The 2008 Presidential Election

As one of the most pivotal elections in American history, the 2008 election had new components never seen before. An entire 30 minutes of airtime was bought by the Obama campaign costing it millions. This "episode" of the Obama campaign was unprecedented. It gained supporters who were still deciding and gave the people what they wanted to hear. Along with this election comes the overwhelming outspokenness of the youth. The voters who were just eligible, and the first time voters. Saturday Night Live, a late night sketch comedy show, depicted Governor Palin as someone who should be on the vice-presidential ballot. They showed her as someone who could not cover the topics and was often off task. Meanwhile, every time Senator Biden was shown, he was shown as someone who was aggressive and spoke aggressively. As a show aimed at the 18-40 year old age group, the youth was greatly affected by such "accidental propaganda".

The Democratic Party has won the presidential election, giving congress a sizable Democrat majority. What does this mean for the Republican Party? Well it's a start that Obama is taking after Lincoln and stacking his cabinet with people who have different views. He has already appointed to an Israeli, Rahm Emanuel, to the Chief of Staff position. This will add some hope to Israel who probably got a little scared when Obama said he would talk to Iran. 

Another main factor was the global perception of the United States. It would be nothing new for other countries to hear we voted another old, white man into office. But right now, the country is about change. The economy is going down the drain, and we need a change. Obama represented that change. As a McCain supporter, I respected Obama highly. The hope he gave the youth, one of the main voting groups in the nation, was immense. In fact, Kenya called a national holiday: the day Obama was elected. The nation of Kenya took off from work because they saw hope only because of the fact that Obama's dad is from Kenya. They saw hope, and they weren't the only one. To think the top two candidates for the Democrats were Obama, an African American, and Clinton, a woman and wife of ex-President Clinton. With the election of the first black President, the world's perception of the United States has changed, and most likely for the better. It is an ever changing world, and the 2008 Presidential election showed it.