The vote was rocked
Posted: Wednesday, November 05, 2008 2:10 AM by Sam Go
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Luke Russert
From NBC's Luke Russert
The two-year journey has come to an end and many young people feel that for the first time in their lives, they're represented by a leader who is one of their own. It's probably not an overstatement to say that the hopes, dreams and aspirations of millions of young people now lie on the shoulders of this 47-year-old senator from Illinois.
My guess is that the first six months of his presidency will be closely watched. Quite frankly, President-elect Obama must deliver or risk alienating the young voters who ultimately propelled him to office by running up big margins in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio and Florida. It has been an historic night.
Now the challenge has begun: an economy in peril, two wars and a broken health care system. It's a challenging agenda -- one that no one would willingly want to inherit. Yet, President-elect Obama will wake up tomorrow morning with those challenges ahead. I think I speak for all Americans in wishing him good luck.
At Indiana University, I spoke to two young African-American female students immediately after Obama's victory. Both said they never thought this day would come in their lifetime. But they reminded me that this wasn't about race, but about the American people who -- in their eyes and the eyes of the world -- have changed for the better. I spoke to many young Obama workers who had sacrificed hours of their time for their movement and their belief in country seems to have been validated tonight.
Video: Luke Russert discusses how important the youth vote was to Sen. Barack Obama's win.
At 11 p.m., when President-elect Obama was declared the winner, jubilant shouts echoed across the grounds of Indiana University. Our cameraman Greg said that it was as if the Hoosiers had won another national title in basketball. And that my friends, is LOUD! Different emotions filled the room -- tears, relief, and sadness amongst McCain supporters. I had a die-hard Democrat come up to me and say that John McCain gave the classiest speech he's ever heard. And without a doubt, Sen. McCain paid a great homage to Obama and effectively demonstrated that he understood the enormity of what had just occurred. Many I spoke to said it would be wise for President-elect Obama to reach out to Sen. McCain in the coming months.
So here we are, two years later after this all began, and the journey is complete. But as is the tradition in politics -- a new one begins tomorrow. What will the next four years bring? We don't know but millions across this country are going to bed tonight quite happy.
