Saturday, November 8, 2008

Obama's victory in Florida represents many firsts

Barack Obama's election as the 44th president Tuesday broke political and racial barriers in the Sunshine State.

Obama was the first Democrat to win a statewide race in a dozen years, when former President Clinton won Florida.

He's the first northern Democrat to win Florida since Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Obama also became the only black candidate to win a statewide race in Florida, outside of Reconstruction.
His election marks a change in politics, but in society as well.


"A lot of boys will pull their pants up," said state Sen. Tony Hill, a Democrat from Jacksonville. "They have a role model now. No longer will black males have any excuse. . . . Tuesday night Sen. Obama took all the excuses off the table."

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