Published: November 04, 2008 11:50 pm      

11:46 pm: Locals flock to polls in historic election

TRAVERSE CITY — A year ago, Josh Oberschmidt never would have believed American voters could elect a black man as president.

But with Democratic Sen. Barack Obama’s victory Tuesday, the hope he had for years finally was realized.

“It’s absolutely amazing,” said Oberschmidt, 36, of Traverse City. “This country could tell us our whole lives that anyone can be president.

“We haven’t proved that until today.”

Obama received 333 electoral votes as of press time Tuesday, sending a Democrat to the White House for the first time in eight years.

His challenger, Republican Sen. John McCain, earned 155. He conceded victory after 11 p.m. Tuesday.

Brian Holtsclaw, 39, voted for McCain earlier in the day in Grand Rapids. He said he thought his choice could have run a better campaign.

“People thought he might be the best thing to beat the Democrats,” Holtsclaw said as he watched the results at Dillinger’s Pub in Traverse City. “We’ll have to see what happens, whether it’s good or bad.”

Thousands of voters across the region streamed into polling precincts Tuesday to decide the nation’s next leader.

The last presidential election Mike Griffiths considered even remotely as important as this one was in the late 1960s.

Obviously, a lot has happened since then.

Obama certainly has his work cut out for him, said Griffiths, 57, of Long Lake Township.

“Everything has been so up in the air for as long as I can remember, so I’m hopeful,” said Griffiths, who voted for Obama and cited conflicts in the Middle East and the collapsing U.S. economy as key issues surrounding his vote.

“I’m not partisan. I’m more interested in the well-being of people.”

Exit polls yielded the economy, the war in Iraq, the push to develop alternative energy sources and health care as among the key issues influencing voters this year.

Warren Parrish considered “moral issues” when casting his vote for McCain.

He studied McCain’s and Obama’s Senate records to prepare.

“Comparing the candidates side-by-side, that was one of the strongest factors for me,” said Parrish, 54, of Long Lake Township. “The people who are making those decisions have more responsibility, and it trickles down to us.”

East Bay Township resident Penny Demoulpied said the economy is her biggest concern.

A lifelong Republican who works in special education for the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District, Demoulpied took a new approach this year by voting for Obama.

She believes it’s time one party controlled both Congress and the White House, because a split doesn’t seem to be working.

“You can feel the strain. Every day, everything is so much more expensive,” Demoulpied said. “I’d like to see a lot of things changed.”

Longtime Republican voter Jacqueline Tefft also switched teams this year.

The historic nature of this year’s election, in which either the first black president in Obama or the first female vice president in Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was a certainty, was both enormous and exciting, she said.

“You might say I voted for Obama because I just didn’t want to see a Republican president,” Tefft said Tuesday in downtown Traverse City. “I think it would be good to have a black president. We need to be equal.”

Candidates’ differing genders and races are more inclusive of the country’s diverse population, said Maggie Singer, of Leelanau County’s Elmwood Township. Her vote went to Obama.

“In 10 years or 20 years from now, it’s going to be mostly mixed, so it’s more representative of all of us,” she said. “There will be another woman vice president or president now that the glass ceiling was broken. Women are going to be more acknowledged.”

Some young voters say gender and ethnicity matter far less to them than they do to older generations.

Cody Maher, 23, said people his age don’t see the historical significance of an Obama or Palin victory.

“There was never a doubt we would see it happen,” said Maher, who works in computer sales and voted for McCain.

Maher said McCain wasn’t his first choice, but sees him as the “lesser of two evils.”

“The open market system has worked well for our country, and I don’t know why you would want to change to a more socialist country with Obama,” Maher said.

The sluggish economy and its effect on construction jobs compelled construction truck driver Ian Campbell of Kalkaska County to choose McCain.

Campbell said he regrets his votes for President Bush in 2000 and 2004 and suspects a McCain presidency would be more of the same, but he fears “monster changes” Obama might have in store.

“When the economy is slow, we’re slow,” Campbell said. “I don’t like McCain and I don’t like Obama, but I’m a Republican, so I’ll vote for McCain.”

Tim Scott, of Elmwood Township, also voted for McCain. He wants him to put an end to wasteful spending.

But when it comes down to it, Scott said national security outweighs any concerns about money. He trusts McCain to keep the country safe.

“None of the other stuff would make any difference if our freedom is endangered,” he said. “Who cares how much they’re going to tax you if Iran decides to send a nuke over our head?”

But Garfield Township resident Dianne Ureel believes it’s Obama who better understands the average citizen.

Past elections haven’t inspired her to donate to a campaign or purchase political clothing, and she did both for the first time this year.

“I think this is the most exciting election in my lifetime, I really do,” said Ureel, 57. “I took the day off work tomorrow because I’m going to stay up tonight and watch the returns come in.”

An Obama win would mark significant progress, she said.

“I’m thrilled that my grandchildren ... will have a black man in the White House, and that will be perfectly normal for them,” she said.

Tricia Fitzner, of Traverse City, voted for Obama in hopes he’ll bring a quicker end to the war in Iraq, where her father was re-deployed five months ago after coming out of retirement.

“It’s scary every day I don’t hear from him,” she said. “I’d like to see him come home.”

Her fiance, Brandon Woods, said he was “kind of torn” going into the election, but tilted toward Obama.

“Ten years ago, I might have voted for McCain,” Woods said.

But he wasn’t impressed with McCain’s choice for a running mate, saying Palin was too inexperienced.

“That’s what they were saying about Obama,” he said.

Traverse City resident Karra Kopacki said she paid close attention to this year’s election.

She followed the race in the media and studied the candidates before casting a vote for Obama.

“It’s not that McCain isn’t good,” she said. “But the last eight years, that (Republican) party’s gotten us in deeper.”

Kopacki’s getting married next year and looks forward to starting a family, factors that put this election in a different context.

“It’s not just about me anymore,” she said. “In 20 years when my kids are going to history class, they’re going to look back and see its importance. This is something like JFK, something historic.”

— Staff writers Art Bukowski, Melissa Domsic, Brian McGillivary, Sheri McWhirter and Bill O’Brien contributed to this report.