The celebration “started” at 6. We got there about 5:45 and it was already crowded. On the big screen CNN election coverage was informing the crowd. State by state we cheered as Obama was projected the winner in each. There were some boos for red states, but no surprises.
When they projected Pennsylvania it was starting to become real. Then Ohio. As you have heard time and time again, no Republican has won without winning Ohio. The crowd started to know. I could feel it...we could all feel it. Victory was near. When CNN reported the somber mood at McCain's celebration party and mentioned they had turned off the news...at Doug Fir we cheered.
Then around 7:30 with Obama holding on to about 195 electoral votes I realized it was about to happen. Obama will be the next president. California, Oregon and Washington polls were still open so they had not been projected yet. The west coast consists of 73 electoral votes. Obama surely would get them all. Throw in Hawaii with 4 more and the magic number of 270 is reached. It was just a matter of time. CNN's poll closing countdown begun and we counted along. 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1! Just like that it was a countdown to victory and CNN projected Obama the next president.
As they say “the crowd went wild!” We cheered, we cried, and we danced through a sea of balloons. It had happened. It was real. No one was going to take it away this time. Hope, Change and Unity won out. America made the right choice! We celebrated!
Then we watched Obama's acceptance speech. Inspiring! Hopeful! Great! America made the right choice. We celebrated some more.
As we left the Doug Fir the celebrating did not stop. In the streets cars were honking. On the sidewalk people were cheering. Obama supporters were holding signs, some reading “President Obama”. It was that way for several miles along Burnside and MLK as we drove home. I have never seen anything like it. This topped every New Years celebration including the millennium. It was not just a date on a calendar...this meant something.
This election brought people from all walks of life together. We did this. We volunteered, we contributed, and we voted. I still get chills thinking about last night. I will remember last night as one of the greatest moments in my life. Where were you when we made history?
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