California speaks: Proposition results
November 5, 2008
Amidst the tumult of the presidential election, seven of California’s 12 propositions were voted into law. The Collegian Online has compiled these results so our readers can see how the state voted as a whole and how Fresno County followed or separated from the trends.
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Obama sees opportunity
November 5, 2008
CHICAGO — “You don’t need to boo, you just need to vote,” Barack Obama told his crowds in the final days of the race when they reacted to his opponent’s name.
That line embodied two premises of Obama’s presidential campaign, from its unlikely inception in February 2007 to victory Tuesday night.
First: That a backlash against President Bush would be sufficient to drive white swing voters into the arms of a first-term, biracial senator with liberal Chicago roots who promised change, bipartisanship, an end to the Iraq war and an outside-Washington ethic.
Second: That the conventional wisdom that young, minority and poor people can’t be counted on to vote was a symptom of previous candidates who didn’t try hard enough.
“You don’t win presidential elections because you pick the time,” Obama’s chief strategist David Axelrod said in a wide-ranging interview on the campaign plane three days before election night. “The times pick you,” Axelrod said. “He seemed to match the times.”
How’d Obama do it?
Charisma, message, organization and timing were crucial. But nothing was more telling than the 90 percent of Americans who told pollsters all year that they thought the country was on the “wrong track.” Voters wanted change. Obama made himself an image of change that people thought they could trust.
Obama’s kickoff in Springfield, Ill., drew inevitable comparisons to Abraham Lincoln. Ted and Caroline Kennedy’s endorsements set him up as successor to JFK—young, charismatic and different. Arguably, Obama’s mixed racial background as the son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas also helped him win. While it doubtless cost him some white votes, it appealed to others and energized minority voters as no white nominee could.
In addition, Obama benefited enormously from an innovative and meticulously managed campaign organization led by David Plouffe. It attracted millions of volunteers and may have raised close to $700 million. Plouffe emphasized winning caucuses as well as primaries, and in the general election, he had the resources to run a 50-state campaign.
The campaign even enlisted help from recording artists and a fashion industry that made Obama a pop-culture brand. It drew from new-media gurus who put their careers on hold to help out. They lured millions to an innovative Web site that helped them find their polling places, or campaign events, or buy merchandise, then stored their contact information and barraged them with personalized solicitations for money and help.
They used this network to send volunteers from safe states to Republican areas to build support. They preprinted cards with the telephone numbers of registered voters and asked people who came to Obama rallies to make calls from the stadium while they awaited his arrival.
In the end, McCain’s fumbling during the panic on Wall Street in September may have been his most damaging moment.
“I think the most critical juncture of the general election campaign was between Sept. 15 and Sept. 27, from the beginning of the financial controversy through the first debate,” Axelrod said. “I think the campaign changed there in a way that fundamentally altered the dynamic, and I think that dynamic held from that point forward.”
“Obama looked like someone who was grounded, who was focused on the issue, who was thinking about it,” Axelrod said. “McCain looked flighty and fickle, and jumping from one position to another. One guy looked like the president and the other guy didn’t.”
Dante Scala, a University of New Hampshire political scientist, said he saw a pattern to Obama’s style that helped him win. Scala called it Obama’s “coolness under pressure.”
When Obama’s grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who raised him for much of his childhood, died on the last day of the campaign, his coolness was tested anew. His announcement of her passing at a rally in Charlotte, N.C., was tender, but he turned on a dime to critique McCain as too close to President Bush. It was only after the event that most reporters in his traveling press corps learned that, as he was speaking, tears were streaming down his face.
By Margaret Taley, McClatchy Tribune
Republican mood somber after Obama win
November 5, 2008
The mood at the Standard, a restaurant and bar in North Fresno, is solemn tonight. But everyone gathered here at The Fresno County Republican Party seems at peace with the outcome of the presidential election.
The most commonly heard quote of the night? “I knew Obama would win, but I thought it would be closer.” Almost everyone agreed that it all happened quicker than they had expected.
In fact, the party at the Standard hadn’t even officially started when CNN proclaimed Obama’s victory.
Although no one seemed excited with the outcome, there was a sense of unity as the thirty or so people that were gathered outside circled the TV and watched McCain give his concession speech. From the suit-and-tie clad professionals to the eccentric man with an embroidered red shirt and a feather in his hat, everyone stood quietly waiting for McCain to reassure them. The small crowd remained silent for most of the speech, but clapped and cheered when Palin’s name was mentioned.
And one statement, passed by word of mouth, changed many faces from somber to hopeful: “Prop. 8 is passing…”
Jakob Smith covered the Republican headquarters in Fresno during the 2008 presidential election.
The struggle and the progress
November 4, 2008
Nobama? Obama? Yes, we can? Oh, yes, he did.
For the first hour, the diverse group of people ate confidently at tables and even sipped on some wine as they watched the states on the big screen turn blue or red. Children ran under tables. Screened t-shirts with Obama’s face decorated the room.
One KMJ reporter was walking around tables and interviewing people.
“I have voted Republican my whole life,” a woman said. “I never thought I’d be sitting at a Democratic party.”
“It’s a different world,” her friend said.
“It will be tomorrow,” the reporter said.
As a journalist, I am to be unbiased, but I couldn’t help but feel happy.
When Obama was announced president, the rooms were overcome with emotion. Older women cried at tables.
They’ve been waiting for this.
One gentleman’s shirt caught my attention. It had Martin Luther King, Jr., and Obama on it. Above MLK, Jr.’s picture, it read: “It was his dream.” Below Obama’s picture, it read, “And now he’s living the dream.”
Very true, my friend. Very true.
Paige Ricks was reporting live from the Democratic Election Night Coverage meeting at the Holiday Inn in downtown Fresno.
The Collegian Online presents Election Night ‘08
November 4, 2008
The Collegian’s election night videos provide presidential, mayorial and proposition results as well as interviews with The Collegian’s editors and reporters. For more information about the presidential election, click here. For more information about local and state elections, click here.
11 p.m.
Propositions close, Swearengin leading
10 p.m.
Interview with Collegian photographer Bryan Cole
9 p.m.
Mayoral votes show Swearengin leading
Interview with Collegian sports editor Logan Hopkins
8:15 p.m.
Obama elected president, mayoral vote-counting beginning
8 p.m.
Interview with Collegian opinion editor Matt Gomes
7 p.m.
Interview with Collegian editor in chief Brandon Santiago
6 p.m.
Election results update
5 p.m.
The Collegian presents live election coverage
Fresno votes
November 4, 2008
Fresno County saw a busy election day as first-time and veteran voters flocked to the polls. Counting the votes and ensuring the people’s voices were heard is a job handled by the county clerk’s office.
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