ELK RAPIDS -- A late morning sun shone on this Antrim County village hours after a freshman Illinois senator became president-elect of the United States.
Terry Miller talked politics with friend Wally Hibbard over coffee Wednesday at Java Jones in Elk Rapids, and called Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's solid win over rival Sen. John McCain "a breath of fresh air."
After all, they said, the sun still came up. And the sky didn't fall.
"It's easy to run into people around here who think it's the end of days, but that's not the case," said Miller, 61.
Obama was elected the nation's first black president Tuesday night with 52 percent of the popular vote and 349 electoral votes to McCain's 163, as of Wednesday afternoon.
Millions of people nationwide, and tens of thousands of regional voters, cast ballots in the historic election.
The news quickly spread overseas, Miller said. His son-in-law contacted him from India and said people there were dancing in the streets.
"It's been an incredible amount of healing just electing this guy," he said. "You've got to have some reconciliation."
Americans are watching history unfold, Betty Cramer said as she volunteered at a food pantry in the Benzie County village of Honor on Wednesday.
Cramer is a senior citizen from Benzonia Township who grew up during times of racial segregation. She voted for Obama, a man she doesn't view in terms of color, but rather as "just a great guy."
"We're growing and maturing and becoming multicultural," she said. "Little girls and little boys can grow up to be president, no matter what their background is."
But Gloria Sproul has limited expectations for Obama. She typically votes Democratic, but supported McCain.
"(Obama) is smart, I'll give him that, but I just don't think he has the overall knowledge," said Sproul, 76, a retired teacher from Honor. "He's very young, I don't think he sees things as clearly as John McCain did."
Sproul expects more hard times with the tough economy, and she doesn't think any one person can lift the country out of its current fix.
But, she added, "I'd like to be surprised, because I think he has certainly the country's best interest at heart."
She thought the election might end up this way, but Candy Golden still worries that Obama's tax plans could be a detriment to small businesses.
An employee at The Moose party store in Elk Rapids, Golden, 47, doesn't want the business to go under.
"It's my livelihood," the Traverse City resident said. "It's sort of a wait-and-see attitude. Change isn't always what people think it is."
Mary Foust drove around Wednesday afternoon in a red Pontiac Bonneville with "Barack 08" painted in silver across her front windshield and "Obama" on the rear window.
Her son and grandson decorated the car late Tuesday when Obama's victory was announced.
"I'm shocked, but I'm happy," said Foust, 43, of Honor. "I thought it'd be tight."
Foust said she heard a lot of people say they couldn't bring themselves to vote for a black man, yet more than 63 million Americans did just that.
"Things need to get better for the middle class," said Foust, a house builder who has had a tough time with the current economy.
Many young voters were excited to participate in this year's election, regardless of the subject of their support. They just wanted to have their voices heard.
Now that the campaign rhetoric has ended, Jessica Oldebekking, 24, said she hopes Obama's economic plans yield results -- "especially around here."
His election is "one of those things I never thought I'd see," the Elk Rapids resident said. "(It's) a good change, something different from the last eight years."
Charles Tice watched the results Tuesday night with his wife and two friends. He was the lone Republican in the group.
He voted for McCain, but now wants Obama to begin to heal the rift between political ideologies so real progress can be achieved.
"The real trick will be, can both of them separate themselves from their advisers and forge the direction they pledged to forge?" said Tice, 71, a Southfield resident who occasionally visits Elk Rapids. "I would hope he would mature in office. The sparkly middle ground is what makes things work."
Traverse City resident Joe Coffman voted for Obama. He's optimistic the Illinois senator will make strides toward repairing the nation's health care system and begin to withdraw from Iraq.
"I think he's going to bring a close to it in a way McCain never would have," Coffman said.
Mike Cullian, a Chicago resident and McCain supporter, visited Traverse City this week. He also wasn't surprised Obama beat McCain, and he's hopeful the president-elect will tackle the nation's economic issues.
"I'm willing to give Mr. Obama a chance," he said. "I don't envy the man, he's got a tremendous amount of work ahead of him."
Veronica Ramos voted for McCain. Her boyfriend, Craig Clark, supported Obama. Yet both are hopeful Obama will bring the change he spoke of on the campaign trail.
"Even though I'm for McCain, I'm thrilled about how great this country is that we have a black president," said Ramos, 40, of Elk Rapids. "You have to support your president, whatever direction he takes."
Clark, 53, said the president-elect will need to select a good team before he is inaugurated in January.
"I'm excited about the result, but nervous about what the outcome could be in the long run," he said. "He's got a big job ahead of him."
Tim Volas of Honor agreed, and said he's excited for the next president to get the country back on track.
Volas is glad to see a younger generation come into power. He has a 3-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son.
"I was really happy this morning," Volas, 41, said. "It's going give the kids a role model and give them some hope and something to look up to."
Staff writer Art Bukowski contributed to this report.
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