Looking back on the 2008 presidential elections

The recently concluded ’08 election yielded some record results and interesting statistics:

– 44 million viewers tuned in to the presidential election on Nov. 4.

– 126.3 million presidential ballots turned in – a new record.

– 401,165,231 dollars raised by Barack Obama.

– 171,092,489 dollars raised by John McCain.

– 195 million dollars less total contributions to candidates in ’08 than ’04.

– 66 million dollars raised in August ’08 by Obama, a new record for one month.

– 95% of black men voted for Obama.

– 57% of white men voted for McCain.

– 66% of voters 18-29 years of age voted for Obama.

– 53% of voters 65+ yrs. voted for McCain.

– 73% of those with a family income under $15,000 voted for Obama.

– 60% of those with a family income under $50,000 voted for Obama.

– 49% of those with an income over $50,000 voted for Obama, the same for McCain.

– 40,000: the estimated number of people that will apply for White House jobs in the first weeks and 75,000 in the first months.

– 25: The most amount of cabinet and sub-cabinet members hired by April 1.

A recent Newsweek poll shows Mitt Romney as the early front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2012, with Mike Huckabee coming in second, and Sarah Palin third. Criticism pointing to Palin’s role in McCain’s loss does not bode well for her future presidential ambitions. Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana, has also been mentioned for the Republican party nomination.

The presidential transition that will occur in January will be the first war-time transition in 40 years. The day before inauguration, Jan. 20, Bush’s White House staff will leave. Shortly after taking over the Oval Office, Obama must present a budget plan to Congress.

While not to be overlooked with all the new new changes coming in January, Obama will deliver his first State of the Union?Address.

World reaction to Obama’s victory has been highly optimistic. Not only do most world leaders claim to look forward to promotion of peace, they also look forward to an overall policy transition.

“Obama’s victory is … evidence that Bush’s policies have failed,” Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, former chairman of the Iranian parliament said.

Information gathered from cnn.com, usatoday.com, foxnews.com and english.aljazeera.net