“I was really excited that Obama was elected. It was a no-brainer in my mind who to vote for because we definitely need change and I think that he will bring change as opposed to if another Republican were in office, a lot of the same people would stay there and a lot of the same decisions would possibly be made.”
(Jane Reczek, 24, of Syracuse, nurse, no party affiliation)
“I do follow politics closely. I voted — all that good stuff. But I could care less until the person in office actually does something to affect us.”
(Philip Irvine, 25, of Syracuse, espresso-machine technician, no party affiliation)
“A lot of people that I talked to that were really excited to watch it, a lot of their motives were, it’s the first black president, and we’re so excited, and this is so historic. And I get the significance but I kind of feel like too much emphasis is put on race. Our country tends to be a little bit more racist. I think the fact that he’s black and being a president shouldn’t be a big deal.”
(Julia Irvine, 25, of Syracuse, housewife, no party affiliation)
“I think it is very significant that the number of people who are turning out is so great. And I think that that indicates that there’s a lot of political capital that needs to be cashed in quickly. And I think that Barack Obama with the rock-star status really has the ability to start with, if not a clean slate, then a new position by which he can gain some ground for us and for the world in general.”
(Jonathan Oldmixon, 29, of Austin, Texas, graduate student in public administration, The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, registered Democrat)
“I think that there’s importance in even just the ceremony of them presenting themselves to the public and not just the swearing-in section but the fact that they walk all the way down Pennsylvania Avenue. And it just seems like a really nice event.”
(Raymie Hudson, 31, of Syracuse, nanny, registered Democrat)
(Maggie Scott-Weathers is a graduate student studying political reporting.)
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