Barack Obama: Way To Presidency

Barack Obama was conceived in Hawaii on August 4, 1961. He got his rudimentary and secondary school instruction in Indonesia and Hawaii and moved on from Columbia University in 1983. He moved to Chicago in 1985 to work for a congregation-based gathering looking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods. In 1991 Obama moved on from Harvard Law School where he was the principal African American leader of the Harvard Law Review. He served in the Illinois state senate from 1997 to 2004. Chosen for the United States Senate in November of 2004, he made the vow of office and turned into the fifth African American to serve in the Senate on January 3, 2005.

It was November 4, 2008, is one day I will never forget. It was my very first time voting. I really did not know about politics very much at the time. All I knew was that everyone was so excited to be voting for our very 1st African American President, Barack Obama. From that day I realized that my vote mattered.

Barack Obama ran up against John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. Obama made several promises about fixing the economy. One thing that Obama promised was to put an end to the great depression and shift the strategy that triggered it. He also pledged to resolve many prolonged problems of the economy such as expensive health care, the U.S reliance on imported oil, tax cuts, education salary raises, and the encouragement of more technology and modernization.

‘I’ll eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.’ -Barack Obama

‘And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as president: In 10 years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.’ – Barack Obama

‘I’ll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries, and give them more support. And in exchange, I’ll ask for higher standards and more accountability.’ – Barack Obama

‘Now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American.’ -Barack Obama

The evening of the election I went to one of my zoned voting destinations which were my Junior High school M.S.258. As I entered the school I was directed to go into the Gymnasium. There was a vast amount of people waiting in line for their turn to vote. I was nervous because I dreaded I would do something wrong. When I received my ballot, it was time to step into the booth. I looked at the ballot and saw many different names some I didn’t know and some I did. I filled in all the bubbles and went to another station to a machine to scan my ballot to cast my vote. After I was done, I received a sticker that said, “I voted”. I put my sticker on proudly and left the school full of happiness. I couldn’t wait to watch the news for an update on the campaign.

As soon as I got home, I turned on the news. There were updates on every channel. There were many different up and down emotions because there were some hours when Barack Obama has fewer votes than John McCain. As the race continued Obama began to win a wide range of states. From that point on I knew it was a great chance that he would win this election. I didn’t know much about politics, so I thought that the election was based on who had the greatest number of votes. My mom mentioned to me that this race isn’t chosen just by the popular votes. It was also based on the electoral votes. Stated simply, each state has as many electors as they do members of congress. The president must earn an absolute majority or more than half of the available electors (Study.com). There are 538 available electors in the United States so a president must earn a minimum of 270(Study.com).

After watching the news all day, I began to get tired. I started dozing off on my couch until I finally fell asleep. I woke up to loud screams of joy. Obama is our new president my mom screamed joyfully. I finally felt like I have done something right in my life. I was overcome with excitement. I felt happy to be a part of an amazing moment in history. Obama’s election gave me a reason to feel optimistic about the course of the nation when he became President-elect.

On November 4, 2008, Senator Barack Obama defeated Senator John McCain and became the 44th President of the United States, and the first African American voted into the White House. Barack Obama garnered 365 electoral votes and nearly 53 percent of the popular vote, while John McCain captured 173 electoral votes and more than 45 percent of the popular vote (History.com 2012).After his big win, Obama gave a victory speech in front of thousands of people at grant park in his hometown Chicago, Illinois. In his speech he shared a theme of hope.

‘If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer,’- Barack Obama

There were celebrations everywhere celebrating our new President. Artists started to put out songs and videos. People celebrated in bars partying all night sunup till sundown. This was a great moment and we couldn’t wait to see the changes Obama would make.

Reference

1. Obama, Barack, et al. We Are the Change We Seek: the Speeches of Barack Obama. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018.
2. Study.com, Study.com, study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-popular-vote-definition-lesson-quiz.html.
3. “Barack Obama Elected as America’s First Black President.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Aug. 2012, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/barack-obama-elected-as-americas-first-black-president.