Again, Tuesday night, we were reminded of one of the enduring aspects of the American democratic process. The current president will transfer power to the president elect that is of a different political party. Since the election of 1800, in which the first peaceful transfer of power from one party to the next occurred, the American presidency has changed from party to party based on the vote of the people. This is a testament to the democratic process in America. Even in a campaign that was marked by polarized views and an election where 46% of voters voted against the president elect, a nonviolent transfer of power should occur.
Perhaps a new and monumental aspect of the American democracy occurred with the 2008 elections as well. For the first time in United States history, an African American male was elected to the office of the presidency. The American democratic process achieved another accomplishment as a minority will hold the highest elected office for the next four years.
As part of this American democracy, there are two deciding factors to determine the president elect: popular vote and the electoral vote. The United States prides itself on being a democracy that is "for the people, by the people." When the system was first instituted in 1787, the founding fathers planned to give most of the electoral power to a group of individuals whom they "trusted" to make the right decisions for the country. In theory, this was a good idea because they were able to help balance out the uninformed voters from the ones who truly deserved to vote. In this day and age, the amount of information available is overwhelming and citizens are able to find out anything they want about a candidate, good or bad. So then, does that mean that our democratic republic needs a wake up call?
In this recent election the popular votes were extremely close. The two candidates had been, just barely, either above or below the 50% mark. This close race was not as close as it seems. Obama took a landslide victory in the electoral votes. Even though the popular race was close, McCain really had no chance when the votes that mattered were counted. There have been past elections when the wishes of the people are ignored through this process. In the George W. Bush vs. Al Gore election in 2000, Gore won the popular vote, but Bush became the president through the Electoral College. This shows that maybe the people really know what they are talking about and are able to choose a good president without the help of a "higher educated" group of individuals.
America has chosen who it wants to be the president, but will the Electoral College honor these wishes? America is ready for a change and here is the election to do it.
As the election finished up late last night many were joyful for the newly elected President. The Unites States of America shaped history. The first African American man was elected to lead our country. A transfer of power from one political party to the next will now take place, just as it has many times before. Although some voters and politicians have become polarized on many issues surrounding the election, but now the election is over. Now, as citizens, we are called to join together, no matter which end of the political spectrum and support our president, and continue to shape our history.
