A Desperate Vote in Desperate Times

In the end, the 2008 presidential election was never really about race or age or gender. And never — despite both campaigns’ efforts to prove otherwise — was it about experience.

This election was about one thing: change. Our country needed a desperate change of direction — so the crux of the campaign, the key to this election, was who would bring about the most radical change and who would benefit the most from that change. Clearly, most Americans felt that Barack Obama provided the potential for the change they desperately sought.

After eight turbulent years under President Bush, citizens everywhere are yearning for new leadership. Our citizens watched their portfolios get ripped to shreds and retirements dwindle away and endured the sight of our brave soldiers fighting and dying for strangers in a foreign land. They witnessed firsthand oil becoming an idol and jobs becoming a rarity. They watched helplessly as their healthcare disappeared and our children's schools disengaged.

The achievements and successes of yesterday have long been forgotten because, well, there are just too many obstacles, problems and dilemmas in front of us today. Everyday Americans refused to sit idly by and accept and support the status quo. And that's why Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) fell short and Obama thrived. Neither Obama's race nor McCain's age nor Sarah Palin's gender had an ounce of effect on the final verdict.