President-Elect Obama

Change we can believe in! Barack Obama is the next President of the United States!

I am humbled to have been an active participant in this monumental time in our country's (and our state's) history.  I spent the day at a Durham precinct as a poll observer.  Though the other poll workers and other election officials did not disclose to me their political leanings, it was quite apparent that we were all hoping that Obama would win.

Over the course of the day, I had to restrain my tears and giggles.  I will never forget the grandmother who kept telling her granddaughter (who was too young to vote) to "just mark the Democrat."  The young lady named the candidates for a few races and granny insisted that she "just mark the Democrat."  She said to the young lady that her first vote was for a Democrat and her last vote would be for a Democrat.  I nearly erupted in partisan laughter when I heard granny say (likely out of frustration that her granddaughter kept asking her to mark on the ballot), "Girl, I've done told you...just mark the Democrat.  I don't care if it's a kitty cat, if it's Democrat, you mark it."  Now, I don't advocate voting for someone purely because of one's political party, but I do think it's a good guideline for novice voters.

I was also impressed by the sheer numbers of people who voted for the first time in their lives (and especially the ones who asked for help at the precinct because they had never "done this before").

When my precinct closed, I called in my numbers and turned on the radio to listen to the news for the first time all day.  I could not wait to see the results come in.  When the results did start trickling in, I found myself getting more and more excited, yet I had to remind myself that it was still too early to tell for sure.

On the way to a friend's house, we heard Elizabeth Dole's concession speech and felt relieved that NC had booted the incumbent Senator who had little connection to our beloved Tarheel state.  More results from North Carolina came in (we elected Bev Perdue as the first female governor) and it was becoming more likely that North Carolina would vote for a Democratic president for the first time since Jimmy Carter in 1976.  It was also looking more likely that Barack Obama would be the next president of the United States.

And so the Northeast turned blue....and Pennsylvania turned blue and Virginia turned blue and at 11 p.m. EST on November 4, 2008, the United States officially turned blue.  I can't even describe what I felt that moment except by saying that I still tear up when I think about the emotions running through my head and heart in the hours after we learned that we had elected the first African American to the highest executive office of this great country.

I fought back tears as he spoke and as I watched the celebrations going on across the world. I look forward to hearing him speak for the next eight years.  I wish him clarity of thought, a peaceful heart, and much safety, perseverance, and courage.