moved by it, Christina says she thought it was dope. Obama did seem to get emotional toward the end.

Joe Biden is onstage now, I wonder what he is thinking.

Michelle Obama and the wife of Joe Biden come out. They are pumped. Michelle walks over to Barack and hugs him and she said something to him that I couldn’t make out. She seemed like she was consoling him almost. This must be such an intense and emotional time for Obama. Take a nap, baby boo.

 

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Ward 3A & a Van Ride from Hell

Election day is finally here! I woke up at 9:00 AM with butterflies in my stomach. It felt like Christmas morning, except at the end of this day I might kill myself or move to another country. It all depends on the polls baby! (Helllloooo Sweden! – Angela)

At 9:45 AM my Political Communication class met together outside of the Ely Building and piled into an “alleged” 15 person van. It was quite stuffy and with all the moving around and opening and closing of doors I saw one too many butt cracks. Nothing is wrong with a butt crack every once in a while but it was way too early.

We were headed to the different voting wards in Westfield to hand out surveys to voters. As soon as I sat down and buckled in, my T.S.D. (Temperature Sensitivity Disorder) started acting up. Angela complained of the temperature as well and of it smelling like bodies. My roommate Caity sat between us and controlled the digital camera.

“I feel like I’m on a road trip, only in a van filled with strangers who breathe heavy.” – Angela

Angela and I were loud and acting a little obnoxious. Well I was acting a little obnoxious. We sat
in the way back and Angela kept flailing around because a fly was buzzing around her. (I hate flies because they never know when to fuck off. Listen fly, I don’t have any problem with you if you don’t have any problem with me. But just stay in your turf and stop buzzing around.) She kept trying to hit it with a clipboard but it wasn’t working. When it finally flew up towards the front of the van Angela started laughing and yelled to the other students, “Ha ha now you can deal with it!” They had no clue what was going on. (Those bastards.)

Sadly, Angela and I were separated and I was sent off to some school with my friend and fellow classmate, Jay. We surveyed some pretty crazy people! It was a lot of fun. I talked to a Vietnam Vet who was racing around in his scooter with a huge sign on the back of it saying GO VOTE. He seemed a little loopy, but I do know that he voted for Obama. When we first arrived at Ward 3A a cop came out telling us we had to be 150 ft. away from the premises or some crap. In actuality we could stay right in the front, even go in the building as long as we weren’t promoting or trying to sway anyone’s votes. We were simply handing out surveys. I didn’t want to fight with a cop so I crossed the street. I did get the cop to fill out a survey though and he was the man. He told me he thought there shouldn’t be dog racing and that weed should be legalized completely! I hope this guy pulls me over sometime.

Another guy who seemed to have lost his marbles found his way over to Jay and I. He said he voted for Obama because he wanted to vote for the person who was less smart…uhhh so that was weird. There was a toothless guy who talked to us about his Hockey interests and I am pretty sure he was a McCain fan. The best part of the ward was probably when a really cute dog came walking by and hung out for a few minutes.

(Meanwhile, Caity and I were at ward… 2B? It was pretty exciting, except I felt like a big newb. With the help of our teach’ we gave out surveys. All of the “old people” loved me when I asked if they were first time voters. People were mostly nice, and because my prof was kind enough to find volunteers for us we avoided the awkwardness of being shut-downnnn by those who didn’t want to be surveyed.

One of the last people I polled was an older gentleman. I asked him if he felt informed about health care and he said something to the effect of, “well, I’m just getting ready to die anyway…” Aren’t we all?)

Thanks to (Doctor) Professor Tom Gardner for taking the photographs of survey takers/survey givers in action!

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Answer Me These Questions Three

The presidential election will be held on Tuesday, November 4. Whoever is elected will hopefully dedicate themselves to the task of running the country. Whatever their approach (don’t get me wrong, hearing John McCain talk about the “surge” and honor and victory in Iraq gives me flashbacks to the American Nightmare in Vietnam), I’m hoping that the new president will have more character and intelligence then what I’ve seen for the last eight years. Having somebody–having anybody–at the controls might slow this country’s swirl down the drain.