No one can deny that the election of 2008/2009 was historical; we had a woman close to winning for both parties and (now) we have an African American president. The election was marked with change, possibly the oldest president, two female candidates, or an African American president.

I feel the election was like playing the “which one is not like the others” game. I feel many people voted for Barack Obama because he’s an African American and not because of his politics. People were so stirred and excited for the new face they saw on television talking about becoming the next president of the United States, that they didn’t realize he wasn’t going to change much. I don’t think the ridiculous rumors created were really helping the situation either:

Various other rumors were being spread, the hopeful and the bad. There was a rumor spreading that the White House would be painted black (right because a federal building would ever be touched in that manner). There was one that he is actually a gangster and that he was ‘hood’. The other silly rumor was that he would end the war in Iraq (although he has said multiple times at debates and speeches that he wasn’t going to).

I also think his platform definitely helped him win the election. All the speak of hope made people hopeful, maybe even too hopeful. Because their hopes are so high, the people of the United States are expecting superhuman feats to come from him.

The yearn for something new and the fact that he’s an African American most likely allowed him to win the election over other candidates.