PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA!

Posted by admin on 2008 November 5

I just got back from the official Dallas County Democratic Watch Party and Victory Celebration outdoors at 7th and Bishop in Oak Cliff. The night rolled along like an unstoppable train, faster than most people believed it would. There was beer and wine and good music, I didn’t get the names of the bands, but the last one up was fronted by a good looking woman singing some Patsy Cline-type songs, a little classic rocking country, crowd pleasing music.

The numbers shot up to within two states of 270 pretty fast, though I was disappointed that my redneck brothers and sisters mostly were not able to overcome the redneck opposition in states like Georgia and Mississippi. I wore a Rednecks for Obama/Stars and Stripes t-shirt, much to the pleasure of the crowd. Dallas County went about 62% for Obama, and a several down-ticket races went Democratic although many of those had already gone that way in 2006.

And then at 10PM local time, at the moment when the polls closed on the west coast, CNN called it for Obama and there was an explosion of cheering, clapping, crying.

McCain gave an excellent concession speech, I was proud and moved by his emphasis on the significance of this event to people of color. People booed a little at some of the things he said, but there were a lot of cheers in there too.

Of course people were delirious again when Obama came on. One thing that impressed me was the sense that the crowd of people gathered around me were not Obama worshippers, as many Republicans fear, but were pretty realistic about what a President Obama means. They made it known a number of times that they were not Obama followers, but Obama supporters. They have no illusions, these people. They will hold Obama’s feet to the fire even if they did cry tears of joy this night.

I left shortly after Obama’s acceptance speech, the sounds of the still revelling crowd falling away behind me, echoing softly on this quiet, temperate night in November.