Election+of+2008

With the crash of the stock market and widespread fear of losing jobs, homes, and money, the people of the United States were desperate for an economic change. And with the election of 2008, a huge change was made that will be marked as one of the most memorable historical events to ever take place. In 2007, Barack Obama, a senator from Illinois, announced that he would be running for president in the 2008 election versus Senator John McCain. This Democratic presidential nominee was the first African Americans to ever run and lead a major party ticket. Obama conveyed himself as an outsider willing to bring about change to the country, and due to his strong oratorical speaking skills, he gained the votes of a broad range of people. John McCain was a Republican who appealed to many women and white working-class voters. These two candidates had different views on a number of issues, including the war with Iraq. Obama supported drawing troops from Iraq while McCain was for keeping troops there. The collapse of the banking sector was one of the more prominent reasons why McCain’s campaign was not as successful as Obama’s, as Obama was perceived to have more efficient ideas on the domestic economy.  Obama successfully offered a message of optimism, promising to prevent American jobs from being shipped overseas, to provide a tax cut to 95% of the population, to create a national health-care plan, and to deliver a variety of other domestic programs that would improve peoples’ lives. This, essentially, led to Obama’s win of 53% of the vote to McCain's 46%, and he garnered 365 electoral votes to McCain's 173 on November 4, 2008. Not only did Obama become the 44th president of the United States, but he became the first African-American president. On January 20, 2009, Obama took his oath and was sworn into his position. He had a great deal of conflict ahead of him the next four years, but the country seemed confident in their new president. In 2004, Obama, at his address at the Democratic National Convention, said:  “Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation—not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,’”

and with the same proud, optimistic attitude, he took on his presidential career with millions of fans and supporters.