Looking back on the presidential election
Denisonians discuss last week's election, how to move forward
Amy Lyon
Issue date: 11/11/08 Section: News
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For the first time in the 232- year history of the country, an African-American man will take the highest office in the land.
Present-elect Barack Obama defeated Sen. John McCain from Arizona and was elected the 44th president of the United States.
He will take office on Jan. 20 with large responsibilities with even larger expectations from the American public.
After seeing the signs around campus, it was clear to see the young vote was instrumental in this election, and from looking at statistics, most of the youth vote was behind Barack Obama.
Junior LaForce Baker, president of Denisonians for Obama, said this election will go down in history.
“The most important thing that will be remembered about this election cycle is the grassroots campaigns that he inspired all over the country, like [at] Denison,” he said.
Eric Boehme, a political science professor, said he agrees with Baker.
"It mixed an older model of political organization based on social movements with new technologies of communication and voter database management."
What exactly the new administration will be able to get done remains to be seen over the first few months of 2009.
Sophomore Lauren Waters said she thinks the next few months will be interesting.
"I'm curious to see what the next few months will bring both for the U.S. and the world," she said. "I think Obama has the ability to have a huge impact both at home and abroad. I hope he lives up to everyone's expectations."
It was clear in Obama’s campaign that health care, education and the War in Iraq were some of his top priorities.
With the current financial situation, though, it is questionable how much he will actually be able to achieve.
His choices for his cabinet will also play into his policy making options, many students said.
“I think it will depend a lot on who he picks for the Big Four, but I’m hopeful that they’ll make some significant progress, especially in energy and health care,” said senior Alex Rosenberg, who supported Obama.
He said the Big Four refers to the Secretaries of State, Defense and Treasury as well as the Attorney General.
There clearly is another side to the euphoria surrounding the election.
The Republican party lost ground in Washington, with the Democrats now in control of The House of Representatives and the Senate by significant margins.
Despite this, many Republicans are quick to talk about the next issue at hand: moving forward as a country.
“It’s wrong to look at the election and democracy as a win-lose situation,” said senior conservative Samantha Webb.
Both parties seem willing to acknowledge that the election is over and we need to address the pressing issues ahead.
Junior Republican Greg Kendall said GOP members need to reevaluate their tactics.
“The Republican Party needs to stop being a two-issue party that only focuses on abortion and gay marriage,” Kendall said. “It needs to return to its classical liberal roots and what it used to stand for: small government, fiscal responsibility, minimal government interference in the lives of citizens, and strong national defense.”
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