Election Night

Well the 2012 Presidential Election is finally over.  Obama has been reelected for President of the United States of America.  Hopefully we will see more change for the good, a better economy, and the different political parties trying hard to work together under his second term as president.  I think it is important that they try to work together to get things done for our country.

I want to share some pictures from Election night in this blog post.  I think they really speak as to how torn our country is.  When I was looking for images from Election night, I only found polar opposites.  The photographs taken of Republicans and the Romney supporters shows them deeply upset and shocked, while the pictures of Democrats and Obama supporters are elated and joyous.  It is sad to me that even though one side lost and the other side lost, we are so split in half as a country that we cannot even be happy that people turned out and voted, that we are a country who allows people to vote no matter their gender or ethnicity.  There is so much negativity surrounding elections and hatred towards the other side that when it is over, people are either really upset or really happy.  In my opinion, there is no real middle ground.  I was even on one extreme of the emotional scale as I was watching the election results and hoping that my candidate would win.  Elections are so heated that people take the loss or win personally.  It becomes less about an election and more about one side winning or losing.

These first three pictures are from the Romney election day camp in Boston.  It is clear that they are watching the results live and that it does not look good for Romney.  If you were to see these pictures and not know the context of when it was taken, you would probably assume that they were watching something really sad and horrible taking place.  It amazes me how almost every single person in this image has a similar look on their face.  I feel bad for them because you know the time and effort they have put in to supporting this campaign and they are watching their candidate lose before their eyes.  They are all of voting age and made the choice to vote for Romney and it would be very upsetting to be in that room, a room that was so filled with hope and happiness hours before, and that is now slowly watching their candidate lose.

What really sticks out to me in this photograph is the little boy.  He is not old enough to vote or understand what each side stands for and yet he is brought to tears over Romney's loss in the election.  Is he even old enough to understand what is going on?  Or is he upset because he has heard his parents talk about the election, heard it in school, and he knows his parents are upset about Romney's loss?  I remember being in elementary school when Clinton was reelected president.  I was raised in a super Republican home and my parents undoubtedly did not vote for Clinton, but I vividly remember taking part in my schools mock election and I voted for Clinton.  I am assuming it was because he was the President at the time and I knew his name and face from television ads and such, but it still strikes me that I "voted" for him in my school.  My parents did not support him, but I still voted for him because I didn't understand what was going on, I just knew his name so that was who I picked.  It just goes to show how impressionable children are at such a young age.  They may not understand what each side stands for and they may not even support the side that they were raised with when the are of age to vote, but the election still effects them.  To me, the child in this photograph is not being taught about elections or the importance of democracy and voting, but about the importance of winning versus losing a campaign.  He doesn't want to be on the losing team.

 This pictures is of Romney on election night when he gave his concession speech.  I think his speech was really well written and he spoke from the heart and was honorable in his loss.  He looks so tired in this picture, especially in contrast to the images of him from earlier in the day, when he was sure he was going to win.  He looks as if he has the weight of the world on his shoulders, which I am sure he does, especially as he looks out at the disappointed faces of the people who supported him and wanted him to win.  I always find concession speeches interesting because these men are supposed to be just that, they are supposed to be men.  They are not supposed to be weak and show emotion.  They are supposed to strong and honorable, but can you even imagine what they must be feeling at that point?! Standing up there, having to give a concession speech after just having lost the election for the position of President of the United States of America?!  It must be heart breaking.  I can't even imagine what a loss like that would feel like.

In contrast to the pictures above, you have ones like this that are of people who are excited about Obamas reelection.  This picture has been everywhere and I think it has become a picture that represents Obama supporters for many reasons.  The first is that it shows a black woman and a white woman with their arms around each other.  The color of their skin does not matter to them, they are united by their joy for Obama's reelection.  This picture symbolizes the hope for a race blind nation that we hope to continue to become under Obama's second term as president, the first black president.  A second reason why this picture is so representative of the Obama campaign is that it shows women.  Women, especially young women, were a huge demographic who voted for Obama in this election.  It speaks to all of the women who came before us, who fought for us to have the right to vote and the women all over the world who are still fighting for the right to vote.  It reaffirms Obama's original campaign slogans of Hope and Change.

This picture is also of Obama supporters from election night as the listened to Obama's speech in Chicago.  You can see the joy in their eyes as they listen to him talk about the hope and the direction that he wants our country to continue on.  This picture shows people of all different ethnicities and age groups, showing the hope that many people, no matter the color of their skin, their age, or their background, find in Obama and his campaign.  They are watching history be made right before their eyes and are so proud that they took part in it and that their candidate won.

This final picture is of Obama on stage in Chicago on election night.  I just have to point out his tie, which is blue, the color typically associated with Democrats.  I swear that I always notice the ties first when I am watching anything that has to do with campaigns.  You can just tell by the look on his face that he is so proud, honored, and happy to have been reelected.  He seems younger in this photo than he has in many. Hopefully his reelection will be good things to our nation.