DEL.ICIO.USUpdated: 2:52 a.m. November 05, 2008
Metro Atlantans greet results with cheers, fears
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
To a blaring of horns and cheers in the night, Barack Obama supporters throughout Atlanta celebrated Tuesday’s historic election, thankful for their candidate’s success in a state that had spent the day rejecting him.
All the party needed was a destination.
RICH ADDICKS / raddicks@ajc.com
Megan Underwood listens to newly elected President Barrack Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic Party of Georgia party at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Atlanta.
CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com
Republican supporter Terasa Filsoof, 43, reacts as Fox News declare Barack Obama the winner at the victory party for U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss at the Intercontinental Hotel in Atlanta.
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Dec. 2 runoff voting:
Photos:
• Chambliss, Martin in Atlanta | Voters
Nov. 4 voting:
As John McCain conceded defeat, a growing convoy of cars circled the streets of downtown Atlanta. They honked. They shrieked. They celebrated.
“Can you believe it?” said one man, grinning, as he pulled up to a stoplight near Centennial Olympic Park.
MARTA bus drivers joined in the honking. The driver of an 18-wheeler blew the horn as it barreled down Forsyth Street, flashing his lights and pumping his fist outside the window.
No mischief. Just exuberance. A janitor surveyed the scene from an office window, beaming.
Shortly after midnight, while Obama gave his victory speech, an Atlanta police spokeswoman said the city did not have any disturbances related to the election.
“It’s been very peaceful,” Sgt. Lisa Keyes said. “A lot of peaceful celebrations.”
As CNN called the election for Obama, screams could be heard coming out of the apartments and condos on Piedmont Avenue and North Avenue.
“I honestly thought it would be more sweeping, more of a landslide,” said Chris Heill, 29, as he watched the results at O’Terrill’s Pub.
“I’m glad Georgia went for McCain,” said Navin Johnson, 37-year-old Virginia-Highlands waiter and chef. “I would just rather see someone as commander-in-chief who had served our country.”
Indeed, before Georgia’s very eyes, as the country was turning blue, the state was standing steadfast red.
As results played out on televisions around the city, some things just did not compute.
Down at Underground Atlanta, Rick Gore, 35, of Midtown, mulled the night at Kenny’s Alley. He voted for Obama. He also knew he was in the minority. “I didn’t think he’d win in Georgia,” said Gore, who is white. “I guess Georgia is a very conservative place. I think we have some tough times ahead and we need a solid hand on the tiller.”
Nearby, Obama-backer Marcie Wilson, 37, who lives in Roswell, passed on her hopes for the future.
“The prayers that go out for him, that’s what’ll keep him safe and will keep him from getting corrupt and will put the right people around him,” said Wilson, who is black. “I was old enough to remember when Jesse Jackson ran for president, but I didn’t believe in him. I heard Obama on the radio on my way to school and remember thinking he would make an awesome president, without knowing anything about him.”
As a long emotional night unfurled around Atlanta, some state Republicans were not surprised. U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, a Republican, said, “Georgia is solidly red, conservative and Republican.”
The mood was not quite as buoyant at Spondivits up in Cumming where a host of regulars — uniformly blue collar and all McCain supporters — were prepared for defeat.
“I don’t know anyone who voted for Obama,” Forsyth County contractor Jeff Jones said. “One guy in my neighborhood had an Obama sign in his yard, but I don’t know him.”
Still, Jones predicted an Obama “blowout,” an outcome that has him concerned. He doesn’t think Obama has the necessary experience.
“Isn’t he a Muslim?” Jones asked. “That’s what everyone’s been telling me.”
Nursing a cocktail, Cindy Hazard spoke for the room.
“We’re screwed,” said Hazard, a controller for a heating and air-conditioning company.
She said the mood among her co-workers is similar to that after Sept. 11.
“Everybody’s scared,” the Cumming resident said. “I think [Obama] has misled a lot of people.”
Navy and Air Force veteran Brian Kelly said Obama doesn’t understand the importance of America’s position as a world superpower.
“I fought for America. I believe in the Stars and Bars,” said Kelly, of Cumming. “He doesn’t like the Stars and Bars.”
Despite the dire projections, the mood was not so somber.
“We’re drinking heavily,” Jones said.
In Alpharetta, Peggy Nazarowski was not expecting her preferred candidate, McCain, to win, but somehow, she also found herself not all that disappointed.
“I wanted to go there, but I just couldn’t,” said the nail technician, who watched the returns at Ray’s Killer Creek. She was troubled by a lack of experience and his alleged associations with domestic terrorist William Ayers and his controversial preacher, Jeremiah Wright. But now, she is willing to give him another chance.
“I’m really looking forward to his speech,” Nazarowski said. “Let’s hope he does some of the things he said he would.”
Alpharetta residents Donna Matthews and Mike Olah began dating soon after Obama and McCain secured their party’s nominations. She supports the Democrat. He’s a McCain man.
They watched the returns together Tuesday at the Wild Wing Cafe in Alpharetta. Civility prevailed.
“We been talking about it since May,” said Matthews, a practice administrator. “We’ve had some strong disagreements, but nothing real bad.”
“If Obama wins, I’ll support him wholeheartedly,” said Olah, a plumber. Unlike that other plumber, Joe, “I’m certified,” Olah said.
Though Obama’s victory had yet to be projected, Matthews said she never doubted he’d win.
“My heart told me the outcome would be what it is,” she said.
The pro-Obama crowd watching returns at Justin’s on Peachtree Road in Buckhead applauded as each state was called for their candidate.
It was almost too much for Shannon Wilson Lee.
“I promised myself I wasn’t going to watch it,” she said, much like a sports fan who fears watching the game could jinx it for her team. “I am very nervous. I want to have faith that (Obama) will prevail.”
Regina Waters, wearing an Obama cap, wasn’t about to miss a minute of TV coverage. She’s been voting since age 18 and not once in 20 years did she imagine having the chance to vote in an African American as president.
“It’s very exciting,” she said. But she said race did not sway her vote — she had initially supported Hillary Clinton. Rather, she thinks Obama’s policies will do more to help middle class Americans.
“I have pictures on my cell phone of gas at $4.19,” she said. “I had never seen that. This country needs a change.”
Record turnouts required some record encouragement. The NAACP of Clayton County estimated that it gave about 50 people rides to the polls, including one man from Decatur who is registered to vote in Clayton, said Dexter Matthews, president of the Clayton branch.
Matthews and his 8-year-old daughter, Sarah, were camped at the corner of Tara Boulevard and North Avenue in Jonesboro into evening, holding signs saying, “Vote Today.”
“If we can catch just one person on their way home from work and convince them to vote, it’s worth it,” Matthews said. “It looks like everyone who wanted to vote got the chance to.”
In West End, where Barack Obama found a solid base among Morehouse College students, Patrick Bentley, a senior from Savannah, paused to consider once again what an African-American president portends for America.
“Even though a lot of us say to our children, ‘You can be anything you want to be,’ there still is a glass ceiling for African-Americans,” said Bentley, 23, a psychology major. “Seeing a black president will make me feel like I can do anything. I can tell my children they can do anything, and mean it.”
— Staff writers Christian Boone, Jennifer Brett, Marcus Garner, Megan Matteucci and Rachel Ramos contributed to this report.
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