Yes We Did
We are back to ranking elections and we hope this one is a good one.
For a good portion of my life, I did not think I could ever run a half marathon. I’m sure everyone is like this: you struggle to wrap your brain around a concept that seems so daunting.
The only way forward is to do it. Visualization is powerful. It can give you confidence or break your spirit.1 But you have to do it physically.
That’s especially true with running. How does one decide to commit to running 13.1 miles at once? For me, it was easy. I signed up with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society to run one of their half-marathon programs and raise money to fight blood cancers.
I could see the finish line, but there was no way I would embark on something this intense on my own. LLS has a program called Team-In-Training, and while it seems wild that we fight blood cancer through philanthropy by running rather than a robust healthcare system, I was all in.
Don’t worry. This wasn’t a case of me going from the couch to 13.1 miles. I had done smaller races, 5Ks, and 10Ks, which do not align in name with the longer runs that are described in miles. America doesn’t make sense in measuring or keeping people alive and well.
The point is that running a half marathon takes a lot of time, investment, and persistence.
The same can be said about electing a president. There are many avenues you can take to get yourself elected. You can win local elections and work your way up the government ladder. You can go the military route. If your dad happened to have been president, that’s very helpful. If you were born rich or become rich, that’s another way. Oh, if you aren’t a woman, that’s helpful.
However, the training that comes with running the presidential half-marathon, especially for candidates who don’t look like everyone before them, takes more than visualization. We had to build up to this moment. Like fighting blood cancer, we had to have an entire team of people training us to stop being racist jerks.
Which brings us to number 4 in our election rankings. Out of 45 presidents in our history, he’s the only one who doesn’t look like all the others.
Let's dive in.
4: The Presidential Election of 2008
Election Date: November 4, 2008
The Candidates:
In the first election that didn’t feature an incumbent president or his vice president in about half a century, the field was for the taking in 2008. The George W. Bush era came to an end, as did his popularity.
There was no way you would have guessed the outcome correctly when people began their candidacy announcements two years earlier – a trend that continues to get earlier and earlier.
The Democrats elected career politicians in the previous two elections: Vice President Al Gore (2000) and Senator John Kerry (2024). There was this idea that the third time would be a charm.
The overwhelming favorite was former First Lady and New York Senator Hilary Clinton. Joe Biden decided to throw his name into the ring, something he hadn’t done since 1988 when he was a young 75-year-old. Former Vice President candidate and Senator John Edwards ran as well. He also did extra running when he ran around on his wife.
Finally, there was this guy who was black and had a funny name, but he spoke well. The Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, would become the nominee after a brutal primary.
The Republican Party knew it was in trouble because the Bush presidency was terrible. That didn’t stop John McCain, the war hero and Senator from Arizona, from trying his hand again at the White House. He went up against Rudy Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York and future circus clown, and Mitt Romney, whose dad didn’t become president but ran for president, and that sorta helps you jump the line.
McCain would win the primary and then begin the process of being a terrible nominee.
One of my favorite McCain moments from this election was when he took the unusual route of naming a completely unknown governor from Alaska, Sarah Palin, as his running mate. I can’t knock Palin for her lack of understanding of civics—this is the entire point of Okay History—but she was a joy to watch bumbling through campaigning.
Major Issue of the Day:
We were fighting two wars, almost completely unnecessary unless you owned shares in large weapon development companies. After being told Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, we found out it wasn’t true, much like the Blair Witch Project was a fake.
Images of Hurricane Katrina were still on the minds of people, and how President Bush handled the disaster.
Overall, after eight years of war and an economy that did not improve, Cleveland's baseball team won only one division title and had zero American League pennants, the country was ready for change, because life was rough out there.
The Winner:
Hope.
I could’ve gone with a few words here. Change would be one. Unprecedented could be another.
But I’ll stick with hope.
Hope is the ingredient you need to finish a half-marathon and overcome institutional racism to become president.
We all got introduced to the power of Hope in 2008.
The States in the Electoral College:
50. Chocolate City voted for Obama.
The Electoral College had 538 members, and the winner needed 270 votes.
You may have forgotten, but this was a close race in September. Then Sarah Palin kept opening her mouth, Biden kept his shut, and when the economy tanked, Obama began to run away with it.
The final tally was a devastating end to another career politician. McCain lost by 10 million votes, the Electoral College 365-163, while Obama flipped nine states. It was a wave of states that got caught up in Obamanation! Heck, even Indiana voted for Obama.
The 2021 OKH Presidential Ranking:
Obama is 22nd in the OKH rankings. Despite the historical significance of his election, Obama wasn’t that great as president. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: When I get around to doing the president’s ranking again, don’t expect a bump unless I come up with some wild metrics.
Why Did I Rank it Here:
The 2008 election was an election of a lifetime. It's probably the last one we will ever experience that really lifted me up. We can’t ignore the color barrier we finally broke, and I can’t wait to see who emerges from the political system inspired by someone who looks like them.
What do you think? Do I have this election too high? What did you think of the 2008 election?
On Monday, October 7, I wrote about Edgar Allen Poe, someone I have written about a few times. I mentioned my online friend, Cat, and the book she wrote about him.
Anyway, I wanted to take a moment to share her recent essay on what’s going on with her. I may spoil the story, but it relates to my initial foray into running a half marathon. I encourage you to read it because she’s a great writer, and the story is powerfully raw.2
Work will dominate this weekend, and Anonymous told me the other day that she’s leaving today and won’t be back until Saturday afternoon. So, it appears to be a relatively close short-term spy gig. It's a good thing Cleveland’s baseball team is still playing.3
I’ll be back on Monday. Be well. Thanks for your support of Okay History.
Okay,
Chris
I had funny visualizations for Okay History. I’ll save that for another day.
My prayers to you, Cat, if you are reading.
This is why this ranking came out late on publishing day.
You have President Obama far too low. The reality of him accomplishing anything with Mitch McConnell in the Senate and congressional benefactor fellation tools like Nancy is a true testament to his shrewdness and willpower. It's a complete embarrassment that we wasted one of the most intelligent, capable and willing president in our history to represent the best interest of we the people.
I think you should concentrate on Democratic Party nominees instead of presidents. Our failure to not recognize the mission of the DNC and be completely oblivious to the true leader in the field due to their narrative in 2020 the existence of all complex life forms. Bernie who cost the party $50 million just for years before Obviously was allowed in for a specific purpose, Bloomberg jumping in on the day Elizabeth led in the polls was not a coincidence and finally Joe coming off the swing on the front porch just to make sure that Elizabeth Warren was not in the White House. And Elizabeth Warren Katie Porter Would have pointed us towards honest brokerage in the attempt to provide good governance. Obama, they would've encountered stiff resistance and, as a team of like thinkers because they know who they are.
Back to President Obama. His brilliance is glaringly apparent by the appointing of David Axelrod and not listening to the DNC. He would've never won otherwise.