Obama’s triumph in the 2008 presidential election as the first U.S. minority president will make an important mark in this country’s history.

“It’s a historical moment,” said Chris Owens, assistant professor of political science. “It’s a moment most Americans never thought they would see in their lifetime, to have an African-American president. It was less than 50 years ago that African-Americans thought they would be killed just for voting.”

Owens said Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s loss could be attributed largely to four main things.

“He’s from the party of the incumbent president, so he’s automatically tied to that individual. Bush has some of the lowest ratings since the 1920s,” he said. “You also have to consider the way the economy is collapsing, and then selecting (Alaska) Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate helped him with his base, but eventually cost him some voters. He also ran a bad campaign. He never really found a message he resonated on. Every day there was a different focus on his message.”

Owens said Obama’s campaign came almost as close to flawless as possible.

“Obama ran a top-notch campaign,” he said. “He had very few mistakes and won all of the debates.”

Matt Sous, president of Students for Barack Obama and Freeland senior, said he is excited for the changes Obama will make.

“For the first time in my adult life, we have a Democratic candidate who will make some real changes,” he said. “With Obama, you get a complete shift in policy and politics. We will start moving away from the partisan victory we have seen over the last eight years. We have a president who will bring the country together, and President (George W.) Bush didn’t do that.”

Sous also cited Obama’s foreign policy as an important factor in getting the U.S. back on its feet.

“Bush had this policy where if you don’t get along with us, we’ll do it on our own,” he said. “It was like, ‘The U.S. can solve this problem on our own.’ Obama will have a much more collaborative effect on foreign policy. He will be a wiser president.”

Chase Canning, Campus Conservatives president and Lambertville junior, said one of McCain’s biggest mistakes in his campaign was his focus on bringing down Obama’s campaign rather than supporting his own.

“John McCain tried to give us so many facts and disproved Obama’s campaign rather than crediting himself. There will be lots of changes coming for conservatives. I hope people will hold Obama accountable for the claims he’s made to clean up Bush’s mess,” he said.

Sous said Obama’s focus on the middle class brings hope for change in the United States.

“We will see this shift, where it’ll be ‘let’s stop giving hand-outs to people who don’t need it and focus on the middle class,’” he said.

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