Barack Hussein Obama’s historic electoral victory on November 4, 2008 signals change for the U.S.A., indeed the entire world. To understand how the junior senator from Illinois captured the White House, consider the five critical demographic groups that broke in favor of the Democrats on election night:
1. African-Americans (96%).
Black America has been overwhelmingly Democratic since the Civil Rights movement and the Nixon Presidency. However, having an African-American presidential candidate this time brought extra motivation and urgency to the 2008 contest. Tapping into a groundswell of pride, hope, and (perhaps) a little fear, Blacks went beyond the 85-90% support given to past standard bearers Clinton, Gore, and Kerry. Though race was largely an “off-limits” issue in the campaign, the prospect of a Black U.S. President nevertheless “re-enfranchised” this group across its entire economic, social, and cultural fabric.
Although bi-racial, Barack Obama chose to identify with the black community in early adulthood, and embrace its historic struggles. As a result, the depth of feeling and sense of accomplishment aroused by his win has been, if anything, underestimated to date.
2. First-time Voters (68%).
Every generation makes an election splash (Kennedy 1960; Reagan 1980), and with eleven percent of the 2008
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