Breaking News… CNN Projects Obama Elected President!
I apologize for my lack of updates in the past week. Many things have been going on which provides me with plenty material on which to report, yet no much time to do so. To start, let’s back track one week to November 4th, the day of the Presidential Elections.
The historical importance of this election has already been well-documented: a black presidential candidate, a female VP candidate, two wars half a world away, and a failing economy to name but a few of the issues. Knowing the gravity of the day I was torn to not be in the States. Yes, France was buzzing with anticipation, but everyone favored Obama. I would have loved to have been present in a place rife with dissension. Yet liberal Europeans and a hoard of college students didn’t exactly create the best forum for inter-party dialogue.
The night started in The Frog and Princess, a student bar overflowing with students not only for the election, but presumably for the Tuesday night discounts. My group of friends and I soon elected to leave; there was a party being hosted at the NYU house in the 16th arrondissement that we hoped would be more civil. We caught one of the last metros over and found our suspicions were justified. If anything, the party was too civil! By that only mean I felt as though I were surrounded by a bunch of 20-some-year olds mingling and presenting themselves as if they were 45-year old business men at a cocktail party. Not exactly the scene which a laid-back California college student was seeking. We soon found the door.
As we hailed down a cab, we tried to figure out what to do. We wanted people, we wanted fun, but we didn’t want a drunken mob, and we certainly wanted a slice of home. There was only one solution: Breakfast in America, an American style diner open all night to watch the elections.
Once we got there, it was one of those nights that passed in a second, and yet never seemed to end. We anxiously awaited results. The crowd erupted at each Obama victory and booed even the visage of McCain on the television. Around 2:30 AM it was declared that the next state that Obama won the coacktails (Obama on the Beach and Bloody McCain) would be 4 euros a piece. I soon found myself with an Obama on the Beach in my hand as we celebrated another victory. Complementary French Onion Soup was presented to us at 4:40 AM. A weary, yet anxious crowd gratefully accepted. As 5:00 AM approached, all eyes were glued to the TV, waiting for California to turn blue and then…
CNN Breaking News: Obama Elected President of the United States! A cry went up as I had never before heard. Hugs and kisses were exchanged, high fives were everywhere, and the owners pulled out bottles of champagne and we toasted Barack Obama, president-elect of the United States of America. Then McCain took the stage and you could hear a pin drop. An ironic chuckle drifted through the room at the mention of America as “the greatest nation in the world”. In my estimation, McCain was extremely gracious in his concession, and I even initially graded it as better than Obama’s acceptance.
When Obama took the stage, all you could hear was the collective heart beat in the room. Even the people outside the door jostling to get in fell silent. However, the greeting “Hello Chicago,” sent yet another wave of euphoria throughout the crowd. Throughout the rest of the speech Breakfast in America alternated between deathly silence and wild screams of ecstasy. The call and response was eagerly greeted with “YES WE CAN”.
My friends and I left a few minutes after Obama left the stage. We wandered around the city for sometime, falsely energized with the long awaited victory. Around 7:00 AM, unable to find food- the effects of being awake for 24 hours were finally starting to hit us- we parted ways. I wound up home at 8 AM and slept a few hours before going to class (an hour late) at the Louvre.
In all, although part of me initially wished to be in the States for the election, I have changed my mind and wouldn’t change that night for all the world. All of a sudden various French men and women, upon learning that I am American, congratulated me on the victory and praise the image of America that Obama has been projecting for two years. I feel proud to be an American abroad. Now it is to Obama to create the change he was so long been a herald of.
