Written by Kevin Dunne.
Throughout the Election Day (November 6th), hopes were simultaneously dashed and raised. Hipsters were downtrodden to learn that The Civil Wars broke up, Facebook and Twitter exploded as masses of people spewed their thoughts and opinions about the election, Bob Dylan’s cries of “don’t follow leaders, watch the parkin’ meters” rang out, people made “Vote for Pedro” jokes in attempts at humor, avid jazz fans celebrated National Saxophone Day, marijuana was legalized in Colorado and Washington, and somewhere out there, Ron Paul supporters were holding onto some deluded dreams of grandeur. More importantly, votes were counted and a president was elected…or, rather, re-elected.
Defeating challenger Mitt Romney, President Obama won the electoral vote 303 to 206 (as of 1:00 AM) and narrowly winning the popular vote (also as of 1:00 AM). The Presidency aside, this year’s election was certainly one of major historic magnitude. Tammy Baldwin (WI) is to become the first openly gay person elected to the Senate, Tammy Duckworth (IL) is to become the first female veteran with a disability elected to the House, and Mazie Hirono (HI) is to become the first Asian-American woman in the Senate. On top of that, Maine and Maryland voted for marriage equality, making this election important in several ways.
Disappointment aside for those whose candidate lost (sorry Garry Johnson and Roseanne Barr supporters), the following weeks will be about building unity and support, no matter who you side wtih, as Obama hinted at several times in his acceptance speech.
Now that the election season is finally over, we can all return to our lives and get stirred up and rowdy when the Winter Olympics happens or The Hobbit premiers.
