Goosebumps

You will know by now that Barack Obama has been elected president of the United States. Naturally, I'm thrilled, relieved and, having just watched his acceptance speech to more than a million people standing in a freezing square in Chicago, even a little touched. It feels, like everything here, at least for the moment, just like a movie. Oh look, there's the gifted, young, and black president of the united states (played by Denzel Washington) hugging his young family and strolling into the white-house, high-fiving everyone as he goes.

I finally moved to Santa Cruz on Sunday, after spending the past 2 weeks with my sister in San Francisco, and commuting down when necessary. I am living in what my housemate termed as 'probably the most liberal town in the U.S'. The mood here couldn't be more pro-democrat, pro-Obama. People at work and home have talked of nothing else. It really has been an amazing experience to be here as a ridiculous 21-month long election campaign finally came to an end. Whatever you may say about the american political system - and i'm guessing a lot of that would be negative and i'd say you're quite right - at least it capable of turning itself on its head, which is exactly what has happened tonight. Obama didnt just win - he nailed it, and good on him. Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way and if Barack had lost it really would have ended a remarkable run of luck i've had of late ...

Having only been here 2 days naturally I dont know many people yet. Walking home from work, I thought it'd be a shame to miss out on the action - it wouldnt be the same watching tv on my laptop in my room. So i decided to pop into the local community centre. It wasnt the most glamourous location, it must be said, but there was a good crowd of about 40-50 people, a mix of ages and all very-much pro-democrat. A few I spoke to were gay, and had mixed feelings about the night - of course they were pleased obama won, but disappointed that the state of california voted to revoke the right for same-sex marriages. There was even a fellow Brit there - top bloke, and didnt sound at all like he'd been living here for 44 years, so there's hope for me yet!





The crowd were liberal and intelligent. The sense of relief was heavy, the tears and hugs flowing. There was very little flag-waving, no national anthem singing, no over-patriotic rubbish, and little hyperbole. There was food and drink laid on for everyone. The crowd politely clapped at McCain's oven speech, and danced/laughed/wept at Obama's. After the speeches everyone went home. I couldnt think of a better place to spend election night '08.