Last night bore witness to one of the most amazing spectacles in the history of US politics.  Before a gigantic crowd of 90,000 that seemed more befitting of the Bird’s Nest where the recent Olympics just took place, Barack Obama accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for President of the United States.  Americans everywhere watched transfixed as he delivered the most important speech of his life and launched the final stages of his campaign for the so-called leadership of the free world.  There was so much hype, so much riding on that one speech.  Pundits left, right and center had all chimed in with what they thought he should say and how he may or may not live up to expectations.  Whew!  The pressure was almost palpable. 

Not only is this perhaps one of the most important elections in American history – taking place as it does at a time when this country faces unprecedented challenges, deep polarization and following 8 years of turbulent events – it was also steeped in history.  That Obama would become the first African American to accept a major party’s nomination after conquering monumental odds in doing so, on the very day 45 years ago that Martin Luther King delivered his historic speech, is nothing short of divine karma.  Destiny, it seems had lined up all the stars.  The moment was electric.  The crowd so silent you could almost hear a pin drop.  Somehow even through the narrow window of my TV screen, I could feel the electricity.  At that moment, we were all witness to history. 

For many Ethiopians, the kind of racism that this country was gripped in only 45 years or so ago, is almost unfathomable.  Signs that stated ‘No colored folk here’ or ‘Whites only’ weren’t just accepted, they were institutionalized.  Despite all that remains to be done, our inability to grasp the very concepts of what such racism was like in the America of the 1950s is testament to how far Americans have come since.  And last night, we had the privilege of witnessing another gigantic step forward on the journey to Martin Luther King’s Dream.  It was surely a moment for the ages.  The stage was befitting to the moment and even CNN’s seasoned anchors seemed gripped by the enormity of what they were seeing. 

This may be just one of the reasons Ethiopians in the US have also been swept up by Obama fever.  There is also his African connection and from a country that’s our next door neighbor no less.  But really, Obama’s appeal goes well beyond race, color or really any other superficial commonalities of that nature.  He has not only captured a very diverse cross section of America but has also awakened a whole new set of political forces in what may be the biggest shakeup of the political system in some of our lifetimes.  Ethiopians are certainly one of these new forces.  I have never seen them so engaged in a political campaign.  Not only have a number of action groups been organized (like Ethiopians For Obama) but on an individual basis, many Ethiopians are donating to Barack Obama’s campaign, soliciting others to do the same, registering new voters and volunteering at a variety of campaign events across the land.  They are not alone. Young Americans have also joined the Obama camp en masse and created one of the biggest variables in this presidential campaign.

Unfinished Job

Regardless of the historic moment of last night and just how much the stars seem to be aligned in his favor, Obama has not been elected to the President’s office just yet.  Karl Rove’s protégés in the McCain camp are hard at work trying to tear down Obama’s luster and for all the progress that race relations may have made in the US, it may yet rear its ugly head high enough to make this race go down to the wire.  Ethiopians, for all of their numbers in the US are but a tiny fraction of the electorate so from a distance it may seem that there’s not much beyond what they’re already doing to influence the outcome of the race.  But presidential elections here are decided based on an electoral college system in which a candidate winning a plurality of votes in a state, gets all of the electoral votes from that state (as opposed to a proportional share).  So even if 45% of voters in a given state choose the Republican candidate but the other 55% select the Democrat, the latter will end up with 100% of the electoral votes from that state.  Based on this, it’s possible to take a state by state look at which way the population is leaning and get a pretty good determination of which states are locked up, which states are wide open and which ones will be hard fought, swing states. 

Ethiopians May Have a Big Role After All

Well, guess what?  One of the hard fought and very critical swing states this year will be Virginia.  In fact, many analysts (in both camps) who have done the electoral math believe that whoever wins Virginia, will win the national election.  Yes, the same Virginia where many of us Ethiopians have at a few (to say the least) relatives and friends if not more.  The same Virginia in which the Arlington County School System counts approximately 5,000 families of Ethiopian origin with kids attending schools within it.  We won’t venture to call it an educated estimate but there have to be at least 20,000 Ethiopians in Virginia in very conservative terms (the number is likely significantly greater). 

9329.  That was Jim Webb’s margin of victory over George Allen for Virginia’s Senate seat in 2006.  It was the seat which gave the Democrats their razor thin majority in the Senate and Virginia may be poised yet again to play a pivotal role on the national stage.  Can Ethiopian Americans deliver Virginia’s 13 and potentially decisive electoral votes to Obama?  I’ll resist the temptation to say “Yes, they can!” but it is tempting.  By the numbers, it would seem to be entirely feasible.  And considering the criticality of the state, a national effort by Ethiopians all over the United States to focus in on getting the vote out in Virginia for Obama may certainly be one of the most impactful activities they could undertake.

And considering the criticality of the state, a national effort by Ethiopians all over the United States to focus in on getting the vote out in Virginia for Obama may certainly be one of the most impactful activities they could undertake.

The Right Side of History

I have followed every American election since 1988 very closely.  Never have I seen such remarkable enthusiasm and emotion on display as I saw last night.  Many in the audience of 90,000 for Obama’s speech wiped away tears from their eyes.  Black, White, Latino, Asian, young, old, man or woman.  A diverse tapestry which seemed to represent for a moment the promise of America as this world's Melting Pot.  One year ago, I would not have believed that Barack Obama would be where he is today.  Not because of Barack himself.  He is clearly a man of extraordinary smarts and charisma uniquely suited to the perfect storm of events that has left the country in a state crying out for exactly such a leader.  But because I did not believe in the capacity of this country to truly look beyond race to the point of nominating an African American for president just yet.  America has proven me wrong this time.  And if this trend continues, it’s hard for me to see how Barack Obama isn’t going to win this election running away in November no matter what current polls may say.  It would be another historic first to crown the one we just witnessed last night, the fulfillment of what seems like a preordained destiny.

Then again, this is the country that elected George W. Bush to office.  Twice.

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