After months of mudslinging and non-stop political advertising, the 2008 presidential election ended with Barack Obama’s standing above the rest. The cheers of millions could be heard across the United States as the first African-American president-elect gave a stirring victory speech. The election night ended quickly (Obama was projected the winner a little after 10 p.m.), but the discussion continued. Whether a McCain or Obama supporter, no student can deny the importance of this election. The United States made a huge leap for equality when the people of the country elected a person of a minority as president. "It will be a powerful message to the rest of the world," sophomore Diane Wang said. "I’m very happy," junior Mackenzie Nelson said. "I’m proud of my country." The road to presidency has been an uphill battle for both candidates. The two candidates began their campaigns as unlikely picks. Barack Obama had to challenge Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, two veteran politicians, in order to gain a spot on the democratic ticket. John McCain, on the other hand, wasn’t even a Republican frontrunner prior to the state primaries. Although he waged a heated race against Massachusetts’ governor Mitt Romney, McCain sealed the Republican nomination. The presidential battle was even harder than the primary races. Although the two candidates began the race somewhat even, Obama quickly began to pick up momentum. However, McCain began to gain potential voters after choosing Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. After many months of see-sawing poll results, Obama eventually took the lead. "I knew Obama would win," senior Jennifer Hess said. "He has so much charisma and everyone was saying that they were going to vote for him." Although Obama was favored to win going into the election, there were many battleground states that were still up for grabs. "I was pretty happy," sophomore Nick Chamberlin said. "I thought it was cool that Obama won states that had been Republican in the past." The campaigns are over and a new president is getting ready to move into the White House. Americans, whether conservative or liberal, will have to sit back and see how our new president will change the country. "I feel secure that he’ll do what he says he’ll do," sophomore Genna Tesdall said. "I want to be able to believe in someone, and he seems like the right person to believe in."