2008 Woodie Awards
Lecturer plays host for election night media coverage watch
"McCain-iacs" and "Obam-iacs" root for their favorite candidates as results come in.
By Trey Randolph
Issue date: 11/7/08 Section: News
Originally published: 11/6/08 at 12:48 PM CSTLast update: 11/11/08 at 5:19 PM CST
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The election party was held during the weekly class time for political science Lecturer Dan Sanchez's GOVT 2302, American Government: Problems and Policy.
Also invited were students from Sanchez's two GOVT 2301, American Government: National, State, and Local, classes, as well as his students from UTSA.
"It is better education to simulate the war room," Sanchez said.
"My objective was to give the students a real understanding of how this works and an appreciation for the fact that the Electoral College exists and how it fits into our system.
"It's reality. War rooms are actually worse than this," Sanchez told the group early in the night. "I mean, people haven't shaved in three days, and a couple haven't bathed. It's a wild time."
Results were tracked by television and Internet, including up-to-the-minute coverage from the Web sites of MSNBC, CNN and the BBC, among others. The ancient bunny-ear antenna on the television didn't work well in the middle of the concrete and steel Chance building, so the television coverage went between the only two stations receivable - Univision and Fox News.
Most eyes were focused on a computer monitor in the far corner of the room that displayed a live feed of MSNBC coverage.
Pizza and party sandwiches had been served earlier, but by time polls began closing on the East Coast at 6 p.m. CST, participants were clearly focused on election results.
McCain-iacs and Obam-iacs, as Sanchez called them, were present, but a large majority of the room seemed to be rooting for Senator, now President-elect, Barack Obama.
"I think he is more down to earth," Loretta Edwards, public administration sophomore, said of Obama.
"He wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and he is trying to do more for everyone all around."
Economy tops agendas
While expressing differing political views, everyone interviewed agreed the economy is the top issue in this election, with the war in Iraq placing second.
"We can't do (anything) else without the economy being stable," Edwards said. "If McCain wins, I hope that he keeps up with what he says he's going to do."
"The war does affect the economy to some extent," David Schipper, liberal arts freshman, said. "You have to get (military) spending under control, and that's an economic issue. People might not think of the Iraq war as an economic issue, but it definitely is."
Schipper said that while he thought Obama would win, he voted for Bob Barr, Libertarian candidate from Georgia.
"We've got to get rid of the two-party (system) that we have.
"Both candidates, McCain and Obama, had connections to special interests, multiple lobbyist group connections. That concerned me, and that's why I voted for (Barr)."
Barr represented Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995-2003.
Schipper added he doesn't believe either major candidate will get spending under control.
Sanchez said that despite his party bias, he still favors the two-party system. "Two healthy parties keep each other in line. If one's sick, the other party can do whatever it wants. I'm not comfortable with that."
Sanchez has previously done a lot of work in politics in Illinois and Washington, D.C.
His first exposure to Obama came when he was a consultant to Gary Chico, whom Obama defeated in the 2004 Illinois race for U.S. Senate.
"(Obama) has grown as a candidate. I was not supporting him early; I was supporting Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico.
"Part of becoming a successful candidate is the ability to get your message across, and that is not Richardson's (strength)."
Richardson withdrew on Jan. 10 after poor showings in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries.
Why Tuesday?
The reason elections are traditionally on Tuesday harkens back to the horse-and-buggy era, Sanchez said.
Voters had to travel by horse and buggy, often leading to a day-long journey.
Church prevented most citizens from traveling on Sunday, leaving Tuesday as the first available day in the week on which to hold elections.
Sanchez also noted elections were set in November to avoid conflict with harvest.
Michael Prats, criminal justice sophomore, cited McCain's military record and experience as well as Obama's promise to bring home troops from Iraq as some of his reasons for supporting McCain.
"I believe (McCain) can bring our country back to where it was. I think he'll keep us safe, get the economy in order and create more jobs," Prats said. "I trust him."
"I would feel unsafe and scared (if Obama wins)," Prats added. "I think he's going to be tested with a terrorist attack."
Two people wearing McCain stickers could not provide an answer as to why they were supporting him.
Obama supporter Michael Angel, liberal arts sophomore, compared the state of the nation during this election to that during the 1980 election.
Many are hurting from unemployment and the economy, Angel said. "(The economy then) was just like it is now," he said, referring to the 1980 election in which Ronald Reagan defeated incumbent Jimmy Carter.
The 1980 election was marred by low economic growth and rising inflation, with many people blaming Carter for the nation's problems.
While Reagan received about 51 percent of the popular vote against Carter's 41 percent, Reagan stormed the Electoral College, winning 489 of the possible 538 electoral votes in this election.
While McCain won Texas as a whole, Obama won Bexar, Travis, Dallas and Harris counties. These counties are home to Texas' four main cities - San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and Houston.
No Democrat has won all four major counties in at least 20 years, and no Democrat has carried the state since Jimmy Carter in 1976.
"This is a significant election. This is like a 1980 (election), 1960, 1932. It's not just the presidency, it's the realignment of Congress. What's happened, because of the seats in the House (of Representatives) the Republicans dropped, they're becoming increasingly a southeastern party, whereas the Democrats as you can see are starting to (take over).
"It is very difficult, historically, for a party that's regionally based to be a national factor. The more mainstream leadership of the Republican party, people like Governor (Mitt) Romney, Mayor (Rudy) Giuliani, are going to have to take hold of the Republican party and get it back more to the mainstream, or they're going to be lost," Sanchez said.
"That's not saying they can't because the Democratic party in '72 had the same problem. It took them a long time, but they eventually did work their way back."
Democrat George McGovern lost the 1972 presidential election to Richard Nixon by a count of Nixon's 520 electoral votes to McGovern's 17. McGovern won electoral votes from Massachusetts and the District of Columbia in his loss, the third largest electoral margin in history.
Sanchez said Illinois law requires the governor to appoint a successor when an Illinois Senate seat falls empty, as Obama's will upon his inauguration Jan. 20.
The Democrats increased their majority in the House of Representatives by 23 seats, now holding 259 of the 435 seats.
Democrats also gained ground in Senate races, adding five seats to their cause, bringing the total to 54 Democrats and two Independents aligned with the party.
As of deadline Wednesday, four seats were still up for grabs. If Democrats land all four, they will hold 60 seats, which would allow them to control the Senate by ending debates and beginning voting on issues.
Magic number
Without the "cloture" vote of 60, a senator may speak for as long as he or she wishes on any topic they choose without the measure being voted upon. A filibuster is often used to delay or even prevent voting, but a three-fifths majority would allow Democrats control of Senate debates. With the cloture vote, defined as three-fifths of the Senate, debates can be stopped and voting may proceed.
A 60-seat Senate majority could prove powerful for Democrats because the Senate has several exclusive powers not granted the House of Representatives, such as consenting to treaties and confirming appointments of Cabinet secretaries or federal judges.
There is no filibuster in the House of Representatives because the House is led by the Speaker of the House, currently Nancy Pelosi of California, who is awarded the job through votes of fellow representatives in the majority party.
The night also saw elections for governor in 11 states.
Only one state, Missouri, saw a change in party in governor elections.
The Missouri race saw Democrat Jeremiah Nixon, former state senator and attorney general, defeat U.S. House of Representatives Republican Kenny Hulshof by a margin of over half a million votes.
Matt Blunt, Missouri's current governor, decided in January not to run for re-election.
The other 10 states holding gubernatorial races were split - five Democrats, five Republicans.
Eight of those states re-elected incumbents, with only Delaware and North Carolina electing new governors.
By 9 p.m. CST, Obama had all but wrapped up his historic bid for president. The 40 people at the start of the event in the war room had dwindled to only 11, including no McCain supporters.
Just after 10 p.m. there were only four people left in the room to witness the first predictions of Obama's victory.
While Obama gained about 52 percent of the popular vote, the electoral votes were highly in his favor due, in large part, to his victory in battleground states such as Ohio, Florida and Indiana, as well as his victory in high-electoral vote states such as California, Pennsylvania and New York.
Obama also won eight states that went Republican in the 2004 election, while McCain did not convert any states.
Voter turnout is estimated as high as 136.6 million voters, compared to the 2004 tally of 122.3 million, according to the Associated Press. If that number holds true, this election will have seen a 64.1 percent voter turnout, the highest since 1908's 65.7 percent.
The 1908 election saw William H. Taft defeat William J. Bryan by almost 2-1 in electoral votes.
CNN exit polls show Obama won about 66 percent of the vote from voters aged 18-30, but exact figures were unavailable. The same exit polls gave McCain the majority in only one group - ages 65 and up.
Obama also dominated votes from minority voters, gaining as much as 96 percent of African-American votes and at least 58 percent of the Latino vote, while McCain edged Obama in white voters aged 30 and up by no more than 18 percent.
Obama's job as president-elect begins almost immediately, as he was expected to receive his first top-secret intelligence briefing Thursday from Michael McConnell, director of national intelligence.
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