Post-Election Day Hurdles for Obama

By Nicole Simmons

Election Day—the Mecca for any campaign worker. As I stood in the Quarter in downtown Harrisburg, in a mass of Obama supporters counting down the seconds until the West Coast polls closed, I realized that this was it. After 16 months of working on this election cycle, it was amazing to know that Obama was going to be the next President of the United States.

As the West Coast states flashed up blue and the electoral votes were awarded, everyone started to cheer. I looked over and saw a woman crying her eyes out in rapture over this historical moment. Fellow supporters embraced her as she covered her face with her hands in disbelief. My heart went out to her.

As I watched the concession speech of Senator John McCain, he became a sympathetic character to me. I can only imagine that there was some person in the McCain campaign just like me, who had dedicated long hours, many months, and countless stressful moments just to see his or her candidate lose. I know I would’ve been devastated, and like them, I’m sure I would have hard feelings toward my opponents too; at least for a little while. And for those people, my heart goes out to them as well.

No doubt after such a trying campaign there will be divisions and this, quite possibly, will be our biggest hurdle over the next few months.

These divisions were even seen immediately after the election results showed Obama’s win. As I logged on to Facebook before bed, I read my friends’ statuses that said something like “I’m moving to Europe,” and “Welcome to socialist America.” There’s no question that it’s going to take a long time for the wounds that have been inflicted to heal.

However, I do find hope (as this word has been tossed around plenty of times in this election cycle). Some McCain supporters have stated that they will give the Obama presidency a chance. Others have responded to the creed of unity that McCain, himself, propagated during his final speech by accepting their loss and returning to life as usual. No harm, no foul, as they say.

My viewpoint here is that for how long this election cycle has dragged on and for how much both candidates have stirred up ill emotions amongst us, wouldn’t it behoove us to start letting it go?

We have a president-elect. For how much people complain, the results aren’t going to change. So, why not be thankful for what we have? Our democratic system is still in-tact and our values and our dreams have not changed. Why not keep aspiring to them?

Every election is ugly. It has become a fact of American life. Now, however, the election is over. It’s time to move on and think positively for the future.