Baracked

36 hours ago, I stood in a crowded bar in Jerusalem and watched Barack Obama accept his election as the 44th President of the United States and the first to truly break the mold of the identity of this office. A day later, I and my friends who have supported Obama are still glowing from this success and even those who had been more ambivalent about his candidacy seem to recognize the significance of this day in history.

As I stumbled my way sleepily and smiling through the crowds heading to work, I paused for a moment to sit on a street corner and try to capture in writing the sentiment of the moment. Needless to say, I was too tired by the time I finally made it home to post this online, so I'm going to do it now, as if it were yesterday, because I think the experience of that moment and the sudden knowledge of its significance is important to remember:

Election Night, 2008

5:45AM, Mike's Place
It's nearly 6am, and I'm perched on a bar stool in Mike's Bar, in a little alley off of Ben Yehuda Street in downtown Jerusalem. The place is packed with Obama supporters and cameramen, and the air fills with claps, cheers, and blinding flashes as the blue state results filter in. I gave an interview in French a few minutes ago to Canadian National Radio in Quebec, and I've had photos snapped in my face all night long. Ronni, Hillel, Sarah, Ronni's roommate -- they'd been here with me before, wrapped up in the earlier stages of the experience. Ronni and her roommate stayed until 4am, and we enthusiastically chomped down fries and roared with pride and elation as Ohio went for Obama. They've all gone home now, though, but I'm staying as long as I can take it, fueled by cheap burekas and greasy french fries and the guilt of being too far away and not ever having done enough. No one wants to be left out of a moment that shaped history, that will be remembered, and so I'm staying as long as I am able, for connection to the excitement, the change, the moment, the responsibility... 9 more electoral college votes to go...

8AM, Street Corner, Ben Yehuda
All night in a crowded Jerusalem bar, the results came in at 6am, and we emerged bleary-teary eyed from exhaustion and emotion with Barack as our President, pride and assurance in our hearts. We counted down 3...2....1.... to the close of the Western state polls, and when they did, we heard the news, there on the screens and the lips of the commentators. Barack Obama elected President. Barack Obama elected President.

The sky is bright blue already and the sun is warming the night-chilled air. The road crew is out here working in the streets, the diggers are already digging, laying the tracks for Jerusalem's 2010 tram system. A man sweeps the steps above me, students, and business people walk to work and class. It's a new day in Jerusalem and in the world, and there is so much work to be done. But it's the "yes we can" that matters today, the sense of possibility, the knowledge that the world can, does change through collective action. And so we can begin together, to build our dreams and mold our collective future. Today, we will always remember. Today, as Americans, we are proud.

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