Full disclosure: Obamathon Man is a proud citizen of the Los Angeles area. Or as his detractors would say, an unrepentant Angeleno. LA may not be the most romantic city in the world, but we love us some Barack.
Post election, celebrations erupted across the city, above is a video of Leimert Park Nov. 4. Obamathon Man himself decided to keep it low key, celebrating election night at a quiet coffee shop in Long Beach. After the election announcement, however, the place became significantly less quiet. There were cheers, and people who had never met before exchanged hugs. Friends from Santa Monica reported that enthused revelers took to the streets, blocking traffic.
Angelenos can take pride in our unique contributions to Obama's campaign. LA is, of course, home to the "Hollywood Liberal", one of the most dangerous types of liberal. Obama's campaign has scooped up major cash from Westside elites. LA's star-centric kennels have taken an early interest in providing the Obama family with a presidential pooch, and it is still possible an LA canine may be chosen as first dog. Outside of "the business", LA is the home of googie architecture, whose futuristic giant donuts actually proved to be prophetic Obama logos.
Regrettably, there was no LA equivalent of Chicago's Grant Park Gala. The Militant Angeleno, role model and third-person inspiration to Obamathon Man, laments the lack of centralized parks in LA. Obamathon man hopes that by 2012, the Hollywood Freeway Central Park will be open, covering up an ugly freeway with a lovely park. Perhaps Obama's new public works department could pitch in to help?
In Los Angeles County, the country's largest voting district, Obama won 69% of the vote. But there are plenty of Angelenos who were displeased with the election results as well. My advice to them is to suck it up.
Obamathon Man looks forward to providing coverage of Americans' views on the inauguration during his cross-country travels next month. But along the way, I won't forget to show a little love to Angelenos back home.
I'm old enough to remember the Kennedy inauguration. I was in grade school, but I do remember it. The energy and style of the young couple added excitement and "vig-ah" ( as JFK would say) to the whole thing. I think the Obamas will add the same kind of punch to DC.
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