Feature Article : "The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of Modernghana.com."

Wrap up As the extraordinary spectacle of the first African-American winning the presidency was taking place on stage, something extraordinary was taking place offstage: Mr. Obama was raking up a stunning 338 electoral votes, at least so far. Mr. McCain was left with 156. Race, it seemed, had melted away as an issue.

Something else was happening too. While the whole world was standing back in amazement that America had elected its first black president, Mr. Obama asked not to be seen as a black man.

As in his acceptance speech at the Democratic convention in Denver, he did not mention the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. by name.

Yes, he told a gripping story. But it was not his story. He framed the journey of the civil rights struggle through the person of a 106-year-old woman in Georgia, Ann Nixon Cooper, who voted today.

She was “born just a generation past slavery” but for many years couldn't vote for two reasons, he said, shifting the attention slightly off the matter of race: “because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.”

The vivid historic symbols were hers: “She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that 'We shall overcome.' Yes we can.”

He shifted the focus again so that her story was not solely about race.

A man touched down on the Moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination,” Mr. Obama said, conveying the passage of time.

And then this: “And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.”

It was arguably the most stirring part of an otherwise unremarkable speech. And it came at the end. The occasion called for more grandeur than Mr. Obama seemed to allow himself. His muting of the racial component perhaps signaled the way he intends to govern, not as the black president but, as he said, the president of the whole country.

Name That Tune | 12:54 a.m.

Ah, one mystery solved. The music swelling in the background was “The Patriot,” composed by John Williams, reports our diligent colleague, Jeff Zeleny.

Taking It In | 12:22 a.m. The Obamas and the Bidens all trail off stage now, leaving Mr. Obama alone briefly to absorb the applause. Michelle awaits him in the wings and they exit, arm in arm. Family Affair | 12:19 a.m.

The vice-president elect, Joe Biden, comes out on stage with Mr. Obama, and then their wives join them, and the rest of the Obama and Biden clans file out, including Mr. Biden's mother, as slow, majestic music swells around them.

Multitasking | 12:14 a.m.

Even as Mr. Obama speaks, “he” is texting his supporters. Amazing! “We just made history,” the text says. “All of this happened because you gave your time, talent and passion to this campaign.”

Honouring a 106-Year-Old Woman | 12:14 a.m.

Mr. Obama then honors a woman named Anne Nixon Cooper, who is 106 years old and lives in Georgia, who voted today. She had been in Selma. She has heard the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Yes we can, he says. “This is our moment, this is our time.”

Addresses McCain Supporters | 12:11 a.m.  Continued    Source: The Chronicle

"The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of Modernghana.com." To have your articles publish, please submit them to editor@modernghana.com.

Other Articles by The Chronicle