Spring Break
President-elect Obama calls for change
Bailey McBride
Issue date: 11/7/08 Section: News
Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan - these three men are remembered as some of the greatest presidents in United States history.
One similarity among all of them was that their races toward the presidency were not won based on a run-of-the-mill campaign, but rather based on the creation of a movement.
Many people see Barack Obama's historic run for presidency as the next great chapter in the creation of movements for change in American politics.
Barack Obama was elected president of the United States Tuesday, Nov. 4, by an Electoral College vote of 349 to 163, and a popular vote victory by a margin of almost 8 million votes.
Obama once said, "In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope."
This campaign of hope and the kind of change that is facilitated by the participation of every American has been the trademark of his campaign.
Every four years, America faces a new set of candidates, with their own set of campaign promises and ideals. But this election differed from elections in 1996, 2000 and 2004, largely because of the kind of optimistic rhetoric Obama introduced.
According to James Zogby, many people have "noted that [Obama's] appeal was characterized by a rejection of cynicism and a call to idealism."
Historically, movements in American politics have been driven by the current state of the nation.
American presidents historically have been WASPS - White Anglo-Saxon Protestant males who were able to provide the nation with a sense of security.
Obama's well-known primary speech in New Hampshire is the epitome of the idea of his movement.
The speech used the refrain "Yes We Can" followed by examples of the American dream.
"For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we've been told that we're not ready, or that we shouldn't try, or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people - Yes We Can," Obama said.
He then followed with references to minorities that have been discriminated against throughout history, including the abolitionists who fought against slavery, and women as they "reached for the ballot" for the first time.
As Americans watch Barack Obama name his executive cabinet, prepare for the presidency, and become inaugurated, America waits to see if the movement will continue to change America the way Roosevelt's New Deal or Reagan's economic policies did.
One similarity among all of them was that their races toward the presidency were not won based on a run-of-the-mill campaign, but rather based on the creation of a movement.
Many people see Barack Obama's historic run for presidency as the next great chapter in the creation of movements for change in American politics.
Barack Obama was elected president of the United States Tuesday, Nov. 4, by an Electoral College vote of 349 to 163, and a popular vote victory by a margin of almost 8 million votes.
Obama once said, "In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope."
This campaign of hope and the kind of change that is facilitated by the participation of every American has been the trademark of his campaign.
Every four years, America faces a new set of candidates, with their own set of campaign promises and ideals. But this election differed from elections in 1996, 2000 and 2004, largely because of the kind of optimistic rhetoric Obama introduced.
According to James Zogby, many people have "noted that [Obama's] appeal was characterized by a rejection of cynicism and a call to idealism."
Historically, movements in American politics have been driven by the current state of the nation.
American presidents historically have been WASPS - White Anglo-Saxon Protestant males who were able to provide the nation with a sense of security.
Obama's well-known primary speech in New Hampshire is the epitome of the idea of his movement.
The speech used the refrain "Yes We Can" followed by examples of the American dream.
"For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we've been told that we're not ready, or that we shouldn't try, or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people - Yes We Can," Obama said.
He then followed with references to minorities that have been discriminated against throughout history, including the abolitionists who fought against slavery, and women as they "reached for the ballot" for the first time.
As Americans watch Barack Obama name his executive cabinet, prepare for the presidency, and become inaugurated, America waits to see if the movement will continue to change America the way Roosevelt's New Deal or Reagan's economic policies did.
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