The 2008 Election United America as One

“The 2008 Election United America as One”

In a country filled with diversity, the 2008 presidential election substantiated America’s unity. After eight long years of dealing with unemployment, political scandals, and war, America was ready for a change. As a result, the 2008 election produced an opportunity to revolutionize the government. Accordingly, the manifestation of continuity and change in the 2008 election empowered young Americans, and brought together a diverse range of religious and ethnic backgrounds. Further analysis of the 2008 election will elucidate the way America came together and chose their president.

In a society suffering from a failing economy, the 2008 presidential election was one that provided the opportunity for change. While different reasons may have initiated America’s pursuit of change, Bruce Caswell, an associate professor in the Political Science Department at Rowan University, asserted, “Whatever the underlying cause, in 2008 the rhetoric of change struck a chord with voters and commentators.” Therefore, that particular “election . . . . set broad parameters for change” (Cummings 374). Clearly, America was ready for a new government. In fact, America’s optimism of revolutionizing the government occurred “on election day [because] the outcome was convincing” (Caswell).

Adjacent to change, continuity played an essential role in the 2008 elections. Moreover, selecting the president in 2008 “. . . . provide[d] continuity and a sense of political community,” thus proving that elections “are links in a chain that bind one generation of voters to the next” (Cummings 374). The stability a new government offered obviously flowed throughout America as “Obama's vote was historically remarkable for how evenly it built across many groups and states without bringing major new groups into the Democratic coalition” (Caswell). Therefore, “. . . . the voters [came] together in an act of decision that [was] influenced by the past and present,...