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Published: November 5th 2008
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The Group
Kate, Brian, Natalie and me pre-victory. So the election was last night (this morning for me). I went to a party hosted by a group called “Meet Up” that organizes events for Americans all around the world. I didn’t get back until 6:30am and I’m running on 4 hours of sleep and one latte so forgive the typos.
The party was pretty amazing. We lucked out and found a spot right in front of the projector screen. And then we stood for 9 hours watching the coverage and laughing at the British news anchors. The BBC did a nice job with the exception of a few correspondences that either made themselves look stupid or managed to find the most unintelligent Americans to interview which made us look stupid. But the BBC also did a poor job of being nonbiased. There were so many times when they would introduce the candidates as “the first black president” or “the OLDEST elected president in American history.” Joe Biden (I like to call him Joey B) was hardly mentioned but the BBC did not let Sarah Palin off the hook.
There were definitely well over 100 people in the room I was in and I could tell that the
Party People Everywhere
Here's what just a small corner of the room looked like. other room was packed too. I think the only Republicans were the two drunk guys with cowboy hats. There was a 10 second countdown every time the polls were about to close and results were going to be given. It felt like New Years!
A few workers from BBC were at the party to film and interview Americans about their thoughts on the election. A reporter got on stage and asked for 5 people from different parts of the country to come over to his area to be interviewed. I thought that being from the Heart of American definitely qualified me but then he said that he needed very articulate individuals and I do not fit into that category! Brian and Natalie actually got interviewed for a BBC radio show though.
When Barack Obama was announced as the next President of the United States, everyone went crazy! People were shouting and hugging and crying and dancing…it was great to watch! I’m going to try and attach a video I took when Obama passed the 270 mark so hopefully it works. I know that this election was one of those “I remember where I was when this happened” kind
of moments. I can tell my children and grandchildren that I celebrated one of American’s most historical moments in London, England and that I had never felt so proud to be an American!
It’s weird to write my first “politically focused” blog. But I thought John McCain gave a very noble concession speech. He was gracious and remained very dignified. Obama’s victory speech brought nearly everyone to tears. When he addressed the rest of the world and said that “a new dawn of American leadership is at hand,” I can’t describe how every American in the room felt. It was a mix of pride and joy and a “we’ll show you what we can do” attitude. I get excited just thinking about it again!
Obviously the UK newspapers are all over this election. In today’s papers, Obama is literally on 90% on the pages. The headline for The Times was “The New World” with other articles titled “Obama Fulfills the Dream” and “From Slavery to Pinnacle of Power.” To go into serious detail, The Times website has a blurb titled “Obama - What Puppy Should He Buy?” And then it goes into detail by interviewing a spokeswoman from
The Map
This news anchor had this incredible touch-screen electronic moving map that kept me entertained half the night. “The Kennel Club” who discussed what types of dogs would be most conducive to the Obama’s White House lifestyle. Seriously?!?!
But to quickly move on to English politics, I sat in on debates for the House of Commons and the House of Lords today! The actually architecture was more fun to pay attention to than the debates. The House of Commons debate was about social welfare and one person wanted to have a heated discussion and his opponent kept blowing him off so that got boring fast. We couldn’t even understand the accent of the speaker for the House of Lords so we didn’t last long. But at least I can say I did it! The best part of going inside Parliament though was when I walked into the bathroom and a group of 60 year old women were helping each other get into bee costumes! One of them actually asked me to help her with a strap! They were dressing up to attract attention and receive funds to research why the bee population of England is declining…
Ok, it’s back to homework. I have a group project due tomorrow on the topic European energy and environmental policy
and all I can think about is how America is so much better than Europe!
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apart4
American Teacher in London
Yes, We Did!
Hey man! I'm a Tennesseean living in the London area, and I'm SO EXCITED about the election. My mother called me at 4:30 in the morning, when McCain gave his concession speech, and I got on my computer to watch the live broadcast. Mom and I were both in tears! I like England a lot, but I gotta tell ya, I agree with you that America is so much better than the UK, and the UK is pretty great. On this day, I'm proud to be an American.