[Apologies this was delayed. It took me a while to recover on Wednesday]
I was lucky enough to be at the official victory celebration of the Obama Campaign in Grant Park, Chicago Tuesday night. It was indeed an amazing experience.
The crowd was friendly and mellow. The air was one of expectation rather than suspense, since the outcome was over determined. I was passing through the various checkpoints when the networks called OH for Obama, bringing him to 194 electoral votes. Since the Pacific states would bring the total up to 271 FTW, everybody knew what would happen.
If the Cubs had won the World Series, the celebration would have been far more ecstatic and frenzied, with drunken people venting all the excitement that had been pent up during the games. This was very different, and far calmer than it appeared on TV.
People milled around, chatting, while watching CNN on the jumbotron. A cheer would go up every time a new state was called for Obama, and a few people cried when CNN finally called the election for him, but these were quiet tears of release leaking from the corners of peoples’ eyes, and not the ragged sobbing I had expected. I too was far calmer than I had expected, given all the energy I had put into the campaign in my life off-line.
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The crowd was mixed ethnically – mainly white, with large numbers of African Americans and a decent sized desi contingent. Suprisingly, some of the people who got in were actually foreigners, including one woman who was from Chandigarh who wanted my photo to bring to her family back home. I tried taking photos whenever I saw brown faces, but these generally turned out poorly because it was dark and outdoors.
The whole thing feels like a very vivid dream today. I remember people cheering supportively as McCain struck a gracious tone in his concession speech, the national anthem, and the victory speech. What struck me most was the first family, and how our image of what was real America had been changed forever.
Outside the official sections of the park, along Michigan Avenue, the crowd was far more ebulliant. There was one group singing and dancing, others holding up signs, people stopped and talked to each other.
It was like an enormous weight had been lifted and we all sighed in relief.
I know it has been over a day – but how did you mark the election results?
I was so happy to be at Grant Park on Tuesday night. Everyone I talked to before I went warned me that I was crazy to go and that if the results were not a win for Obama that there would be riots. I’m so glad that I listened to my sister who was frantically working in a Cleveland field office, who encouraged me to just go. When we got there, my friend and I were surprised to feel that we were part of the “older” crowd, being over 35. I felt so proud of Chicago, of the country and of being now as an Asian American as proud of the “American” as I am of the “Asian”. I don’t think that I have said the Pledge of Allegiance or sang the national anthem in about 25 years with as much fervor as I did on Tuesday night. Thank goodness my 8 year old daughter taught me the words again recently. What a great night!
Now you’re just begin ridiculous…
But seriously, it sounds like the celebration was a great place to be. It’s good that the festival was a bit subdued. Obama himself mentioned that this isn’t the change, just the chance. The first brown president is a momentous occasion, but anyone not living under a rock (or in a cave) knows that this campaign has exposed a lot of really ugly truths about America and Americans. Considering our new pres. is considering war with Afghanistan and Pakistan, has never condemned prejudices against Muslims and won’t end the torture in Guantanomo, there is still a long road ahead for all of us.
sorry, that should read “considering ramping up the war effort in Afghanistan and starting a new one with Pakistan”
I think it really was just such an amazing moment. I was shocked by my own emotions when they finally called it. It was just brilliant. There was a spontaneous block party that got started outside my apartment and it just got bigger and bigger and people were going nuts. At 2:00 am the party was still raging. Random people were milling about like a carnival. I have never seen anything like it.
Yeah, I went to Grant Park too. I didn’t get into the ticket only area, but the rest of the park was pretty amazing too. As soon as Ohio was called for Obama, everyone who could started walking over and taking the L to Grant Park. They had big screens set up throughout the park and people were gathered in front of them as far as you could see. The crowd was mostly young, but there were quite a few old people there, and it was a very diverse mix with no one color was the majority. The City was broadcasting CNN so every time CNN called a state for Obama, everyone cheered. As it got later and later, the excitement started building. At 9:50, when CNN called Virginia for Obama, everyone was going nuts and just waiting for the west coast results to be announced at 10:00. As CNN did the countdown to 10:00, everyone was counting down the seconds like New Year’s Eve at Times Square: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Everyone expected CNN to announce California went for Obama, but instead CNN announced Obama was the President-elect, and the crowd cheered and was jumping up and down and screaming. People were making out and dancing; it was like the pictures you see on V-Day in 1945. The cheering went on for a few minutes, and then the City cut away from CNN and started showing scenes from the crowds. Every time they showed someone famous, people cheered: Oprah, cheers; Jesse Jackson crying, everyone cheered like crazy. Then the City cut to McCain’s speech and everyone was quiet for a few minutes, but when McCain talked about Palin and the camera showed here, everyone booed for a minute straight. As McCain kept speaking, people got bored and started chanting “Shanana-Shanana-Hey-Hey-Hey, Goodbye!”, and then everyone laughed. Finally, Obama took the stage, everyone was silent, hanging on every word. People were in tears by the time he finished. Everyone was taking pictures of the scene, of themselves, of the crowd, and of Obama on the screens. Then it finished, and everyone happily walked home; they had shut down all the streets in the Loop so people were running around and yelling Obama’s name, and you could hear car horns echoing everywhere. It took us an hour to walk back to our place, but there were still people everywhere past midnight. When I got to my building, my doorman, a young Mexican guy, was sitting behind his desk crying as they were replaying the speech on TV. He asked us how it was, and said he wish he could have been there. A pretty awesome night, and my first historical moment.
SA – I think your part of the crowd was far more excited than the ticketholders. I didn’t see V-day euphoria where I was, it was a bit different.
I think the people who had tickets were in a little bit of a different crowd, maybe a little older, maybe they knew they were around prominent people (Oprah, Jesse Jackson, etc.), maybe had donated money (or more money), or maybe it was all the lights and attention of being so close to Obama and the cameras that made people behave a little more formally. A block or two north, it was pitch black, hardly any lights. Anyone and everyone were pushing closer to watch the screens. It seemed much younger, more urban (hardly looked like anyone was from the burbs), and a bit crazier (couples next to me were making out after Obama won).
Oh, there were very few people directly in front of the state with the luminaries. That was all VIPs. I was to the north as well, but in the ticketed area just to the right of the stage. We were actually downhill from the jumbotron on the side, which meant it was hard to see. There were some lights, and many speakers.
That was what I expected to see and didn’t. It just seemed mellow and happy where I was. Interesting.
History was made indeed – and it is great to see hope in people’s eyes again…
Jesse Jackson crying,
This was the 1st Jesse Jackson sighting in a while, the same with Al Sharpton. I wonder if these 2 are happy that they are not part of the Obama inner circle and were told to shut up and not say anything the past few months that could hurt Obama.
Maybe it’s because he was with Martin Luther King on the day he got assassinated and was emotional because he finally got to see a black politician become President forty years after that tragic day?
Why are all of your posts such hateful, sour, bitter little comments?
I’m hoping HMF’s silence means that some nubile Obamaniac has cured him of his pessimism
Well my night began with Republican friends calling to inform me that an upset was in the works (there were some early signs) and Machiavellian Manju was about to become the worst thing a Machiavellian could be; a loser. A Judas loser at that. One of them also feared for my life as I made my way up to Harlem. I told him to watch out for disillusioned plumbers wilding on the UES after McCain losses.
Anyway, my usual East Harlem steakhouse was booked so I made my way to West Harlem, which is even more authentic. But at first I thought I fucked up because I’d forgotten how freakin regentrified the place had gotten. I ended up at a trendy wine bar that was almost 1/2 white and just as disappointingly, relatively young and yuppie. One must consider age and class if one wants to get a real sense of the zeitgeist. It was just too SATC for and event of such gravitas so I considered heading up to the Malcolm X center, but they said you had to bring food and I don’t think they were serving alcohol and something’s are more important than mere history. Then the bartender served me an amazing wine flight, with a rare goat cheese and a type of prosciutto I’ve never had. So I stayed.
Then I noticed there was a lot of talent around. I was seated in the back, next to the bathroom, where I discovered one could chat up women waiting to go and they had no way to escape. As luck would have it a bombshell came by as PA was called and I turned to her and said it was over. She immediately asked me if I lived in the neighborhood which is code for “I give you permission to continue hitting one me.” She returned from the bathroom and invited me to the Lennox Lounge, apparently an historic hangout, where she and her friends were heading later. She then invited me to sit at her table. At first I was thinking; “man, this is really change you can believe in” but then I remembered bombshells are often more approachable than one may think because men are generally afraid of bombs.
Anyhoo, I was a bit torn because I just wanted to observe history and I really didn’t want to have to concentrate on being all witty and brilliant, which doesn’t come as easy to me as Bess may think. So I decided to split the difference. I ordered a wine, waited 10 minutes and walked over to Bombshell’s table where she was sitting with 3 rather hot friends; did my thing, collected the digits, and left.
I walked down a couple of blocks where I spotted a more regular and packed bar. I walked in and a huge party was going on. I was still a little disappointed because the scene was a bit young, well 30ish yuppie, and it’s the faces of the 50+ that I really wanted to see. Some people had their moms around so I decided to stay for the official announcement. When it came it was like NYE x 10: cellphones ringing, people hugging, tears streaming. It was simply the most patriotic moment I’ve ever witnessed. The Pointer Sisters’ (I think) “Ain’t no stopping us now playing on the juke” seemed appropriate.
As Mccain began to concede a man in a suit danced, looked at me, the only Indian in the bar, reached out his hand and said; “We’re all one, man.” Palin was booed vigorously and I noticed a weird dichotomy. When McCain said we as a nation have come a long way from the time when Theodore Roosevelt (I think) caught flack for inviting a black man to the White House, everyone booed like he didn’t know what he was talking about. But when he said anything was possible in America the crowd roared, “got that right!
So I went to the bathroom and when I returned Obama was taking the stage. And then it happened. Suddenly it appeared the enormity of the moment dawned on everyone. The place became almost silent. The floodgates opened. A mom, bawling uncontrollably, reached her hand to the TV like it was a fireplace, taking in the heat. A (rather hot) woman with long hair stood right in front of the TV with tears running down her cheeks, not bothering to wipe them off. Aside from the tears it appeared an aura of seriousness wrapped around the euphoria. The dancing stopped, men stood up straighter, and an overall sense of sobriety engulfed the bar. Suddenly I felt like I was at a black tie affair. Dignity.
Obama’s speech set the tone. It was somber, serious, downbeat even at times; as the President seemed keenly aware of the enormity of tasks facing us; not since FDR… The power he had at that moment cannot be underestimated. He could have used it to set off euphoria, perhaps thrown out some red meat. But instead he dialed it back, reached out to his defeated opponents, urging moderation and bipartisanship, lowered expectations, and asked for patience. It was a serious speech given by a brilliant man at a crucial time in history.
But he touched an emotional chord. Decontextualizing then reapplying MLK’s mountaintop metaphor to our current crises, he bought all Americans into the civil right movement. It was the perfect touch for the great unifier, the so-called post-racial post-partisan politician. He transcended race without ignoring it. Someone yelled out; “Rev. Obama.”
So as I left the bar the party restarted. Although there would be many high-fives with random strangers on the street during my long walk home, I quietly shook the hand of a deadlocked man in a suit outside the bar, as if we had just sealed a deal. It seemed the appropriate gesture. There was just a corporate moment there in the bar, when everyone seemed so serious and ready to get to work. I think I heard Cory Booker later say something to the effect that its not so much that he’s out leader, but that he’s taught us how to lead.
That sounds about right. I’m probably just projecting but “empowerment”Âis what I saw. He didn’t end racism he just showed us how to defeat it. The first step to winning is believing you can win. And it appears a whole swath of people now believe they can. That’s a fundamental change, probably even bigger than any changes in policy Obama will make. We are the ones we have been waiting for…indeed.
Agreed. Wholeheartedly.
13 · Manju said
I think you meant overestimate 🙂 This is crucial, and was very carefully calibrated, given that there is a lot of stuff he needs to deal with, which is why even days before the election, he was trying to set expectations for a 1000 day review, instead of the usual 100 day evaluation period. And he repeated that theme in his speech stressing that the problems might not all be addressed even in one term. At this point, this is his biggest issue on the expectations front, considering all the excitement of his candidacy, campaign, and pretty significant victory. Given his lifelong ability to convert all the negatives thrown at him into positives, I’m betting expectation resetting is one challenge he will probably handle successfully.
I think his omission of any mention of Hillary was not unintentional, he’s quite successfully marginalized her in the public mind. People who keep mocking him for his glass jaw and lack of fight seriously underestimate his fight, and ability to kill ’em softly.
One interesting question if Obama is actually able to extend the Dems’ tent to accommodate Hispanics and conservative minorities in the longer term, is the impact it will have on the social agenda. We already saw some of the negative impact of increased Af-Am participatiuon in the successful passage of Prop 8 in California. I fear that there won’t be a strong force for social liberalism in mainstream American politics, especially as Hispanics become a much bigger demographic force in the coming decades.
13 · Manju said
takes one to know one.
Well, we can’t all be as enlightened as Todd Palin, can we Port?
There is a huge generation gap though which should be a reason for optimism. Latino 18-29 went 59-41 against as opposed to 53-47 for among all Latino age groups. CNN poll does not break down Af-Am 18-29 because the sample is small. But we can figure it out. All 18-29 went 61-39 against. White 18-29(45%) went 67-33 and Latino 18-29(35%) broke 59-41 against. Other(Af-Am+Asian) 18-29(20%) consequently has to break 51-49 against. Even if Asian youth contributed a bit more, black 18-29 would still be fairly close to 50% against which is much higher than the 30% number for all black age groups.
wish i could have been there!
I grew up in Chicago and I have never been more proud of my city and my home state as I was that night. The city looked amazing on TV with the USA lights in the skyline. I actually cried watching all the people on CNN and seeing the energy. I wish I could have been there-what a great place to call home.
It was funny that Obama was facing a building that had, on its roof, big neon signs for Ebony and Jet. My guess is that the magazines are published there.
Obama is sexier than Bill Clinton. Bush had given the uglies to America. Our President needs to be a dandy, as we are a TV centered society (And our enemies and detractors know us by our movies and TV) We needed somebody to fit that part, the economy can look after itself.
the obama election is a point in history as the first non-white president.
but the overflow of “emotion” is an overreaction.
in fact there appears to be a personality of cult surrounding this chap that is quite frankly very strange.
I did have the worst thought as Obama finished his speech and was waiving to the crowd: I kept wanting him to get the hell off the stage so no one would take a shot at him. I don’t think I have ever felt protective of a politician before, but at that moment, I was thinking, where the hell is secret service, and why aren’t there like 20 of them on stage? Now I am going to be nervous the next 8 years.
Manju, awesome. Did you ever call that girl, by the way?
25 · Amitabh said
got off the phone with her about an hour ago. she told me lennox lounge was incredible. we’ll see how it goes…
This looks like it may have happened in Grant Park.
I was hoping an Obama victory would mean no more insipid pop spirtuals from “will i. am” but alas it was not to be. Maybe Nader right’s it doesn’t matter which half of the Republicats win!