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Chicago continues to celebrate Obama's victory
It's been hours since Barack Obama claimed victory at Grant Park. Some 240,000 people have left for home. But the mood remains jubilant.
- Agencies
- Published: 17:14 November 5, 2008
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Chicago: It's been hours since Barack Obama claimed victory at Grant Park. Some 240,000 people have left for home. But the mood remains jubilant.
With delirious cheers from more than 100,000 people jammed into the city's Grant Park, Barack Obama's hometown had embraced his landmark victory on Tuesday night as a dream finally come true.
The thousands celebrating in a park on the Lake Michigan shoreline roared louder each time the giant video monitors showed that Barack Obama had won another battleground state: Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Ohio, Iowa, New Mexico.
“I can't believe this! I cannot believe we're going to see an African-American in the White House,'' said Kerrie Rosenthal, as she listened to the victory pronouncement over the roars from the crowd, tears in her eyes. “This has been a revolution.''
The crowd was a colorful mix of different ages and ethnicities, most sporting Barack Obama T-shirts, pins, and hats.
Throughout the evening, the mood in Grant Park was ebullient, with supporters feeling optimistic as they arrived, and only gaining confidence as they heard one battleground state after another go to the Illinois Senator.
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“One hundred years from now, this will be in textbooks,'' said David Paredes, a young Chicago taxi driver who was recently laid off from his job as an emergency medical technician because of rising fuel prices. “It's one of those moments when society lurched forward… I will tell my grandchildren that back in the day, we had politicians like Barack Obama, and I was there.''
“It's electric; I wouldn't miss this for the world,'' said Regina Hawkins, an older African-American woman who attended the event with her daughter. “Chicago is our home. To have a hometown boy is wonderful.''
Hundreds of thousands of supporters gathered just outside the park, and as soon as the first ticketholders were allowed in shortly after 6 pm, they raced across the field to nab prime spaces near the stage or with a good view of the enormous TV screens projecting CNN to the crowd. Many supporters spoke of a sense of making history.
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