Four More Years

I know that on facebook I said you could get away from election coverage by reading my blog, but I think you all knew that it was inevitable that I would blog about the election.

I woke up on Tuesday and dressed all in blue having left my Obama gear at home.  I wrote in my notebook next to the date Election Day!, but due to the time difference I knew it would be a long time before I knew anything about the election.  I almost didn't go to my evening class because it felt like results should be coming in then, but going gave me another chance to write Election Day! in my notebook.

Tastes like Childhood :)

Don't Worry I Didn't Finish Them

Besides dressing in blue, I decided that the theme of Tuesday night was America.  I made Kraft mac and cheese from my care package and later I ate Lays potato chips and chugged Diet Coke to help keep myself awake.

Me at the Beginning of the Night

I was determined to stay up until the election was called, but I was thankful that so many of my friends were online, in Chicago, at Swarthmore, and even in Ecuador, so I could share the experience with them.  We were all looking at different sources and every now and then we would have a flurry of updates from the various websites we were looking at.  I also listened to some BBC coverage, but gave up when I exceeded my fair usage for the day causing my internet speed to slow down greatly.  Our conversations also led us to looking things like states' voting histories up, which was actually very interesting to see.

Now I Could Sleep Happily

The night definitely began with us feeling uneasy as for a long time the sites we were looking at showed Obama with only three electoral votes from Vermont, but, as we all know, that changed.  It was around 4:30am my time that CNN declared Obama the victor.  We all breathed a sigh of relief and I decided it was time to head to bed.

This morning I awoke to so many status updates about the election, but they all made me smile.  I have still  not been able to get through all of Obama's victory speech (although I have read it) due to internet problems, but I did watch Romney's concession speech.  I know many say it was uninspired, etc., etc., but I think a short, gracious concession is all that was required.

It is important to note the other elections of last night.  Gay marriage is now legal in four more states, marijuana has become legal in a few, and the democrats held onto the senate.  I'm happy about all of these (although obviously to varying degrees).

While Obama's victory speech has many great moments, I just want to finish this post by including my favorite:

"What makes America exceptional are the bonds that hold together most diverse nation on earth.  The belief that our destiny is shared; that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations.  The freedom which so many Americans have fought for and died for come with responsibilities as well as rights.  And among these are love and charity and duty and patriotism.  That's what makes America great."