By Jeff Kenney Citizen editor
It was an election of historic proportions. America, poised either to elect the first female vice-president or first African-American president, chose the latter on a day marked by polls so crowded that wait times were more than an hour – even in Culver -- at times. Some voters couldn’t recall more crowded polls as the downstairs lobby of the Culver Public Library filled with acquaintances and neighbors anxious to make their voice heard in this unprecedented year.
Following the announcement of Barack Obama’s (D) victory over John McCain (R), and Mitch Daniels’ (R) defeat of Jill Long Thompson (D) in the race for Indiana’s governorship, the Culver Citizen asked Culverites “on the street” for reactions to the election.

Mary Baker: “(In Barack Obama, we see) a young, really intelligent person coming into the office. I think Barack Obama just has charisma and enlightened and ignited the whole young population. I think it’s exciting that Indiana went “blue” for the first time in 40 years.”
Jim Weirick: “I think the 60-40 split on the Governor’s ticket just tells you how much ticket splitting there was. This election also points up the amount of money in politics and what that does. There’s a statistic that Mitch Daniels outspent Jill Long Thompson something like three to one, and Obama outspent McCain 10 to one in this state. I’m completely disgusted with the electorate for allowing themselves to be bought.”
Janet Faulkner: “I think the economy had a lot to do with the high voter turnout. We voted the Thursday before election day, and there were about 15 people ahead of us at the courthouse. There must have been 20 after us; I couldn’t believe how many there were! Areas like Lafayette, Bloominton, Muncie and Notre Dame…most of the big college towns were all Democrat (in voting). That shows you how the young people felt.
Julie Bess: “Wherever you stand politically, this is an exciting time for our country. We have our first black president, the potential for a female vice president, and such high voter turnout. But I think way too much money was spent (by candidates) when our economy is sitting where it’s at and people are struggling as they are.”
Ralph Winters: “I’m totally disgusted with the state Democratic party. They gave the gubernatorial candidate minimal support because she wasn’t part of the inner circle, one of the good old boys. There’s too much ‘good old boy-ism’ in the state Democratic party.”
Glenda Kent: “I think that this (Obama’s election) is a movement. It brought tears to my eyes that after 200 years in this country, we’re finally getting a black man in office. He offers hope. I’d like to see sincere change. Now we’ll find out just how good he is. He’s got a lot on his plate. I’m going to give him my full support.”
Marlo Anderson: Finally the day is here that’s long overdue (Obama’s election). It should shed inspiration on the world in general (and) give people hope. They use to talk to the kids and say, ‘You can be president someday.’ Now kids do believe it. We shed a lot of light on a lot of people who were closed-minded. Change is good. I’m not going to say he’ll be a good president, but we’ll see what he can do.”