Current America: A One-way Ticket to Change

The day after the elections, November 5, 2008, we were asked, in LA class at school, to write about Barack Obama’s becoming the President Elect.  I thought that it would be pertinent to show you what I wrote, today being his inauguration.  You can use it, but please do tell me and don’t rip me off.  Thank you and enjoy.

     Last night, history happened right before our very eyes.  The first African-American president, previously Senator, now President [Elect] Barack Obama, was elected to office.  He won the presidency for many reasons, but mainly all his talk about change. However, what exactly is “change?”  It can mean many different things to many different people.  According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, change means “to make or become different … to transform.”  I think this definition is very similar to the definition of the Obama Campaign and the majority of United States citizens.  Many people, rather most Americans, do not approve of what our current president of two terms, George W. Bush, has done.  Also, the same party has not been in control for three straight terms since the 1928 election with Herbert Hoover.  With all these things, America is ready for change.

     While Senator McCain and Governor Palin promised “no more politics as usual,” Senators Obama and Biden promised true change.  They wanted to mix everything up.  New ideas on healthcare, the economy, and the environment, just to say the least.  The whole United States will be shaken up.  I think that this is good for America.  We need a new soul in the White House.  I also think that a new party will be great for America.  Democrats have been constantly complaining about Bush and the Republicans, so a new party is good.  Then, maybe, just maybe, the United States will revert back to how it used to be, pre-Bush.

     I believe that Obama was inspiring to many voters as well.  He managed to get thousands of people who had never voted before to vote (for him) in the elections.  He has also gotten record amounts of donations from people of different ages, races, and backgrounds—something that, in my mind, helped him win the election.

     Another thing that I thought was interesting about Obama is that he won the vote of all different types of people: young and old, black and white.  He did not have one particular group—rather he had all of them.  However, one demographic that he nailed was the college-age student.  He really got in touch with them and turned many undecided kids party-wise into Democrats.

     Overall, I think that Obama winning the presidency will be good for America.  It will open up many American’s eyes as to what another president can do.  It will also give many people hope in their lives, something that was not there before.  But still, anything can happen.  I guess we will see.