Front Page, "McCain Ba-racked!"

By Kyle Beard and Alex Barrett
Valencia Voice
The crowd was a mixture of tears and cheers as an announcement naming the 44th President of the United States boomed from the speakers. At approximately 11 o’clock, Sen. Barack Obama was announced the projected victor against opponent Sen. John McCain after 21 long months of campaigning. Hundreds of cheering supporters and volunteers gathered together to celebrate a historic victory in downtown Orlando at the Orange County Regional History Center. The evening kicked off with several local Democrats rallying together to offer their support and endorsements in favor of Obama. The first speaker was Senator Bill Nelson who, having nothing at stake during the Election Day race, spoke words of encouragement and gave thanks to all the volunteers and supporters of the Obama campaign. Following Nelson and declaring victories were Alan Grayson and Darren Soto respectively. Mayor Buddy Dyer also made an appearance to announce a new Sheriff, Jerry Demings. The festivities continued inside the museum where Obama supporters partook in the drinking of spirits and hors d’oeuvres while viewing exhibits and discussing the coming victory. “I’m very excited to be part of history,” said Orlando Army veteran, Sergio Tuifarro. “I was amazed by McCain’s voting in the Senate concerning veteran benefits,” Tuifarro explained, mentioning in particular McCain’s opinion of the Montgomery G.I.
Bill, a bill that pays veterans of the armed services and their families seeking to further
their education. The trend continued throughout the night as individuals who could be considered “typical” McCain supporters raised their voice in support of Obama. Some of the groups included Republicans for Obama and Veterans for Obama. Ironically, the theme of the night was not “Change,” but equality. Voters of all colors, creeds and affiliations gathered together, seemingly oblivious of their differences in the spirit of the campaign. “Simply historical,
monumental… powerful,” said Angelica Pineiro. “You feel that you’re a part of a major
movement.” Later, the crowd moved outside as the results began to pour in. Nancy Warlick, who
first voted in 1960 for John F. Kennedy was thrilled by the hype. “I think there’s a great excitement around Barack Obama, just in the same way there was with JFK” Warlick explained when comparing the campaigns. “My husband and I spent 27 years in Africa, so this is particularly an exciting night and our friends there are really thrilled.” The
feeling was mutual among the crowd as supporters around her wholeheartedly agreed.
As the evening drew to a crescendo, the crowd turned its attention to the stage, where
a huge television screen showed a broadcast of McCain delivering his concession speech. In a honorable and sportsmanlike manner, McCain announced his dropping from the
race to a deafening cry of victory as the attendees stomped, shouted and whistled. “We have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly,” he announced. “A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him. To congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.” McCain continued on to thank all of his supporters and colleagues with the mention of Sarah Palin drawing boos from the Orlando crowd. Shortly after, as the party organizers’ allotted time at the historic center expired,the party moved on to Wall Street to watch Obama deliver his victory speech on the Wachovia Bank Building jumbotron. Orlando
police quickly moved in to block the intersection at Jefferson and Orange in order to support the massive throng of celebrators, trapping a few unfortunate cars in the middle. Though stuck in a gridlock, many drivers left their vehicles and joined the celebration —one woman even getting out to dance on the hood of her minivan. As though not even phased by the hours of waiting and celebrating earlier in the evening, the crowd once again roared as the image of Obama appeared on the screen. “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer,” Obama stated to tumultuous
applause. He continued to thank supporters, family members, volunteers and colleagues all, but most of all adding his gratitude to the American people. “This is our chance to answer that call.
This is our moment. This is our time to put our people back to work and open doors of
opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim
the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth —that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: ‘Yes We Can.’” Think the election this year was close? Take another look at the local results.
On Tuesday, Sen. Barack Obama made a huge push in Florida, and Orange County gave him a rather large boost as well. In the tight Florida Presidential race, Orange County was a convincing win for Obama. How convincing? How about 60/40 in support of Obama, beating Sen. John McCain by well over 100,000 votes and sealing a Democratic victory in one of the highest populated areas of Florida. Winning the populous areas of the states is vital to winning the state itself, especially when 27 electoral votes are on the line. The rest of the state was divided almost evenly, with Obama or McCain leading by only a few percentage points, with the exception
of our backyard. If you were to glance at the map of Florida last night, you would have noticed a lot of GOP red splattered across the map, but it was the blue areas that sealed the deal for Obama. Areas such as Orlando, including Orange, Osceola, and Volusia counties, and other major metropolitan areas such as Tallahassee, Miami, and Tampa posted a huge disparity between the
parties, all leaning towards Obama. In other states, it seems the same can be said. New York, for example, looks like it has chicken pox with all of its red blotches, but it was an Obama state when it was all said and done simply because New York City and other large cities were so swung to the Democratic side, it completely nullified the GOP-controlled outskirts. These statistics can also be used when you look at states such as New Mexico, Ohio, and Iowa, all of which, coincidently, voted strongly for George W. Bush in the last two elections. They are among the states that swung from the GOP over to the Democratic side, presumably seeking that everawaited change that Obama has used to fuel his campaign. While America has swung to
the left, only time will tell if was in the right direction.