Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States

The night of November 4th, 2008 saw a momentous occasion in United States history. Barack Obama was elected President of the United States with a staggering electoral count of 349 to John McCain's 162. Once the news broke there was celebration at all of the Obama camps around the country including the now infamous shot of the Reverend Jesse Jackson with tears rolling down his face as the news sunk in not only with him but with the rest of the country about how far our country has come. While race wasn't and shouldn't have been a platform for Obama's campaign, the fact remains this is a country where only 41 years ago interracial marriage was still considered illegal, to now have a biracial (and yes he is biracial) man be our President is nothing short of amazing. Whether or not one voted for him, one has to admire the implications this has on our history as a country. But now is the hard part; we as a country have to progress and not regress with Obama as our President. We have to show that we as a nation believe what is say sin our Constitution; that all men are created equal.

Undoubtedly there is disappointment from Republicans not because Obama is a biracial man but because he is incredibly liberal in his views. However on the other side of that coin is the idea that people don't want to have their leader be a Black man (since in some parts of the South the idea of "one drop equals whole" still holds true). And the sad part is now Obama has to be even more wary than the any other President about assassination attempts. So with this step forward in our country's way of thinking is also bittersweet because one has to wonder what will the world think of us as a country is the first Black President we elected gets assassinated because someone can't look pass the skin color? It will essentially be a step forward with four steps back if that happens because it will show that for all the bluster of the way a lot of Americans talk there are some of us that haven't been progressive in their thinking, that still believe in segregation and while it is true that not everyone thinks like that if that were to happen it won't matter. We as a country will be thought of in a negative light because of the action of one (or even a group) of backwards thinking Americans.

An election year is always bittersweet no matter what. Obama supporters are happy while McCain's feel that our country is now definitely going to hell in a hand basket and honestly if it had gone the other way those thought processes would be reversed. But whether the case McCain had it right in his concession speech. No matter the road you took to wards that day now we as a country have to come together and support our new leader. If you're going to fight him every step of the way it's going to be a long and disappointing four years for you whereas if you bite the bullet it will be a lot easier for you to get through until the next election. Now is the time to show that we are the most united as a country and get along even though we obviously there is a difference in thinking around the entire country. As stated before whatever the case, this is a good day for our country because it shows that people are progressing in their ways of thinking and that hopefully we will be a country where there is no emphasis on race that we will be like other countries where we won't have to check a box for our race and where we will be colorblind and race and/or ethnicity will always be an afterthought rather than a forethought.