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In Grant Park: Ready to See History Be Made
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ShareNovember 04, 2008 11:21 PM
ABC News' Barbara Pinto reports: You can sense the excitement the moment you glimpse the evening sky.
And as the results came in from California, Washington and Oregon, pushing Barack Obama beyond the 270 electoral votes needed for victory, the crowd erupted.
Strangers hugged, some waved flags, others held homemade banners that proclaimed, "Yes, we could."
Near one television, a man with a camera around his neck stood staring at the screen, nodding his head in agreement, crying.
A klieg light emerges from the Chicago skyline — a beam originating from the park where the crowds are gathering, and where Obama will speak.
Police have closed off the area for blocks around Grant Park. There is no traffic. The crowds walk in. Three streets away, the flow of people is a trickle. At one block, it thickens as folks walk shoulder to shoulder. At the park, it is a line that snakes around corners and onto the lawn. The crowd is peaceful, expectant.
Latrelle Jenkins, who lives on the South Side of Chicago, Obama’s neighborhood said, "We wanted to see history being made tonight, and we couldn’t imagine watching this from home."
Her 11 year old daughter Kaya, has a similar view.
"It’s so cool," she says. "I can’t wait to tell all my friends I was here."
Along the route, peddlers sell Obama hats, T-shirts, flags.
"Wear it and make history," one man shouts as we walk past.
Inside Grant Park, tens of thousands of people are packed against the barricades.
They are watching the results on a mammoth TV screen. As each state is announced for Obama, the park erupts in cheers.
Sophie Logothetis, an elementary school history teacher, waited nearly an hour to get in. She is draped in a an American flag, beaming.
"I’ve been an Obama supporter from the beginning," she says. "I just had to be here."
She came with a friend who recently decided to vote for Obama.
"We’re going to take this experience back to our eighth graders tomorrow," Logothetis says.
She is one of the estimated 125,000 who had come out so far.
The celebrities have arrived too. Spike Lee made his way into the park a short while ago.
So did Oprah, one of Obama’s longtime supporters, who campaigned with him early on. As she made her way through the security checkpoint and the gaggle of television cameras, she told the crowd she was vibrating with excitement.
ABC News.com was also able to reach William Ayers, a controversial figure from Obama’s past who was also making his way to the park. The former Weather Underground leader, the man Sarah Palin referred to when she said Barack Obama was "palling around with terrorists," said he doesn’t know Obama that well.
When asked if he voted for Barack Obama today, he said, "Of course."
November 4, 2008 in Obama, Barack | Permalink | User Comments (101)
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I never thought I would live to experience such a moving election.It has had so many issues which touched close to home and has not just inspired me but touched me deeply.The fact that I supported Obama from the beginning and truly believed that the "truth" will set you free seems to have fulfilled this dream for Mr.Obama and myself.Thank god that we don't give up on our dreams.
Posted by: Mellissa Brucker | Nov 4, 2008 11:35:42 PM
Congrats to president Obama!!!
Posted by: Common Sense | Nov 4, 2008 11:36:21 PM
It is moments like this that make me proud to be an American. After 8 years of stupidity, we can now get back to being a world leader again.
Posted by: Concerned American | Nov 4, 2008 11:37:01 PM
Hi folks! I'm deaf citizen and I voted for Obama. I'm proud that he will be our president in 2009. I was impressed with him when he sent a blind hearing volunteer to Deaf Nation Expo (www.deafnation.com) and explained to us about how Obama supports Disabilities. McCain people didn't bother to show up. I guess we weren't good enough for them. GO OBAMA GO!!!
Posted by: Kristi Truong | Nov 4, 2008 11:41:12 PM
YES WE DID!!!!!!
Posted by: Valencia | Nov 4, 2008 11:41:17 PM
Mr. Obama reminds me of Gandhi who believed in peace instead of violence and brought his country in a new direction once the British were forced to leave. Gandhi is a great leader. One doesn't win by fighting violence with violence. There must be other alternatives.
I grew up in the '70's and remember people caring about one another in Chicago. I believe we need this back instead of the "me, myself & I" mentality we have today.
I'd like to see Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama work together at some point. One may not necessarily agree with another's opinion but they could find common ground inbetween and join together to help make the U.S.A. better.
Posted by: Andrea | Nov 4, 2008 11:42:46 PM
OK, take a deep breath and lets return to being civil with each other so we can start to work on the problems that face us all. Now is the time to start coming together to work on getting the USA back to being both United and American, as in the ideals that brought this country into being and ultimately to world prominence.
Posted by: David C | Nov 4, 2008 11:43:06 PM
A dark cloud that has covered the landscape of America from the purple mountains to the shining seas is now being lifted. A new day is dawning and America is once again a land of HOPE!
Posted by: NewDay | Nov 4, 2008 11:46:20 PM
I have to admit that Jesse Jackson has become almost a caricature of a leader in my eyes and at first I joke about him crying then I realized he was there when MLK Jr. got shot perhaps in front of his eyes and now he gets to witness Obama getting elected.
Posted by: Mr. Coffee | Nov 4, 2008 11:49:40 PM
It's a great time in our history to see Senator Obama elected President. I never thought I would see this happen in my lifetime.
Congratulations President Barack Obama!
God Bless you and God Bless AMERICA!!!
Posted by: Jwench | Nov 4, 2008 11:49:47 PM
Ron Paul '08!
Posted by: illa | Nov 4, 2008 11:51:12 PM
Thank you America! We've overcome bigotry and careless ignorance, and chosen a future of steady economic growth, tolerance, respectful foreign relations, and rational decisions. GO OBAMA! Let's start a rejuvenated America!
Posted by: Jennifer W | Nov 4, 2008 11:55:45 PM
Congrats to Obama... he deserves this.
Our country will become ours again...
Now send Palin home.... if only McCain would have picked someone else, he would have had a better shot. she blew it for him
Posted by: lmg | Nov 4, 2008 11:57:05 PM
I can't wait to see what happens to this country. I'm so excited for what is to COME for all of US!
Posted by: Jessica | Nov 4, 2008 11:58:11 PM
PRAISE THE LORD WE FINALLY GET TO SEE WHAT DR. KING DIED FOR.PEOPLE JUST PRAY FOR HIM AND KEEP HIM COVERED. AND PRAY FOR HIS FAMILY.
Posted by: happy to see this day | Nov 4, 2008 11:59:07 PM
I am so proud of America, of democracy, and of the people who protect our rights.
Posted by: Jennifer W | Nov 4, 2008 11:59:55 PM
AMAZING! SIMPLY AMAZING!
Posted by: It's a great day for the United States of America! | Nov 5, 2008 12:01:21 AM
So this is how democracy dies, with thunderous applause...
Posted by: Padme | Nov 5, 2008 12:03:27 AM
I LOVE AMERICA!
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WHO ARE ALIVE TO WITNESS A MOMENT LIKE THIS!!!!!
Posted by: GIGI | Nov 5, 2008 12:05:51 AM
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL!!!
I go to school downtown, not to far from chicago and all day it was all about Obama. Such an amazing thing, I so happy and honored to have witnessed this and to be apart of this. Its 11 o'clock in chicago and the streets are empty and its amazing we have come together. YES WE CAN We asked for a change, we demanded a change and we were given a change.
Posted by: Erica | Nov 5, 2008 12:07:21 AM
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