OBAMA WINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was around 11:30 P.M. Tuesday, Nov 4th, 2008. We’ve been watching TV for hours and finally, CNN announced that Barack Obama is the president-elect of the United States of America. For me, a 13-year-old Asian-American boy, I hope this is the symbol of a new epoch in our country. Our nation has come a long way since 1863, when Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth president, freed slaves in his Emancipation Proclamation. This moment belongs to not only Barack, but also the civil rights activists like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr.

How did Barack win this election? I believe that people see Obama as a brilliant and inspiring leader and forget that he is a black man. It did not matter to me what color his skin is because race should not be a factor in making such a major decision. However, during the presidential campaign, some did question his loyalty to our country because of his race, his name, and his father’s birthplace. It seemed very unpatriotic to not vote for him because of those reasons. It is exciting that according to statistics, young voters don’t care what race or gender the candidate is. Obama has energized many new voters with his motto “Change We Need” and his optimistic personality, so there has been record turnout. His ability to raise a lot of money didn’t hurt him either. (On the website Huffington Post, there’s a video of over 1000 students at Penn State University lining up to vote.)

What does all this mean to me? The fact that an African-American, a minority, a person of color was elected as our leader shows that in America, anyone can hold the highest office. We elected Obama because he is the right person for the job. It gives hope to kids like me that we can have a career in politics, and that while there is still racism, our country can evolve out of it.