Irony in Geography
EmailABC News Andy Fies reports: In Manassas, VA where the Confederacy won the first major battle of its war to preserve slavery, Barack Obama held the last rally of his campaign to become President of the United States.
While the campaign chose the location for practical and tactical reasons…a huge park in a part of Virginia critical to its effort to turn that red state blue…the rich irony hung in the air.
It wasn’t the Civil War battleground itself — better Known in the North as Bull Run — but it had that feel. Ninety thousand Obama supporters poured over a distant ridge onto a field below, leading up to and surrounding the stage.
Of course, whether he wins or loses, Obama has stepped onto the stage of history. Last night, in that setting, near where thousands died fighting over whether a man of Obama’s color should ever have such a chance, it felt as if he were stepping INTO history.
Mitt Romney's Full Speech at CPAC 2012 
Romney Makes His Case to Conservatives at CPAC
Proud supporter of Barack Obama!
Barack will win VA and get more votes than any President in American history!
Posted by: Dave in VA - REAL VA! | November 4, 2008, 11:10 am 11:10 am
It is history and one can only hope that people remember this when the election votes are counted.
Obama/Biden 08
Posted by: Grissom | November 4, 2008, 11:15 am 11:15 am
I live in PA and just went to vote. The polling place is situated next to a senior citizen community and wow are they out in droves! They are voting for McCain by the way..
John McCain will win Pennsylvania.
Posted by: ml | November 4, 2008, 11:16 am 11:16 am
I am sure there will be a lot or irony in this election. If Obama wins, many of the people who spent so many years trying to keep blacks from voting by various methods will find themselves living under a black President. That is irony. I hope that they can adapt and control their hatred.
Posted by: Jenny Rome Ga | November 4, 2008, 11:18 am 11:18 am
I live in PA and gosh the exit polls all say Obama has it in the bag!
Posted by: Grissom | November 4, 2008, 11:18 am 11:18 am
“Last night, in that setting, near where thousands died fighting over whether a man of Obama’s color should ever have such a chance, it felt as if he were stepping into history.”
WOW!! Reading that last sentence gave me goosebumps. Glad I am here to see it.
Posted by: Mary in MN | November 4, 2008, 11:18 am 11:18 am
I hope that the Jewish people realize who they are voiting for! Seems Mr. Obama speaks out both sides of his mouth!
http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=80018
Posted by: chuck | November 4, 2008, 11:18 am 11:18 am
Senior citizens are out in droves in Pennsylvania. I just went to vote for MCCAIN and witnessed it with my own eyes..they are voting for John McCain!
Posted by: ml | November 4, 2008, 11:19 am 11:19 am
There is also the irony in that the liberal media and spoiled rich snots like Bill Ayers spat on the returning Vietnam vets and now they have beaten McCain who sat in a Vietnam prison for years.
Posted by: today | November 4, 2008, 11:20 am 11:20 am
Some of these state races will be very tight so turn out and vote. Even in California the additional popular vote totals will help Obama’s mandate.
Turn out and vote, no matter what the polls or tv say.
Posted by: bubba | November 4, 2008, 11:21 am 11:21 am
Gosh ML think you should post again regarding PA? LOL Think that helps McCain when the polls say you have not a clue what your talking about?
Posted by: Grissom | November 4, 2008, 11:21 am 11:21 am
If you haven’t voted, don’t blog. VOTE FIRST!
Glad to be part of this historic event.
Posted by: TXGal51 | November 4, 2008, 11:22 am 11:22 am
PRESIDENT OBAMA! GET USE TO IT!
Posted by: Independent realist | November 4, 2008, 11:23 am 11:23 am
“where the Confederacy won the first major battle of its war to preserve slavery”
As written by another defective product of our public education system. The war was not to preserve slavery, it was to preserve States’ Rights. Slavery was the issue leading to it, however, the principle issue was over Federalism.
Posted by: Bob | November 4, 2008, 11:25 am 11:25 am
If you have not voted yet, no matter what state you live in, go out and vote, vote, vote
Thank you
Posted by: usa | November 4, 2008, 11:30 am 11:30 am
After this historic event is recorded in the books.. we the people need to take back the voting process so our votes truly count. Go to your state Governor and look for information about getting rid of the archaic electoral college system. We need to switch to the popular vote, where each individual vote has equal weight.
Posted by: Concerned American | November 4, 2008, 11:30 am 11:30 am
Bob
It was slavery. It was often veiled as states’ rights, yes, and that was certainly part of the background, but after 1854 the ONLY issue was slavery.
Posted by: jock59801 | November 4, 2008, 11:31 am 11:31 am
If you have not voted yet, go out and do so no matter what state you live in. Vote, vote, vote,
Thank you
Posted by: usa | November 4, 2008, 11:31 am 11:31 am
Bob,
I think we all know that but ask most blacks and they will say they didn’t give a dam about “states rights”. For us it is and has always been about slavery. States wanted the right to get rich off of free labor…..slavery. Federalism, states rights….sure. Make sure those terms get in the history books. But at the end of the day, they wanted the right to own other humans for the purpose of working them from sunup to sundown for free. There was BIG money to be made in working other humans for free……don’t get it twisted. The other rights the states wanted were insignificant when placed against the larger issue of slavery and it’s spread to the newly settle lands stolen from them natives…..i meant newly “found” lands to the west.
Posted by: NoOneCaresAboutTheTruth | November 4, 2008, 11:34 am 11:34 am
Independent realist….Whomever the chosen candidate will be, we must all support the process and the Office of the President. With that said, we however DO NOT have to support the policies of the chosen President..That is when individual rights take over; therefore, “get use to it” can be applied one way and denied another…VOTE INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE
Posted by: curiousindep | November 4, 2008, 11:37 am 11:37 am
chuck: “I hope that the Jewish people realize who they are voiting for! ”
Of course not, they’re too stupid, right? They need a hard-right website, with it’s un-verifiable sources in the Palestinian leadership, to tell them the super-secret agreement Obama has with the Palestinians. Wow, luck you popped in here to set all those dullards straight. Now that the truth has been exposed I’m sure all those Jewish idiots will vote McCain! Good werk!
Posted by: jhw539 | November 4, 2008, 11:39 am 11:39 am
How many people in PA have seen the lines near college campuses. The youth are voting and will probably cancel out the senior vote. There were 4 people in line in October when I voted and we all voted for Obama, so clearly he will win Iowa. Nobody should generalize their state by their precinct, we’ll just have to wait until tonight.
Posted by: skeptic | November 4, 2008, 11:42 am 11:42 am
There is also the irony in that the liberal media and spoiled rich snots like Bill Ayers spat on the returning Vietnam vets and now they have beaten McCain who sat in a Vietnam prison for years.
———————–
Along with other Vietnam prisoners, who today call McCain a “Songbird”. This man is no war hero to those who served next to him, nor to me. The war heros are those who have fought and died for our great nation, those are the war heros.
Posted by: becky (the real one) | November 4, 2008, 11:44 am 11:44 am
I voted absentee for Obama last month, when early voting opened in my state. I am Jewish as are many of my friends and we’ve all voted early and for Obama. This is a huge historic moment in the history of our great nation. All Americans, whose forebearers endured the whips of slavers, the taunts of bigots and the murderous hands of Hitler’s minions and others of his ilk, should be proud to have voted in this election, no matter whom you selected, because we have the freedom to make our choice; we have the freedom to speak our minds. Let no one infringe upon those rights, ever.
Posted by: nanameow | November 4, 2008, 11:46 am 11:46 am
…Slavery was a side issue, the Southern States did not want the Northern States dictating State Rights…If history is too be a teacher or guide for future events, you must look to the reasons…the facts so that they may not be repeated.
Posted by: curiousindep | November 4, 2008, 11:46 am 11:46 am
Good luck America!
We of the rest of the world are looking forward to seeing President Obama sworn in on January 20th … we know that the obstacles to cleaning up the Bush mess will be great but we are counting on him and all of you to get it done!
Posted by: Barrie O. Ward The Canadian Geezer | November 4, 2008, 11:47 am 11:47 am
Try reading a non-revisionist book once in awhile, Mr. and/or Ms. author. The Civil War was about economics, and started with federal tariffs being levied in 1816 (45 years prior to the Civil War) on the goods the Southern states were importing from Europe in order to force the Southern states into buying goods from fledgling Northern industries. The issue of slavery was related, but was used as a last-ditch effort to bring the people of New York (primarily) into the fray on the Northern side. You can find some scholars who will say it was all interwoven and really about slavery, and some authors and politicians of the day did rail against slavery, but it was primarily about the money. It’s pretty much always about money, isn’t it? Think about it.
Posted by: reasonable1 | November 4, 2008, 11:50 am 11:50 am
“Try reading a non-revisionist book once in awhile”
Concur with this recommendation. Find a U.S. History book from the first half of the 20th Century – older than 1960 or 1950 – and you will become better educated.
Posted by: Bob | November 4, 2008, 12:02 pm 12:02 pm
What a symbolic way to end his campaign!!!
Virginia will turn BLUE!!!!
President Barack Obama!!!!
You Betcha!!!
Posted by: sisterdearest09 | November 4, 2008, 12:23 pm 12:23 pm
History Lesson: The southern states said they had the right to secede from the union. The northern states said the southern states did not have that right. Result: Civil War. Fact: 95% of the Confederate army owned no slaves; they believed they were defending their state’s right to secede. Fact: Slaves and free blacks fought as soldiers in the Confederate army (although nowhere near the numbers as in the Union army).
Posted by: J-Phred Muggs | November 4, 2008, 3:09 pm 3:09 pm
I suspect the irony was lost on most attending. While the Prince William Fairgrounds might seem like part of the greater battlefield area to outsiders, the two sites are actually quite far apart. To local folks, there is little at the fairgrounds to remind them of national battlefield area to the north.
Plus, having attended numerous county fairs, I’m guessing people weren’t in the mood for such ironic considerations – I have no idea how they handled parking for that many people, and suspect folks attending had to wait in long lines or park at a couple spots a good walk away.
I didn’t attend because, well, the Steelers were on. In fact they were playing the local Skins. Getting 90,000 people out when the Skins are on Monday Night Football is huge.
Posted by: Paul | November 4, 2008, 3:21 pm 3:21 pm
Fired up! Ready to go!
http://www.entertonement.com/collections/6940/Obama-Fired-Up
Posted by: BaxterJ | November 4, 2008, 4:05 pm 4:05 pm
******ANYBODY KNOW WEBSITES THAT ARE POSTING EXIT POLLS NOW?*****
Posted by: Bon Vivant | November 4, 2008, 5:25 pm 5:25 pm