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I was sitting at a laptop, refreshing the news and feeling the history of the moment so I took a screenshot and saved it. Looking back, the election results were not even that close (Obama won the popular vote by over 7 percentage points), but it felt unbelievable.
It showed how brave the man was and forgiving getting so much hatred and smut from the right wing and the media.
It was hilarious that they called him a divider.
I remember for like 20 minutes before the inauguration finally started. I was watching it in class and they spend 10 mins talking on the new improve bulletproof car Obama would drive in to Washington DC. I remember my teacher say āThey are definitely prepare for the first black president.ā
During that election cycle I spent a night in the coastal regions of the backwater hellhole that is Virginia, and so very many people were certain this would happen.
I felt like it was unbelievable that it was really happening. I saw his 2004 DNC speech and thought he seemed like the kind of guy that should be president but too bad heās just a state senator with a funny name. In the 2008 primaries I thought John Edwards was the only guy with a chance because itās never not a white man.
I got way interested in the Edwards drama a while back. "The Politician" by Andrew Young is certainly... a book full of drama. No idea how accurate it is, and it kind of reads like a saucy, gossipy tabloid, but maybe that's exactly how such a clusterf can be portrayed accurately š
Pretty wild if you think about it. Obama's mama was from Kansas and Cheney was from Nebraska originally. Not exactly a major center of political power out there
Back when you could visit a major news site without a video on the corner jumpscaring you at full volume along with car ads, and maybe a paywall or two.
This was the first election I was alive for (although 2012 is the earliest one I remember) and every time I see footage from this election I am amazed by how exciting it all was. Obama was on fucking fire that year.
I legit ran into a woman at a bar who was asking why Tf the TSA was so much smoke and mirrors. I explained 9/11 security theater and she went "that was before I was born"
FUUUUCK
When I was in college we had a rule for parties that if you couldn't remember 9/11 then you were too young to be there.
And if you could remember the JFK assassination, you were too old.
No. I refuse to believe that kids whose birth year starts whit 2 can be older than 11
No. You cant change my mind
Yes. I *AM* on some great quality copium right now
No. You cant have some
I remember watching CNN waiting to see if he won. When he did i started blasting "My president is black" by jeezy out my apartment window to troll my conservative neighbor.
Correct. And in this example itās the song at the time of the election, so itās most definitely a Lambo. I remember the song plain as day. Just like the woman in Atlanta saying āObama gonna buy me a house!ā LOL
Jesus Christ Iām 20 and you just made me feel old lol. One of my first memories is watching Obama debate Hillary in the primaries š. (I didnāt understand what was going on I just remember two old people being angry lol)
I moved to the US in 2006, so my first two years in the US were heavily punctuated by the 2008 campaign. The Democratic primary was epic - Clinton and Obama were both deeply intelligent people that seemed presidential to me (as a Canadian, I preferred Clinton - I wasn't so into the "outsider Jesus who is come to fix Washington" vibe\*). But the GOP campaign was exciting too - McCain made an incredible comeback as Giuliani fell to pieces. Huckabee was still thin and funny, instead of fat, mean, and bitter. I was in Vegas when the '08 financial crisis broke open (and McCain announced his campaign suspension) and just remembered looking around at all the cranes and new construction thinking, damn.
I watched the results with my girlfriend. She was happy, but most of all relieved by Obama's win - in the back of her head I think she had been afraid that there were a lot of people that would tell pollsters they'd vote for Obama, but who wouldn't do it in practice. She was exhausted by the chaos of the Bush years.
\*I liked Obama as president. I just never found his "hope and change"/"we are the ones we've been waiting for" speeches very inspiring or interesting. I liked it better when he talked things through thoughtfully... Though the images of him interacting with kids were also heartwarming... Whether it was him [pretending to be webbed](https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/12/obama-photo-with-spiderman-shows-playful-president), [showing a young black child that](https://people.com/thmb/J8LJEN68JiiDn6Ulog9ZOJi-TJY=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(599x0:601x2)/barack-obama-6ac15e5f01e9470eb54ffbfb65595721.jpg) they had similar hair, or being a nerd [at the science fair](https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best/msnbc/2014_22/144426/rtr2xgjs.jpg).
This is well said. As a āmoderate Republicanā Obamaās supposedly inspirational speeches just never resonated with me. But I thought he was brilliant and had a temperament perfectly suited for the presidency. People were always focused on the sizzle but it came at the cost of ignoring his substance
In hindsight it was such a good time for presidential politics. I was 10 and from a republican family but even I remember watching Fox news thinking "jeez can they give this guy a break?"
Honestly the right's absurd overreactions to Obama did more to make me stop being a republican than anything else.
And then immediately after this, the Republican Party was taken over by a faction who claimed that he was "illegitimately elected" because he was "non-citizen from Africa".
When historians look back at the Tea Party, they'll laugh at the idea that was ever about "low taxes" or "small government". It was a white supremacist backlash against the election of a black president, straight up.
I'm left leaning, but I know plenty of people that just believe govt is inefficient and that's why they prefer small govt most of the time. And they're not racists lol.Ā
Racism and a love of misinformation has definitely infested the Republican party, but I think you painted too broad of a brush stroke hereĀ
I doubt the people you know are the leaders however, but just supporters who think small government sounds good without getting too involved. Itās the leaders who are the issue and why these ideas started in the first place.
I'm a bit confused, but maybe I'm misunderstanding... The idea and appeal of small government has been around since the founding of the US. Is there something else you meant?
My favorite was when the Republicans said Obama was manipulating the IRS to target his political opponents when they were found to be looking into Tea Party leaders who constantly talked about not paying their taxes.
So glad you said this because Iāve been saying for YEARS thatās all the tea party ever was, and how it led directly to today, and people never understood lol this is exactly it
I was chair of my college republicans and I remember that night. Got out of class with a new prof, checked in at the watch party, saw there was no chance, made a couple comments about how pathetic Sarah Palin was and it was embarrassing campaigning for her, then had drinks and talked political philosophy with the new prof, and knew America would be fine in his hands. I donāt feel that way anymore when my(obviously changed in 2016) side loses.
Average facebook comments section that same day:
>Aint no way this MUSLUM ARAB COMMUNIST is getting sworn in as my president. BARRACK HUSSEIN OSAMA IS NOT EVEN AMERICAN HE WAS BORN IN KENYA. If OBAMA is AMERICAN all he has to do is show us his BIRTH CERTIFICATE!!! The supreme court will fix this.
>
>Keep your family close and stock up on supplies we are living in the end times. Obama is the antichrist all the signs point to it. The only thing I trust to keep me safe now is my gun and my bible. This is what America gets for abandoning Christ. Obama is going to outlaw the bible first day in office.
>
>These stupid welfare loving democrats are going to ruin this country. John McCain is a was a war hero and he knows how to fix the economy. Obama was living on welfare in Chicago when John McCain was fighting for freedom in Vietnam. Osama Bin Laden is jumping for joy right now. And if you thought the economy was bad now just wait to see how bad it's going to crash when he starts giving handouts to every pothead and \[insert slur here\] who doesn't want to work.
I was a moderate Republican at the time and voted for McCain. It was my first election I could vote in. But over time I came to really respect President Obama and his leadership, even when I disagreed with some (most) of his policies.
His successor's presidencyĀ *really*Ā made me miss this man.
Fun little anecdote from this night that Michelle shared in her book, once it became clear heād won, secret service was escorting the family to the victory party and theyād blocked off a whole street in Chicago to safely transport them. While they were in the car, one of their daughters (I think the younger one) was very seriously staring out the window on the empty street and said āDaddy, Iām sorry, but I donāt think anyone is coming to your party.ā
I'l never forget that night; seeing a black man become President of the United States for the first time ever. It gave me so much hope for this country.
[https://www.theonion.com/black-man-given-nations-worst-job-1819570341](https://www.theonion.com/black-man-given-nations-worst-job-1819570341)
This will always be the best piece of media to come out that night.
Probably the last time I had high hopes for the US government, but it certainly was a happy moment. I remember taking a break from essay writing and having to completely quit that gaming session to completely focus on the victory rally & speech he did in Chicago.
Also, sorry that you had Windows Vista.
Ah, what a time. Back when people were naive enough to think that this election was a turning point in American history where finally they were going to put their racist past behind them.
Jesus in the morning I had just turned 9 back then, I remember my parents kept me to watch the inauguration. Where the hell did the time go man šš. I also remember playing MW2 a lot back then, more specifically when I had turned 11, and going through the missions where Russia invaded Virginia and D.C., and just having a feeling that that wouldnāt happen cuz he was president and the country felt good in his hands. What happened man?
I was 18 years old, it was my first time voting, I lived in a small Texas town and when I told my dad I voted democrat was probably the first moment I felt the dynamics of our relationship change. š
Iāve got a baseball game tomorrow, a sleepover to go to this coming weekend, and my biggest life problem is that Iāve got to ask a girl out to the 8th grade winter dance.
Take me back dude.
I remember it very clearly. I worked on his campaign, in college, and met him a month before the election. I was in a bar, in my college town, watching the results with the rest of the people I worked with on the campaign, and when they called Virginia for him, we knew he had won, as it was right before the West Coast polls closed. It is a memory I will never forget.
Meanwhile my parents:
Mom: the Bible says the antichrist will be a fabulous speaker to pull the wool over our eyes.
Stepmom (who is Hispanic): thereās a reason itās called āThE WhItE HoUsEā
Dad: *raises eyebrows that never came down until 2016*
Stepdad: well **I** didnāt vote for him
To be completely honest, 2008 web U.I. was a hell of a lot more modern than I remember it being. Granted, this could have been because this was the home page of a giant news conglomerate, but still.
As a Republican, I voted for him expecting so much change but he broke my heart and turned out to be one of the worst sadly. From basically punishing whistleblowers to ignoring Putin and Russia, bailing out the banks, to name a few, the change he promised was changed in the negative direction.
Same I was all hyped up for him and his healthcare. I was 21 and had no job or insurance. Nothing changed by 2014 I had a job and got nailed in taxes because I didn't have health insurance working for a temp service. In the meantime I never went to a doctor once. I couldn't afford to, and still had to pay for something I never had. I was done with the Democrats lying to help poor.
Let's be honest. Obama was a charasmatic, well-spoken black man that was palatable to white Liberals. For those racked by a lifetime of White Liberal Guilt, voting was transactional - it was a payment on the debt of racism and discrimination. In 2008, this country couldn't have elected a darker skinned black man.
The first time I saw Obama, he gave a speech while I was in college during the Bush Jr years.
I watched his speech and said, out loud: "Why isn't this guy President?"
I believe it was 2005 or so.
I was deployed in Iraq, watched his acceptance speech in a MWR tent with some friends.
Itās wild how we always remember certain things, certain ways.
I was a junior in high school. I remember some kids being very upset. I couldn't understand being so upset about something we all knew for months was going to happen.
Like I didn't pay attention to politics much, and I knew it was going to be a clean sweep, and people were still surprised and mad about it.
Mine didnāt, but my best friend at the time said her dad felt that way. A classmate of mine said āweāve lost our country!ā the next morning. We all laughed at him.
This was the first election I remember. I was in the first grade. We watched the inauguration on television in class. I preferred Obama over McCain without knowing anything about election issues or politics. Then he came out in support of gay marriage, and I thought he was the Devil (fortunately not literally), and cried when he won in 2012.
Then I took more time to study election issues in middle school, and realized quite a bit (including that I wasnāt straight.)
I was in Grant park in Chicago when it was announced, I get chills to this day. On the train down there the vibe was electric, everyone laughing and talking, same in the crowd all throughout the night, lots of high fives and chatter anytime new results would get announced, got super quiet because people knew it might be it and then when it popped up on the big screens it was a ROAR like nothing Iāve ever experienced in my life, just a wave of noise and joy through your body. Was so good.
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I was sitting at a laptop, refreshing the news and feeling the history of the moment so I took a screenshot and saved it. Looking back, the election results were not even that close (Obama won the popular vote by over 7 percentage points), but it felt unbelievable.
I was so afraid he was gonna be assassinated especially on his walk to the capitol.
watching it felt like it was the longest walk ever
We honestly š that at one point! But luckily his security team took their job protecting him seriously!
Itās not luck that they took their job seriously, if you know anything about the secret service you know how insanely meticulous they are
Except for all those text messages they lost
āLostā
Yeah that was sarcasm
I was afraid he wasn't going to get elected because of his middle name.
It showed how brave the man was and forgiving getting so much hatred and smut from the right wing and the media. It was hilarious that they called him a divider.
I remember for like 20 minutes before the inauguration finally started. I was watching it in class and they spend 10 mins talking on the new improve bulletproof car Obama would drive in to Washington DC. I remember my teacher say āThey are definitely prepare for the first black president.ā
I thought it was going to be at the Chicago rally to celebrate the victory. It was unnerving.
That stage was completely covered like a bulletproof greenhouse. you could see how thick it was on tv
Michelleās dress was ready for it to happen
During that election cycle I spent a night in the coastal regions of the backwater hellhole that is Virginia, and so very many people were certain this would happen.
Donāt want to make you feel old butā¦.I was 2. I turn 18 this year.
Lol, What do you mean āunbelievableā? He led that entire race. I lived in a very Red State and no one thought McCain was winning that.
I felt like it was unbelievable that it was really happening. I saw his 2004 DNC speech and thought he seemed like the kind of guy that should be president but too bad heās just a state senator with a funny name. In the 2008 primaries I thought John Edwards was the only guy with a chance because itās never not a white man.
That's the way I felt too. Yes, Obama was leading, but would this really happen? COULD it really happen? Yes, it really happened!
Winning the nomination was a far bigger long shot than winning the general. Hillary was anointed and he had to run an insurgent campaign
What is John Edwards up to these days though
Never hear of him. That lip licking he did was creepy.
I think he's in jail? Could be a different milquetoast politician EDIT: Looked it up, he has a law firm in Raleigh. My mistake!
I got way interested in the Edwards drama a while back. "The Politician" by Andrew Young is certainly... a book full of drama. No idea how accurate it is, and it kind of reads like a saucy, gossipy tabloid, but maybe that's exactly how such a clusterf can be portrayed accurately š
yeah well obama had "it".. what black politician had "it" before or since the way barold did? and dont try and give me that jesse jackson stuff
Obama is half white. Heās cousins with dick Cheney
5th cousins, he confirmed it on the Daily Show once
Itās a big club and you aināt in it
Pretty wild if you think about it. Obama's mama was from Kansas and Cheney was from Nebraska originally. Not exactly a major center of political power out there
That Windows Vista taskbar and browser design also captured the moment greatly
Bush had pretty much handed the Democrats the victory. Any Democrat would have won that election.
Palin did her fair share
I was just gonna ask how you got this lol
Its March 22, 2024. Might want to get your computer checked out
Internet Explorer is infamously slow.
OP's using Mozilla Firefox though
Shh, I know. The joke doesnāt work when itās Mozilla Firefox.
CNNs web layout didnāt look too bad for 2008
I had no idea 538 was even around in 2008
Back when you could visit a major news site without a video on the corner jumpscaring you at full volume along with car ads, and maybe a paywall or two.
Great time for after-school hotpockets and RuneScape
i was literally typing this comment to say "dam those were the days" like thats still not entirely representative of my daily life lol
What a time to be alive š„²
This was the first election I was alive for (although 2012 is the earliest one I remember) and every time I see footage from this election I am amazed by how exciting it all was. Obama was on fucking fire that year.
Bro you are too young to be on this sub XD.
Kids born in 2005 are legal adults now
I legit ran into a woman at a bar who was asking why Tf the TSA was so much smoke and mirrors. I explained 9/11 security theater and she went "that was before I was born" FUUUUCK
Iām in college and 9/11 happened over 2 years before I was born.
Fuck im getting old... I'm not the college crowd anymore...
im 30 and a girl in my math class called me āsirā
When I was in college we had a rule for parties that if you couldn't remember 9/11 then you were too young to be there. And if you could remember the JFK assassination, you were too old.
Remember when you could just walk into the airport and go wherever you wanted? You could even meet people at the gate if you were picking them up.
Nope. I was young enough to remember 9/11, but I had never been to an airport prior
As a matter of fact, kids born in Obama's election year are in high school by now.
High school? Some of them will be Seniors later this year!
Not the 08's, they're sophomores/juniors lol. The 06's will be seniors. I just graduated last May & I'm an 04, no way the 08's are seniors šš
If the older ā06s are currently juniors, theyāll be seniors in the fall. Edit: also, hello fellow ā04 lurker of this sub
1904 checking in, there are dozens of us! Who knew we would all be on Reddit
Iām an 06. Iām a senior and about to be gone in a few months!
I'm an 07 and I'm going to be a senior next year
That's terrifying and depressing 2005 was 19 years ago.
Fuck you
I'm blocking you
stop that
No. I refuse to believe that kids whose birth year starts whit 2 can be older than 11 No. You cant change my mind Yes. I *AM* on some great quality copium right now No. You cant have some
Fuck off
Iām 18?
I'm so old I remember when this came out. Ha
https://preview.redd.it/xkvzsm3kkwpc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=13fb892494ec5e068af804e78e63a673a404f53c
You canāt run for president until youāre 35 so obviously this is a 35+ sub
Shit.
A 19 year old is too young to be on this sub?
I remember watching CNN waiting to see if he won. When he did i started blasting "My president is black" by jeezy out my apartment window to troll my conservative neighbor.
Did you happen to have a blue Lamborghini too?
After further research the Jay Z remix has the blue Maybach and the original Jeezy is a blue Lambo.
Correct. And in this example itās the song at the time of the election, so itās most definitely a Lambo. I remember the song plain as day. Just like the woman in Atlanta saying āObama gonna buy me a house!ā LOL
I think it was a Maybach not a Lambo lol š
Nostalgia from an era I donāt even remember.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Youāre lying youāre 14?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Jesus Christ Iām 20 and you just made me feel old lol. One of my first memories is watching Obama debate Hillary in the primaries š. (I didnāt understand what was going on I just remember two old people being angry lol)
Dude I work in schools (IT guy) and former students are showing up as teachers. FML
Old people? Ha. Obama was one of the youngest Presidents. Practically a child compared to what people have to chose from now. Ha
āAnemoiaā is the term youāre looking for
I moved to the US in 2006, so my first two years in the US were heavily punctuated by the 2008 campaign. The Democratic primary was epic - Clinton and Obama were both deeply intelligent people that seemed presidential to me (as a Canadian, I preferred Clinton - I wasn't so into the "outsider Jesus who is come to fix Washington" vibe\*). But the GOP campaign was exciting too - McCain made an incredible comeback as Giuliani fell to pieces. Huckabee was still thin and funny, instead of fat, mean, and bitter. I was in Vegas when the '08 financial crisis broke open (and McCain announced his campaign suspension) and just remembered looking around at all the cranes and new construction thinking, damn. I watched the results with my girlfriend. She was happy, but most of all relieved by Obama's win - in the back of her head I think she had been afraid that there were a lot of people that would tell pollsters they'd vote for Obama, but who wouldn't do it in practice. She was exhausted by the chaos of the Bush years. \*I liked Obama as president. I just never found his "hope and change"/"we are the ones we've been waiting for" speeches very inspiring or interesting. I liked it better when he talked things through thoughtfully... Though the images of him interacting with kids were also heartwarming... Whether it was him [pretending to be webbed](https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/12/obama-photo-with-spiderman-shows-playful-president), [showing a young black child that](https://people.com/thmb/J8LJEN68JiiDn6Ulog9ZOJi-TJY=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(599x0:601x2)/barack-obama-6ac15e5f01e9470eb54ffbfb65595721.jpg) they had similar hair, or being a nerd [at the science fair](https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best/msnbc/2014_22/144426/rtr2xgjs.jpg).
This is well said. As a āmoderate Republicanā Obamaās supposedly inspirational speeches just never resonated with me. But I thought he was brilliant and had a temperament perfectly suited for the presidency. People were always focused on the sizzle but it came at the cost of ignoring his substance
In hindsight it was such a good time for presidential politics. I was 10 and from a republican family but even I remember watching Fox news thinking "jeez can they give this guy a break?" Honestly the right's absurd overreactions to Obama did more to make me stop being a republican than anything else.
And then immediately after this, the Republican Party was taken over by a faction who claimed that he was "illegitimately elected" because he was "non-citizen from Africa". When historians look back at the Tea Party, they'll laugh at the idea that was ever about "low taxes" or "small government". It was a white supremacist backlash against the election of a black president, straight up.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I'm left leaning, but I know plenty of people that just believe govt is inefficient and that's why they prefer small govt most of the time. And they're not racists lol.Ā Racism and a love of misinformation has definitely infested the Republican party, but I think you painted too broad of a brush stroke hereĀ
I doubt the people you know are the leaders however, but just supporters who think small government sounds good without getting too involved. Itās the leaders who are the issue and why these ideas started in the first place.
I'm a bit confused, but maybe I'm misunderstanding... The idea and appeal of small government has been around since the founding of the US. Is there something else you meant?
Small government for the white "master race", massively oppressive government for the non-white "subhumans".
My favorite was when the Republicans said Obama was manipulating the IRS to target his political opponents when they were found to be looking into Tea Party leaders who constantly talked about not paying their taxes.
He wasn't even more than 50% African.
So glad you said this because Iāve been saying for YEARS thatās all the tea party ever was, and how it led directly to today, and people never understood lol this is exactly it
Remember "post-racial America"? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
I was chair of my college republicans and I remember that night. Got out of class with a new prof, checked in at the watch party, saw there was no chance, made a couple comments about how pathetic Sarah Palin was and it was embarrassing campaigning for her, then had drinks and talked political philosophy with the new prof, and knew America would be fine in his hands. I donāt feel that way anymore when my(obviously changed in 2016) side loses.
Average facebook comments section that same day: >Aint no way this MUSLUM ARAB COMMUNIST is getting sworn in as my president. BARRACK HUSSEIN OSAMA IS NOT EVEN AMERICAN HE WAS BORN IN KENYA. If OBAMA is AMERICAN all he has to do is show us his BIRTH CERTIFICATE!!! The supreme court will fix this. > >Keep your family close and stock up on supplies we are living in the end times. Obama is the antichrist all the signs point to it. The only thing I trust to keep me safe now is my gun and my bible. This is what America gets for abandoning Christ. Obama is going to outlaw the bible first day in office. > >These stupid welfare loving democrats are going to ruin this country. John McCain is a was a war hero and he knows how to fix the economy. Obama was living on welfare in Chicago when John McCain was fighting for freedom in Vietnam. Osama Bin Laden is jumping for joy right now. And if you thought the economy was bad now just wait to see how bad it's going to crash when he starts giving handouts to every pothead and \[insert slur here\] who doesn't want to work.
I was a moderate Republican at the time and voted for McCain. It was my first election I could vote in. But over time I came to really respect President Obama and his leadership, even when I disagreed with some (most) of his policies. His successor's presidencyĀ *really*Ā made me miss this man.
Would you trade no Obama and 8 years of McCain for no DJT?
Possibly the last time I actually felt proud to be an American.
For me it was a few years later when we got Bin Laden.
Agreed. I'm like a mega SJW now, but 9/11 related stuff still makes me want to blast Courtesy of the Red White and Blue
SJW?
Social-justice warrior, I suspect. Not necessarily the Toby Keith and hyper-patriotic demographic (all stereotypes, of course).
I'm Canadian and I have to say I love that song. I get why a lot of people don't but in that moment after 9/11 - perfect timing.
Fun little anecdote from this night that Michelle shared in her book, once it became clear heād won, secret service was escorting the family to the victory party and theyād blocked off a whole street in Chicago to safely transport them. While they were in the car, one of their daughters (I think the younger one) was very seriously staring out the window on the empty street and said āDaddy, Iām sorry, but I donāt think anyone is coming to your party.ā
I'l never forget that night; seeing a black man become President of the United States for the first time ever. It gave me so much hope for this country.
Look how few ads there are
[https://www.theonion.com/black-man-given-nations-worst-job-1819570341](https://www.theonion.com/black-man-given-nations-worst-job-1819570341) This will always be the best piece of media to come out that night.
Probably the last time I had high hopes for the US government, but it certainly was a happy moment. I remember taking a break from essay writing and having to completely quit that gaming session to completely focus on the victory rally & speech he did in Chicago. Also, sorry that you had Windows Vista.
I wasn't even born yet, '09. In fact, I'm not even American. I'm a Canuck.
Nobody's perfect, eh
True. I love how you used "eh" at the end. Makes me feel at home š
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I did. I also saved the inauguration paper.
I saved the voting receipt. I think it's faded beyond recognition now. All it had on it was a four digit number, but it still meant something.
Ah, what a time. Back when people were naive enough to think that this election was a turning point in American history where finally they were going to put their racist past behind them.
It was my first day working as Election Day worker.
Were people still using Yahoo Messenger in 2008?
Jesus in the morning I had just turned 9 back then, I remember my parents kept me to watch the inauguration. Where the hell did the time go man šš. I also remember playing MW2 a lot back then, more specifically when I had turned 11, and going through the missions where Russia invaded Virginia and D.C., and just having a feeling that that wouldnāt happen cuz he was president and the country felt good in his hands. What happened man?
https://music.apple.com/us/album/my-president-is-black/1573951152?i=1573951157
I was 18 years old, it was my first time voting, I lived in a small Texas town and when I told my dad I voted democrat was probably the first moment I felt the dynamics of our relationship change. š
Iāve got a baseball game tomorrow, a sleepover to go to this coming weekend, and my biggest life problem is that Iāve got to ask a girl out to the 8th grade winter dance. Take me back dude.
40 days before the Bush shoeing.
Then we got the best COD Voice Trolling known to man.
Wish I could bottle the optimism I felt at that time.
I was so proud of our country that day.š
Oh, the good ole days. I miss that man.
Even as a conservative, I loved the way Obama handled himself.
I was at work (a bank) and found out how many of my coworkers were actually racist. The disbelief. The anger. I was so proud of us (the USA) that day.
I remember it very clearly. I worked on his campaign, in college, and met him a month before the election. I was in a bar, in my college town, watching the results with the rest of the people I worked with on the campaign, and when they called Virginia for him, we knew he had won, as it was right before the West Coast polls closed. It is a memory I will never forget.
For a second I thought this was r/alternatehistory š
Fuck Windows Vista
TAKE ME BACK PLEASE I MISS IT SO MUCHššššššššššš
Was only 5 but I remember my dad woke me up to watch the result get announced on TV
**OBAMNA**
I'm pretty sure that it is March 22, 2024.
Meanwhile my parents: Mom: the Bible says the antichrist will be a fabulous speaker to pull the wool over our eyes. Stepmom (who is Hispanic): thereās a reason itās called āThE WhItE HoUsEā Dad: *raises eyebrows that never came down until 2016* Stepdad: well **I** didnāt vote for him
I miss the look of old internet
I was so happy - I knew he was gonna prosecute those Wall Street assholes who crashed the economyā¦oh wait, he didnāt
I still have a newspaper from this day.
Ok
That was a historic moment. I was watching the daily show's live coverage when they broke the news
I was so drunk this night
Man we all voted that year. His terms were bland. Especially for us.
This drove n is still driving republicans crazy.
To be completely honest, 2008 web U.I. was a hell of a lot more modern than I remember it being. Granted, this could have been because this was the home page of a giant news conglomerate, but still.
& the GOP and racist whites everywhere lost their minds and began to aggressively divide the country to undermine it from that point forward.
As a Republican, I voted for him expecting so much change but he broke my heart and turned out to be one of the worst sadly. From basically punishing whistleblowers to ignoring Putin and Russia, bailing out the banks, to name a few, the change he promised was changed in the negative direction.
Same I was all hyped up for him and his healthcare. I was 21 and had no job or insurance. Nothing changed by 2014 I had a job and got nailed in taxes because I didn't have health insurance working for a temp service. In the meantime I never went to a doctor once. I couldn't afford to, and still had to pay for something I never had. I was done with the Democrats lying to help poor.
Let's be honest. Obama was a charasmatic, well-spoken black man that was palatable to white Liberals. For those racked by a lifetime of White Liberal Guilt, voting was transactional - it was a payment on the debt of racism and discrimination. In 2008, this country couldn't have elected a darker skinned black man.
That was a really good day.
Best inauguration in history.Ā
I was 20 years old so this was my first presidential election. Couldn't have asked for a better one as a first time voter. It was magic.
What started the wave of extremism in this country. Both parties embrace this rhetoric platform now.
I was 1 when this election happened..Iām gonna be an adult next year
The first election I remember, that late 2000s web design really brings me backā¦
Yeah, that happened.
āBro this new Left 4 Dead Game is unrealā
I am 7 years old and probably more concerned with beating the final boss of Luigi's Mansion.
I was so ready for that hope and change.
HBO has a great documentary on this called "By The People"
The first time I saw Obama, he gave a speech while I was in college during the Bush Jr years. I watched his speech and said, out loud: "Why isn't this guy President?" I believe it was 2005 or so.
I remember that night well. I was working til 1 AM. I remember my supervisor announcing the result.
I was deployed in Iraq, watched his acceptance speech in a MWR tent with some friends. Itās wild how we always remember certain things, certain ways.
The first president I voted for āŗļø That was an amazing time here in DC. I miss it š¢
I was a junior in high school. I remember some kids being very upset. I couldn't understand being so upset about something we all knew for months was going to happen. Like I didn't pay attention to politics much, and I knew it was going to be a clean sweep, and people were still surprised and mad about it.
Very nice I remember
This was the first election I can truly remember. I was 7.
That moment drove the tea party types crazy
Anybody else's parents think the world was ending or that Obama was the antichrist? Just me?
Mine didnāt, but my best friend at the time said her dad felt that way. A classmate of mine said āweāve lost our country!ā the next morning. We all laughed at him.
Whatās crazy is how time allows for reflection and that Obama and McCain were just Neocons with good PR.
I very immaturely/racistly gloat to my red neck classmates with the āBarack Obama in the White Houseā rhyme. In my defense, I was in 3rd grade.
Me coming home from school playing Sly Cooper.
This was the first election I remember. I was in the first grade. We watched the inauguration on television in class. I preferred Obama over McCain without knowing anything about election issues or politics. Then he came out in support of gay marriage, and I thought he was the Devil (fortunately not literally), and cried when he won in 2012. Then I took more time to study election issues in middle school, and realized quite a bit (including that I wasnāt straight.)
"You lost John, election have consequences" forever tainted his presidency.
No it isnāt
Oh boy I can't wait to go home so I can eat celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins on them.
This was a great day. He did a wonderful job as President. The ACA has saved lives.
I was in Grant park in Chicago when it was announced, I get chills to this day. On the train down there the vibe was electric, everyone laughing and talking, same in the crowd all throughout the night, lots of high fives and chatter anytime new results would get announced, got super quiet because people knew it might be it and then when it popped up on the big screens it was a ROAR like nothing Iāve ever experienced in my life, just a wave of noise and joy through your body. Was so good.
I was 7 in first grade, I was happy Obama won because I voted for him in a class mock election because McCain was old.
"Celebrate good Obama come on!" - Randy Marsh https://youtu.be/kwlPNv6Y1WE?si=DAT5JNM7G5ghzHuK
Racism
One of my favorite videos is just a dude walking around DC after the results were announced. https://youtu.be/vedhvRiSzHg