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American Morning
Voters Elated By Obama Landslide; Obama Reaches Out To Republicans; Global Leaders Will Be Watching Obama Closely
Aired November 05, 2008 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENT-ELECT: From the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy. Who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep. They drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers. And from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people and for the people have not perished from the Earth. This is your victory.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Senator Barack Obama there talking about the long road to victory, to winning the White House and of course the long road that still lies ahead when he becomes president on January 20.
Our Jessica Yellin was in Grant Park last night amid the celebration, amid the throngs of people. Just how difficult a job does Senator Obama have in the next six weeks preparing that transition for the inauguration on January the 20th.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is one of those situations, John, where he becomes president almost immediately. He has to switch from campaigning mode into governing mode pretty quickly. I mean, right away tomorrow Barack Obama will start taking meetings with the transition staff that's been in place for quite some time now for many weeks since the convention. Already those of us in the media know the names that are floating around out there to be his treasury secretary, his secretary of state, possibly and chief of staff.
There's a lot of rumor mill theory on who those folks might be and we expect them to be rolled out quickly because of the economic crisis the U.S. is facing right now, he does not have time to waste and we expect them to be involved to quite some degree with the president, the current sitting president in the upcoming economic negotiations that will take place in Washington.
Barack Obama himself acknowledged that in his speech tonight, not the economic crisis per se, but the fact that he has to immediately focus on a tough road ahead, that this will take time and he basically asked this crowd of supporters for patience. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you we as a people will get there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: John, it's something I asked members of crowd while I was here right after the speech. Are you concerned at all about the sense of expectations? So many people you talk to here say I voted for Barack Obama because I want change, I want it immediately and he needs to do something different.
So is this too much expectation? And a lot of folks say yes, they're worried that people expect him to do so much so fast. And they were glad to hear that he asked people to understand this takes time. Certainly this crowd is onboard with him. He did reach out across the aisle to say he wants to involve Republicans. That will clearly be one of the focuses of his message in the coming weeks trying to craft a bipartisan coalition to get a lot done quickly -- John?
ROBERTS: Jessica Yellin for us in Grant Park in Chicago, Jessica, thanks. I said six weeks. It's actually probably more, Kiran, like nine or 10 but it's going to go so quickly it will only feel like six weeks, I'm sure.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Of course, after 22 months what's a couple of weeks among friends, right?
Well, it was just a mere five hours ago that the nation and the world saw history being made. Barack Obama elected the first black president of the United States. And reaction came in from not only around the country but around the world. In fact, for a moment there we had some live pictures of people celebrating in Kenya. In fact, some of Barack Obama's own relatives there.
And I'm joined by the panel now as we continue to discuss first of all the impact that it had on people and Errol we were talking before - I mean, you see Oprah crying, you see people just literally had friends e-mail me and say Harlem right now is just a party. I mean, it's like New Year. There was so much joy and the other interesting thing is not only in the crowds do we only see African Americans cheering but it looked like everybody seems to be caught up in this.
ERROL LOUIS, "NY DAILY NEWS": The new Harlem, in fact, is not the old Harlem.
CHETRY: You can't afford the rent there anymore.
LOUIS: Right. Exactly. What's interesting is these icons, the Apollo Theatre in Harlem and Oprah Winfrey, Sean P. Diddy Combs. They are globally known. There are kids in the most remote reaches of this planet who are sitting in little huts or little shantytowns and they know this stuff, they follow this stuff and so it is really a shared experience for a lot of people. So it's a very flat world right now.
CHETRY: Very interesting as well, Leslie, to talk about what went wrong and John McCain even said in his concession speech, you know what? I don't really blame anybody but myself. I don't blame anybody for this. I made mistakes as a candidate and I am not going to spend a second looking back on those but of course that's the punditry, of course we're going to look back on some of the mistakes.
LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Sure.
CHETRY: But was he just up against really insurmountable challenges to beat Barack Obama?
SANCHEZ: It was tremendously difficult to get this done. Not only with voter fatigue, you talked about the two wars - Republicans won seven of the last 10 presidential elections. You look back before that, Democrats won seven of the last nine. It was really a Democratic year in all fronts and he still kept it incredibly close.
But if you look at almost the data about September 17, 18, 19, 20, when we had the economic downturn, that's when the gap widened and there wasn't enough time, there wasn't enough message, there wasn't enough power. And it just wasn't going to happen.
CHETRY: Advice, Hilary, on avoiding the downturn that sometimes can happen in this transfer of power? How does he hit the ground running with all the challenges that we're facing?
HILARY ROSEN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, you know, we have a strong majority in the House and a strong majority in the Senate and I think that there will be a lame duck session in the Congress and unless President Bush is willing to work with this current Congress I think that for the most part Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid are going to say we'll just wait till January till we have a new president before we tackle some of the big issues.
What are they? They are still a stimulus bill that's on the table. Barack Obama wants to deal with his middle class tax credits right away. Tax cuts. He has talked about getting the energy bill as a top priority. He has been saying that over and over and over again.
And these are proposals that really only lost by a few votes in the Senate. So when you think about the six or seven additional Democrats that he's going to have, he can get a lot done fairly quickly.
CHETRY: I want to ask you, John, about the independents because they really made the difference in this election and you look at how they voted, Barack Obama got 51 percent of the people who categorized themselves as independents and McCain only 45 percent. What changed? Because John McCain was the ultimate harnesser of the independents, it seemed, at least at one point in this campaign.
JOHN AVALON, POLITICO.COM: He was. And really throughout his career over the past decade, since his 2000 campaign. And that's part of the tragedy of John McCain. Independents, the largest and fastest growing segment of the electorate, should have been coming home to John McCain, but right around mid-September, two things happened. The economic crisis made this election a referendum on the Bush administration. Independent voters do not like the Bush administration. They swung back towards Barack Obama.
And right around Sarah Palin's Katie Couric interview a lot of independents and independent women moved away from McCain and Palin towards Obama. And I think - so Obama's pulled together an extraordinary coalition. You want independents. You want moderates. It's an overlapping constituency and that's who he's really going to need to represent as president.
This is not a liberal ideological mandate tonight. This is a mandate for change and it comes from the center and that's how the next president is going to have to lead.
SANCHEZ: There is two other coalitions, though. He won with women. Two states that were incredibly important to George Bush in 2004, your Ohio, your Iowa, New Mexico and Florida, they were lost by five to 20 points with women. You cannot do that an expect to win.
CHETRY: And we're going to talk more about that effect as well. Breakdowns of where Obama really ran away with it. So we're going to get back with you guys. Thanks so much. John?
ROBERTS: A reminder that President-Elect Obama will assume the White House officially on the 20th of January but this morning there are already massive crowds outside his future home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: And that means training our troops.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, amazing pictures as thousands of people swarm along Pennsylvania Avenue in the Nation's Capital chanting, "Yes we can." And "Obama."
The celebrating in Chicago stretched well beyond the confines of Grant Park. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AUDIENCE: (Cheering)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: People inside there celebrating the action, also spilled out onto Michigan Avenue. One woman on Michigan Avenue driving along stopped her car when she heard that Obama had won, she got out and celebrated with some gospel music and prayers of thanks and several onlookers were only too happy to join in.
We are a nation 232 years old but today we are seeing something that we have never seen before. The country's first black president. We'll take a look at how he was elected, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Eleven minutes after 4:00 here in New York and in a scene that some waited months for, some say they waited a lifetime. Plenty of tears in the crowd as Barack Obama celebrated victory at Chicago's Grant Park.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: For even as we celebrate tonight we know the challenges that tomorrow are the greatest of our lifetime. Two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.
There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctor's bills or save enough for their college education.
There is new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build and threats to meet, alliances to repair. The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!
OBAMA: There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in American for 221 years. Block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter can not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And reaction to the speech pouring in this morning. In Atlanta incredibly emotional scene inside of Reverend Martin Luther King's old church -- That was just after 11:00 last night when CNN and others called the race. About 2,000 people were packed inside of Ebenezer Baptist Church. King's surviving children, Martin and Bernice were there and so was his only remaining sibling, Christine Ferris (ph). Another thousand people gathered outside of the church and it was a scene repeated across the country from living rooms to parks to bars, people getting together to watch history unfold. Jason Carroll is in Harlem this morning with more reaction for us. Good morning, Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you. And boy, there is a lot of reaction coming from the streets here in Harlem as you can imagine. The quad behind me was filled with hundreds of people, Kiran, all of them coming out to see the results on a huge screen that was set up for the people out here.
But Kiran, when the announcement came down that was truly one of the most amazing moments. There were tears, many, many tears out here. A lot of people just got on their cell phones calling their mother or calling their grandparent. You really got the feeling here that those who came up and showed up here wanted to share this moment in history with as many people as possible.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The melting pot of America has spoken, young, old, otherwise, we are ready to work, we are engaged in the democratic process. We are ready to help Obama, we are ready to hold him accountable and we are ready for him to hold us accountable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just thinking about my elders and how this must really feel for them. My grandparents and people like Dr. King and Malcolm X and all our leaders who really brought us to this moment. Forty years ago you had a civil rights movement and now it kind of came full circle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We speak about the importance of the first black man as the president of the United States of America and we are happy too about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Again, those last two we heard there were from Italy and that raises a really important point because there were people here, Kiran, of all ethnicities that came out here. And you really got the sense from talking to them whether they be black or white or Latino or Asian, basically everyone out there really felt as though this was the moment when America really transcended race in an historic way. Kiran?
CHETRY: Absolutely. All right. Jason Carroll for us this morning. Thanks.
ROBERTS: Well, it's not just in Harlem but across the country, Barack Obama supporters are celebrating in Seattle. Thousands are taking over First Avenue and partying in the streets for hours. The crowds literally stopped traffic. Some people got under their cars, even hugged total strangers and I'm sure that somewhere a sailor kissed a nurse, too.
Washington State's 11 electoral votes marking the sixth straight presidential election that the state has gone Democratic. No victory laps in Arizona. This was one comeback that John McCain just could not pull off. Our Ed Henry is live in Phoenix with a look at what's next for the maverick.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of American who once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, as we watch the country react to the election, it's also important to remember the history making efforts of the man who didn't win, Senator John McCain. His campaign making an improbable comeback after being left for dead politically in the primaries and the chance to elevate a woman to the second highest office in the nation.
CNN's Ed Henry joins us now from the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix. That's where we heard from McCain last night. Hi, Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Kiran. And you know, the contrast could not be more stark. From the pictures we've been seeing all night into the wee hours of the morning here. In Chicago of all the celebrations. Celebrations around the world.
It's sort of eerily quiet here in Phoenix this early. And there is still actually some McCain people filtering around the lobby. Hugging each other. There were some people still littering the bar here because it's two hours behind East Coast time but in talking to some of those McCain staffers are saying, look, basically we did all we can. This is the way it works. No regrets.
In fact, John McCain said very much the same thing when he addressed his supporters here right behind me just a few hours ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I will leave that to others to determine. Every candidate makes mistakes and I'm sure I made my share of them. But I won't spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now there are going to be plenty of post mortems, questions raised about whether Senator McCain made mistakes that really made the situation worse, whether for example, the selection of Sarah Palin was the right move, whether or not suspending his campaign a couple of months ago temporarily to deal with the financial crisis, whether that backfired on them but when you talk to senior McCain aides, what they basically say is look, this was sort of a perfect storm out there.
You had the fact that President Bush's approval ratings are so low. You had the Republican brand so tarnished. And then you did have this financial crisis really explode in recent weeks and they say that they really remarkable that Senator McCain was even in the race until the end.
But given all of those challenges, but I have to tell you, even though they knew it was an uphill battle, they were really stunned at how big of a victory it really turned out to be for Barack Obama here.
CHETRY: Any sense of how McCain is feeling today?
HENRY: Well, we haven't had a chance to get to them yet. As you know, there's some talk that he may be heading to Sedona, his cabin there. That's sort of his retreat in good times and bad. Obviously he has some decisions to make in the future. He has two more years on his Senate term. He will be up for election in 2010.
It seems very likely that he would continue to serve out that term for a couple of reasons. I mean, number one, he said throughout this campaign that he chooses to fight. He is a fighter. He is going to want to wage some of the battles that he's been waging for so long. And secondly there is a Democratic governor here in Arizona who would get a chance to appoint his successor so chances are he'd want to fill out at least those last two years and then he'll have to figure out what he wants to do from there, Kiran.
CHETRY: Ed Henry for us this morning in Arizona. Thanks.
ROBERTS: Well, from same sex marriage to abortion, there were some hot button issues on state ballots across the country and our Carol Costello has been tracking the results and she joins us this morning. Good morning to you.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John. Everybody was wrapped up in the presidential race but out in California they were talking very much about Proposition 8. That would be a measure that would ban same sex marriage in the state of California. Right now it is too close to call. These are the votes that we have. Voting yes means you would overturn - voting yes means there would be a ban on same sex marriage, that's 52 percent. The no votes are 48 percent. We probably won't be able to call that until much later this afternoon although we do remain hopeful.
Proposition 8 was the most high profile ballot - was the most high profile initiative on the ballot in California, opponents and supporters spent a whopping $80 million on this issue. Now those who are in favor of same sex marriage were hoping that liberal Democrats who came to the polls would vote overwhelmingly in their favor but apparently that did not happen because Proposition 8 also drew the people that were for the ban.
And in Florida and Arizona, by the way, they had initiatives on the ballot to ban gay marriage and those passed handily, especially in Florida. Florida needed 60 percent of the voters to change their constitution to ban same sex marriage, they achieved that easily. But out in California, still up in the air.
ROBERTS: You know what I'll do is I'll run the numbers on the magic wall and see where the vote is still outstanding and that might give us some indication of whether or not that gap will narrow or it will stay about the same.
COSTELLO: As far as I know the more conservative areas of California have not been counted yet so it does not look good for Proposition 8.
ROBERTS: All right. We'll check that out. Carol, good to see you this evening. Thanks -- Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, the election-making history and you were part of it. So we want to ask what you're feeling when you cast your vote. This hour our text vote question is "Did race matter to you in this election?" You can vote - you can text yes or no to 866-979-VOTE or short code, 94553.
And a reminder, this isn't scientific but we do want to get those results and we'll have them for you at the bottom of the hour.
Now our special coverage continues. Coming up, of this historic election. We will take you back out to Grant Park in Chicago, hear from President-Elect Obama including his message for those who did not support him, did not vote for him. You're watching the most politics in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AUDIENCE: Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: A new day in America ushered in just about four and a half hours ago as President-Elect Barack Obama and Vice President- Elect Joe Biden met thousands of emotional and overjoyed supporters in Chicago's Grant Park.
The crowd inside the park was believed to be well over 200,000 with even more than that jamming into the surrounding areas and streets to witness history. The mood was joyous but the man that everyone came to see made one thing clear. There is work ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything is that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers. In this country we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness, and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party of the White House. A party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity. Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back out progress.
(APPLAUSE)
As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends, though passion may have strained, it must not break of bonds of affection. To those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices, I need your help. And I will be your president, too.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: President-Elect Barack Obama last night, a remarkable night in America. Chicago, of course, at the center of it. Our Alina Cho was there for Senator Obama's historic speech and she joins us now live. What was it like to be in the middle of all that, Alina?
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, John, it was so exciting.
You know, I have to tell you I was right in the thick of the crowd at Grant Park when CNN made the projection shortly after 11 p.m. Eastern, that Barack Obama would be the next president of the United States. And you can imagine the crowd immediately erupted in cheers, there were tears, there were hugs. And most of all, pure excitement.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm feel so elated! I can't believe that he won! He spoke at my high school graduation. I'm so excited!
CHO: He spoke at your high school graduation?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes! Yes, in Hyde (ph) Park. I grew up in that neighborhood. I'm so - oh, my God. I'm breaking up right now!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God, it's overwhelming! Whoo, whoo!
CHO: A native son? How does that feel?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, to be from Chicago? For Illinois to be home of two great presidents, Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama? You know, you can't have it much better than that.
CHO: You've had a bad season with the Cubs? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a White Sox fan, Ma'am.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go. Sox!
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a White Sox fan in the Oval Office. The world is set, the world is perfect!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Yes, well, the Cubs still had a disappointing season. But, you know, it was incredible to be here. Interesting to note that it was eerily quiet at times, at Grant Park. You know? Especially when Obama was speaking. Imagine, 200,000 plus people in the crowd and at times you could hear a pin drop.
Certainly, in the crowd tonight there were a lot of dignitaries and celebrities. Listen to this line up: Howard Dean, Jessie Jackson, Jr., the Black-Eyed Peas, Brad Pitt and Spike Lee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPIKE LEE, INDPENDENT FILM DIRECTOR: You know, I'm thinking about my grandma. My grandma lived to be 100 years old. Her mother was born a slave. And I'm five generations removed from slavery and what Barack said tonight is true, this is the only place in the world where this could happen, America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: There was another notable VIP in the crowd tonight, of course, that would be Oprah Winfrey. Oprah, of course, was one of Barack Obama's original supporters. I went one on one with Oprah and I will have that interview in the next half hour.
John, I also talked to the man who could be the next White House chief of staff in an Obama administration. I'll have that for you as well, in the next half hour.
ROBERTS: Ah, can you give us any hint there? Would his name be Rahm Emanuel?
CHO: I think you know who that is, John.
ROBERTS: I mean is there a sense that Senator Obama will take another politician from Chicago to be his chief of staff? Or will he start to fill out his inner circle with people who he knows very well from the city there?
CHO: Well, you know, yes. I talked to Jessie Jackson, Jr., and I said, you know it's been a long 22 months, what's next. He said, "we" meaning he will be part of that, we're going to start to put together a team that can work on the economy, that can work on propping up the middle class. And so, yes, I do get a sense that he will call on those people. Now, whether they will be officially part of the administration, of course, nobody knows just yet, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Alina Cho for us this morning on the streets of Chicago. Alina, thanks so much.
CHETRY: Barack Obama's historic win is being watched around the world. Even in Kenya, the birthplace of his late father. We're going to have more on the celebrations ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Five and a half hours ago history was made in the country; 51 percent of voters pulled the lever for Barack Obama electing him the 44th president of the United States. In California hundreds celebrated. They were toasting his victory. This coming to us from a bar in Los Angeles. And 11,000 miles away from the White House, cheers in an election watching party, this in Japan, Obama, Japan, that is. It is a small fishing town sharing the name of the now-president-elect. Residents say the renewed interest, thanks to the election, will actually help their town.
And Barack Obama's family also watched the historic win in Kenya. Cheers erupted in the western village where he was born. It was the birthplace, rather, of his late father. Family members, including his step-grandmother, also sang, "we're going to the White House". Hundreds also watched the returns come in at an election party at the U.S. ambassador's residence.
And Barack Obama's historic path to the White House also took him through Ohio. It is a state that ultimately decided the 2004 race between George Bush and John Kerry. A battleground state turning blue this time, giving Obama 51 percent of the vote and all of its 20 electoral votes. CNN's Mary Snow is live now, from Columbus. Hi, Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kiran.
And you know there were so many celebrations last night. Here in Ohio I heard from a number of Democrats, particularly, I heard from someone in Cincinnati. And why this was significant? Cincinnati is in Hamilton County, which is in the southwest corner of Ohio. No Democrat has won that county in a presidential election since 1964. So that gave you and idea of how this map had changed in Barack Obama's favor.
How did he win this? As we've seen the economy was the number one issue, particularly in Ohio, where the unemployment rate is higher than the national average, something like 7.2 percent.
Also, George Bush's approval ratings; here in Ohio it was found that about 71 percent did not approve of George Bush and those voters swayed toward Obama. The Obama campaign had an unprecedented grassroots operation throughout the state, setting up shop in rural areas where many Republicans said they didn't remember seeing a Democratic headquarters. And the Republican - the Obama campaign really tried to make inroads in those areas.
Also, something that helped Barack Obama, some of the Hillary Clinton supporters in the northeastern corner. You know, Barack Obama did not do well in the primaries. John McCain had hoped to pick up a lot of those supporters. That didn't happen, particularly in the northeast.
And this time around, the conservative evangelicals did not sway in favor of John McCain. There wasn't as much excitement. Yes, they supported him, yes, they did get energized by Sarah Palin, but that excitement wasn't there that was there four years ago, that really helped George Bush win the state.
CHETRY: Well, fascinating. Mary Snow for us this morning in Columbus, thanks.
ROBERTS: Well, let's bring in our political panel now again. Patricia Murphy is with us, as well as Mark Halperin, Jeff Johnson from BET, and Michael Ware.
So, let's talk about the international aspect of this, Michael. We talked last time about Iraq and his plans to pull troops out of Iraq. But in the greater international arena, I mean, does he now have to set up his meetings with Iran's leadership, as well as Syria, Cuba, North Korea?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think that's more of a domestic issue. Whether he actually meets with these people or not, whether he starts picking up the cell phone or not, and whether the supreme leader of Iran will answer that call.
What's really at stake here now is to see whether the president- elect can start acting like commander in chief, because the world is already watching him. And they want to see, this is a guy who talked about getting out of Iraq. Now, people may have liked that, but does that weaken people's impressions of America?
Now, for example, some one sitting in Tehran, as you mentioned, General Salamane (ph) the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard's special forces. He's the one killing American troops in Iraq, according to the American military. He's going to be looking Obama straight in the eye and wondering what to make of him.
So will, say, for example the Taliban; I mean, General Petraeus, the new central commander, has said Al Qaeda leadership are hiding in western Pakistan. He said it just on Monday. American drones keep bombing western Pakistan. What is Obama going to do about that?
ROBERTS: Well, you know, Mark, of course, the now vice president-elect, Senator Joe Biden, kind of stepped in it when he told that fundraising event that Senator Obama would be tested in the first six months -or President Obama would be tested in the first six months with an international crisis. I mean, it was taken as a great talking point for John McCain. But realistically, do you think, because it happened in 1993, it happened in 2001, that there may an international incident just down the road? MARK HALPERIN, AUTHOR, "THE PAGE": I have long suspected that one of the things that will really be a challenge for Barack Obama is how much of the job in the post-9/11 world of this president of the United States is Homeland Security and think about threats around the world? He didn't have to deal with that as a candidate. He thought about the economy, he thought about healthcare, thought about Iraq, but the Homeland Security pressure will be enormous on him. And I think there is a good chance that in the change in government there will be some test around the world. And it will be closely watched. Joe Biden said something that may have not been politically the right thing to say, but might actually have been accurate.
ROBERTS: You know, Patricia, I got a phone call this morning from a friend of mine in Beirut, who said that the whole perception of America has changed now with the results of this election. From an Independent voter's standpoint, what do Independent voters want to see President-elect Obama do now to restore America's reputation in the world?
PATRICIA MURPHY, EDITOR, CITIZENJANEPOLITICS.COM: Well, I think that is a good question, because that was a key reason why we hear a lot of Independents went for Obama, was because of the promise that he could restore America's reputation around the world. He promised to do that in all of his speeches, every stump speech he said that would be his highest goal. What they want to see is somebody who is out there extending a hand of America, kind of not being as aggressive as the Bush administration has done.
But again, these Independent voters are very sensitive to security issues and if the Homeland Security issue did come up that would be something that would test not only Barack Obama but also in the face of these voters who put him in office.
ROBERTS: And Jeff, do you think that his background gives him a different perception around the world? I mean, the fact that his middle name is Hussein? You could see him going on a trip to Jordan and they would really play at that idea? That maybe he has a greater understanding of the Middle East and oppressed people's around the world?
JEFF JOHNSON, HOST, BET TV: I think, number one, people around the world are just glad to see George Bush gone. I mean, I think that's point number one. I think that has already been mentioned, but, two, I mean we're talking about somebody with a 80 percent approval rating in Europe and somebody that has traveled and so I think he has a perspective.
But I think there are people who already have drunk the Barack Obama Kool-Aid. They like him. And so I think that is a step in the right direction to give him some flexibility. But a very short leash, if you will, to be able to begin making some moves on domestic policy and reaching out to the right people. So he's got a little space because he's likable. But it is still about what are the steps that he's going to make? And are they in the best interest of the country, because ultimately he has to answer to people at home.
ROBERTS: One issue -
HALPERIN: He's more popular in Paris than Mickey O'Rourke and Jerry Lewis combined.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: Imagine that, because Jerry Lewis is very popular there.
HALPERIN: So is Mickey O'Rourke.
ROBERTS: A lot of issue ahead. A lot to talk about folks. Stay with us. We'll be back with you in just a little while. You're watching continuing coverage of election 2008 here, on the most news in the morning. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the most news in the morning and time now to check the results of our "QuickVote!" We asked you a little while ago to text vote us, did race matter in the election? A full 73 percent of you texted us, no. Just 27 percent texted, yes. A reminder that the results are not scientific. And stay tuned because we're going to have a different question coming your way in our next hour.
CHETRY: Well, you know, for every Obama supporter celebrating today there is A McCain supporter with possibly an election hang over. Some waking up under the same roof, in fact. We've got them right now. College roommates Scott Talkov who supported Obama, and Erick Harris who is for McCain, both of them are students, law students at Washington University in St. Louis.
Good morning, guys.
SCOTT TALKOV, OBAMA SUPPORTER: Good morning.
ERICK "E.D." HARRIS, MCCAIN SUPPORTER: Good morning.
CHETRY: Happy to have you back with us. One of you, I know, is happier than the other. Scott, we'll start with you, since your candidate won. What was it like watching this election with your roommate?
TALKOV: This was truly a historic night. It was very impressive waiting for Barack Obama. It was great to see him lay out a visionary plan for his administration that is based on positive change and reaching out to those who didn't vote for him and wanting to impress them as well.
CHETRY: And how do you feel this morning, Erick, as we saw pictures from around the nation, especially in African-American communities of just people crying with joy? How do you f eel this morning, because your candidate didn't win?
HARRIS: I think this is an historic moment for everybody across our great nation here. And let me be the newest person to congratulate Senator - I mean, President-elect Barack Obama on his tremendous victory and struggle, that he has forged not only in the last few months but over 200 years. This has been a tremendous struggle and I think that is the emotion that we've been seeing all over this great nation of ours.
CHETRY: And Scott, you know, he inherits a big challenge to say the least. A lot of unhappiness with the direction that our country has gone over the past eight years and a lot of challenges ahead. Do you think he's up to the job?
TALKOV: Oh, absolutely. I think Barack Obama comes in with a huge lead in the Senate. A huge lead in the House that we are still resolving as we are discussing this issue. And he's going to have a mandate in Washington. A mandate that values the middle class, that values hardworking Americans, over those who may have squandered some money over there on Wall Street. And I think people are going to want to see change and he knows how to bring people from different sides of the aisle together to create a really amazing plan for America.
CHETRY: You know, when you take a look at voters, 18 to 29-year old age groups, 66 percent for Barack Obama; 32 percent for John McCain. You know, Erick, when some are asking what about the future of the Republican Party or conservative ideals, I know that is one of the reasons, last time we talked to you, that you were a supporting McCain. Where does the party go from here if they do want young people to get engaged?
HARRIS: I think right now it is hard - right now, it's important for the Republican Party to work hard for each and every one of the young voter, the minority voter, and reach out and say hey, we are the party that has the plan to fix our education system. We are the party that has the plan to fix our healthcare system. And we need to provide that message and I'll continue to lead that fight for the Republican Party as much as I can and hopefully others will join that fight and we'll forge ahead and in a few years we'll bring that back to the voters and we'll let them decide.
CHETRY: Well, maybe you guys can give it a rest with the political fighting and maybe you can agree on a football team? Something for this season to look forward to, together?
(LAUGHTER)
Or no?
HARRIS: St. Louis Rams? I don't know?
TALKOV: Why not?
HARRIS: Why not? St. Louis Rams?
CHETRY: There we have it.
HARRIS: They used to be in Los Angeles.
CHETRY: Some consensus this morning from the both of you. Well, it was great to talk to you again and get your thoughts out for this historic day. Scott Talkov, as well as Erick Harris, thanks.
TALKOV: Thank you.
HARRIS: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Well after all the talk of the race factor in this election, what the exit polls showed about it. What voters said on the way out might surprise you. We'll have that for you coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID AXELROD, OBAMA CAMPAIGN CHIEF STRATEGIST: This isn't really about luck. It is about whether or not the American people respond to your message and believe that we should move in a new direction. And I think tonight we're beginning to see that that is exactly what this country wants to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So it went from, "yes, we can" to "yes, we did". The crowd reacting at the biggest victory party, ever. It was in Chicago's Grant Park. It was the moment that Barack Obama officially became President-elect Obama. Let's listen.
(VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Barack Obama is on target - well, actually 2,000 people packed inside, as well, of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.'s old church, Ebenezer Baptist, in Atlanta. Two of King's surviving children, Martin and Bernice, were there as well.
And in Seattle thousands took over First Avenue. They partied in the streets for hours. The crowds literally stopped traffic as some people got out of their cars hugging total strangers. So that is the mood and the vibe this morning for sure. After the historic election last night and the result and how long will that good will last? We're going to talk about it with our political panel right now. CNN contributors joining us, including Hilary Rosen, as well as Leslie Sanchez, and we also have with us Tara Wall and Melissa Harris- Lacewell.
Thanks to all of you for being with us.
Hilary, there is some good will coming into this. He got elected by the largest majority that we've seen for a Democrat since Lyndon Johnson, back in 1964. How does he best use that?
ROSEN: Well, I think he has good will because of how he handled his speech last night. He said very specifically to those of you whose support I haven't earned yet, you know, I want to be your president, too. So I think he extended a hand to John McCain supporters, number one.
Number two, there are a lot more Democrats in the Congress starting in January than there were now. So, you know, he's got a honeymoon period where I think the American people are going to be on his side. And he's got a bigger majority in the Congress to help him, actually, legislatively enact his agenda. So, I think the combination of the two, you know, is going to help him for the first year.
CHETRY: Leslie, it was certainly a rebuke of the last eight years. I think a lot of dissatisfaction with the Bush administration, to say the least. How do the Republicans that have held their seats, and a few that have gained their seats, work within this new government?
SANCHEZ: It is going to be the challenge for the party. They're going to have to make a fundamental decision do we want to be obstructionist and kind of fight on principle and the purity of some of our ideas? Are we going to look at compromise and pulling this administration to the center? I think we're going to have a lot more chances to have success, to be in negotiating positions. And it is also the composition of some of these even conservative Democrats who may be more aligned with the Republican Party, as we move forward.
CHETRY: You have, I've noticed, Melissa, you are wearing your Obama necklace today.
MELISSA HARRIS-LACEWELL, ASSOC. PROF., BLACK STUDIES, PRINCETON: I've probably lost my mind a little.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: So did Oprah. I mean, a lot of joy. Explain why this is - the feeling that you felt at 11 o'clock, when we hear that Barack Obama is our next president.
Well, I mean, it was a lot of things for me. I'm the child of a man who grew up in the Jim Crowe South, in Virginia. I'm a child of Virginia. I'm also - I spent nearly 10 years living in Chicago, in Hyde (ph) Park, attending Trinity United Church of Christ and having Barack Obama as my senator, state senator, my senator. So it was a deeply personal victory in many ways. And again, the fact that Virginia was called just moments before the president-elect was named, meant that we had broken the solid South. And there was something incredibly powerful about the first African-American president of the United States doing it, in part, by breaking the solid South. That was an astonishing moment.
CHETRY: Have we really made the type of strides that we thought unthinkable two years ago? Or is Barack Obama himself so transformational and such a phenomenon that he alone was able to do it?
HARRIS-LACEWELL: Well, I think, I've said this time and time again, you can't be black in American and not be proud of the accomplishment that Barack Obama has made. Whether you agree with him ideologically or not and whether you agree with his policies or not. He is still going to be the president for all Americans, every American. And that's Republicans, Democrats, Independents, black, white. And so I think the spirit of bipartisanship that he talked about, I think, is something that I personally look forward to and I think conservatives, in general, look forward to, to see which - what are those issues that we're going to see a more centrist Obama agree on or come to and work on for the country.
So it is -- yes, it's historic in many, many ways. And I think that, you know, obviously, there's so many things, some cliches, you could say youth over experience that prevailed, you know, the -- the charisma, the age factor.
All of those things, I think, certainly played a significant role.
CHETRY: Amazing the youth vote 2-1 for Barack Obama, as well, and they certainly came out and exercise their right. I know a lot of people were encouraging that.
All right. Thanks so much for all of you. We'll check in with you in a couple of minutes. Thanks.
