Jan 26 2008
Change Is In The Wind
I am extremely happy. Happier that you can know. Hopefully what has happened here in South Carolina will continue on through the nation. I am also surprised and encouraged by the margin of victory Barack Obama experienced over Hillary Clinton. I was discussing all of this with my wife, who is basically a Hillary supporter, and what I was really trying to express to her is how, above all else, Obama is a candidate of hope and change. He represents the hope that we have that politics can change and be for the people instead of about the power and the money.
I also hope that the rest of the campaign can be a bit less muddy than the road that led up to this evening’s win. Please, no mud-slinging, no back stabbing, and no harmful attacks. Harmful more to the optimism and unity of this entire nation than to the individual being attacked.
As I said before, I was worried about the turnout. Voting this morning took less that 5 minutes. Out of the car at 10:41 and then back in the car by 10:46. Yes, that is right - five minutes to walk from the car, into the school, check in at the registration, vote, and get back in the car. But in the end the turn out was great. By my calculations roughly 525,000 people turned out for the today’s primary. That number compares to about 432,000 for last weeks Republican primary. In a state that is solidly “red,” to have nearly a hundred thousand more people turn out is really saying something. It really goes to show how motivated both Democrats in general and Obama supporters really are.
And finally check out this powerful endorsement letter for Obama from Carolina Kennedy in the New York Times.
So, from Charleston, South Carolina, thank you. And here is to a great future!
How amazing was the turnout! And I think I read that Barack Obama received more votes that the top republicans put together.
And of course, now the other campaigns will be downplaying the victory as only one state and such. But, I think it gives a clear indication of the way things are moving. It will be interesting to see how the Clintons will try to adjust the campaign now.
hi michael! i’m ian from the philippines but my parents are there, in greenville, sc. i’ve been to charleston once (loved Hyman’s food, yearning to stay at the Governor’s House Inn), and i must say you have a very lovely state. my parents love it there. the area seems very apt for new immigrants.
i watch with keen interest american politics- initially because of my parents’ welfare, but second- and i guess more importantly- american politics DOES have an effect on philippine life and economy even if we’re thousands of kilometers away. the sc democratic primary result WAS quite the stunner, wasn’t it?
i think it’s time for a democrat to be in the white house again- the GOP candidates seem more of the same. it is with very keen interest (thanks to CNN) that we watch your elections as they turn into a historic vote: the first woman president or the first african-american US leader… exciting times!
(PS: not that my vote counts, but tell your wife she has at least one ally in the Philippines regarding her choice of Hillary teehee)
Ian - Thanks for the comment, and I will let my wife know.
My mother was actually raised in the Philippines. My grandparents, who were Swiss, were stationed there before and during the Second World War with the Presbyterian church. So though you have connections here, I also have (or had) connections your way!
Again, thanks for the compliments and the input.
Michael
whoa! i’m about to break into the Disney ditty- It’s a small world after all… =] religious missionaries did play a vital role here in the Philippines, especially in helping improve our educational system.
headed there again this april to may. i’m so excited =] maybe i’ll get to feel the (pre)-election vibe myself soon enough! super tuesday turned out to be quite super, hasn’t it? =]
-ian
It turned out pretty well. I was hoping for more of an Obama win, but I will take what we got.
Speaking missionaries and my grandparents, my grandmother formed one of the first Girl Scout troops there, and my grandfather, Rev. Ernest J. Frei, did some of the early work on the languages and dialects of the area!