American politics realized a major change in early November 2008; Barack Obama was

elected as the first African American president. Democracy and the need to vote for what is right

for our country played a major role in this. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate

who represented a new era of politics, received his strongest support from the 18-29 year-old

voting bloc. These young people were more optimistic about the future of the economy. The

energy policy, healthcare and the need to cut taxes for most Americans were also among the top

voting issues. Obama’s promise to withdraw the American troops from Iraq attracted a larger

number of votes since majority of the young voters were against the Iraq war. It is evident that

Barack Obama addressed an audience of diversified economic and racial backgrounds. He came

across as diverse from citing his unusual cultural and racial backgrounds in his Address. Yet

again, Obama discussed traditional democratic issues like education, health care and jobs, which

gave him a mass appeal. He was therefore able to emerge victorious in the 2008 election.