A Normal Election

by David Epstein

A few thoughts on tonight's events.

In one sense, this was a completely normal election. If you take the 2004 election map and add 4% to the Kerry vote for each state (except for North Carolina, where you have to add 6%), then you get this year's map. So this was simply a good Democratic year, fueled by the economic meltdown, the war, and Bush's deep unpopularity.

But of course it is the fact that Obama, an African American, achieved this result that makes it so extraordinary. That he could win in every section of the country, including three states of the confederacy, is an achievement so stunning that we will not truly be able to comprehend it for some time to come. I never thought I would see this in my lifetime. Not only has the electoral map been redefined, but our psyches, our understanding of what our country is, and our sense of what we can be in the future will never be the same again.

Comments

[Eric Chen]

Generational difference. My reaction? A big step yet not such a huge deal. I understand it's a big deal from an American social history standpoint - I get it and celebrate it - but from a personal life history, I grew up with black star athletes, entertainers, mayors and other politicians, highest ranking military officers, CEOs, etc..

Most significantly and recently, Bush's two Secretaries of State, the US face to the world only second to the President, in a time of great global intensity have been black.

A black President is a big step but not a leap. Our culture, most recently the current President, prepared the way for it.

[David Epstein]

Correction: Yes. We. Did.

[1]

Yes. We. Can.