Renee Rosenow

“Who do you think will be elected president first – an African-American or a woman?”

About four years ago, I saw that question scribbled on the whiteboard in a Hibbard classroom. To this day, I don’t know who wrote the question or for what purpose, but I know why I remembered it.

I remembered the whiteboard question because it struck me how hopeless the prospects might be for true equality. If the question had been phrased as a choice between two people, say former secretary of state representative Colin Powell or Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), it would have allowed for a comparison between two real people, rather than two demographics. However, as written, the question assumed Americans would dehumanize the decision and choose based on physical characteristics.

This presidential race could have become just such a question, with Americans simply choosing a candidate based on their race or the running mates’ sex. However, on Nov. 4, instead of answering that question, Americans rightly concluded it was unworthy of an answer.

Each of us that voted knows in our hearts why we voted one way or another, but I’m convinced that as a nation, we chose President-elect Barack Obama to be our next commander in chief, not because he was black, but because he was best. I believe this step forward belongs to every American that voted without consideration of the candidates’ race, be it for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Obama or anybody else. This moment of history should be celebrated by all of us that are encouraged by the prospect of a nation that can see so far beyond skin color as to elect a president without positive or negative regard for race.

Obama and McCain are both extraordinary men, with life stories that epitomize the ideals of our country. McCain exemplifies sacrifice and dedication, displaying it during his time as a Vietnam POW and as a U.S. Senator. Obama’s family didn’t have much money, but through loans, he was able to attend college and law school. One is a war hero and the other pulled himself up by his bootstraps. While their policies and positions were often very different, as individuals, they were both qualified for the office.

In perhaps his most eloquent speech to date, McCain referred to the victory of President-elect Obama as a “historic election,” and I could not have said it more concisely. But even this description fails to explain the full significance of what has happened. The ascent of an African-American to our nation’s highest office is unprecedented, but as McCain stated, it was the election representing the voice of over 100 million, that is most historically significant. Above all else, it is the journey to this moment, not the result, that should be remembered and celebrated because this isn’t the end of the journey.

On Aug. 28, 1963, in a momentous act of support and symbolic unity, 200,000 civil rights supporters gathered before the Lincoln Monument and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. He asked the crowd to “go back” to the places from which they came and continue working towards equality for all people.

Nov. 4 was also a momentous occasion, but once again, we must all “go back” and continue working toward equality. However, every American should pause and take pride that our next president was chosen, as King once dreamed, “(not) by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

As for last week’s column on the election predictors, it is now time to evaluate their accuracy.

Last Monday, the Redskins were defeated at home by the Steelers, and true to the rule, the incumbent party in the White House lost the presidential election. Since the Redskin’s first year in Washington during a presidential year (1940), this rule has been 94.11 percent “accurate.” Just don’t feel obliged to abide by the rule, okay?

In terms of predicting the winner, Weekly Reader’s Presidential Poll got it right for the thirteenth time since 1956. That said, they did a less than stellar job predicting which states would go to Obama and which would go to McCain. Kids, you’re just going to have to do this every four years until you get it right.

The candidate with the more popular Halloween mask, Obama, did win the election. So, this prediction was also accurate.

Stewart is a senior education major and a guest columnist for The Spectator. “Will Stewing” appears every Monday issue.