2008 United States Presidential Election (ITEOAH)

The **2008 United States presidential election** was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Republican ticket of Incumbent Governor of Pennsylvania Barack Obama and former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee defeated the Democratic ticket of Incumbent Vice President Joe Lieberman and former Secretary of Defense Wesley Clark. Obama became the first African American to be elected to the presidency.

Incumbent Democratic President Al Gore was ineligible to pursue a third term due to the term limits established by the 22nd Amendment. Lieberman secured the Democratic nomination by March 2008, defeating North Carolina Senator John Edwards and other opponents, he then named former Secretary of Defense Wesley Clark as his running mate. The Republican primaries were marked by a sharp contest between Obama and Huckabee, who Obama defeated in the primaries by June of 2008. Obama then named Huckabee as his running mate, knowing the influence Huckabee could have on southern vote.

Early campaigning focused heavily on the Iraq War and Gore's unpopularity. Lieberman supported the war, as well as a troop surge that had begun in 2007, while Obama strongly opposed the war. Gore endorsed Lieberman, but the two did not campaign together, and Gore did not appear in person at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Obama campaigned on the theme that "Washington must change," while Lieberman emphasized his experience. The campaign was strongly affected by the onset of a major financial crisis, which peaked in September 2008. Lieberman's decision to suspend his campaign during the height of the financial crisis backfired as voters viewed his response as erratic.

Obama won a decisive victory over Lieberman, winning the Electoral College and the popular vote by a sizable margin, including states that had not voted for the Republican Presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan's landslide election in 1984. Obama's total count of 73.2 million votes stood as the largest tally ever won by a presidential candidate until he broke his record the next election. The main issues of this election were the Iraq War, Gore's Unpopularity, the Economy, and health care.

## Primaries:

### Democratic Primaries:

Despite being the second at command under the awful second term of Al Gore, Vice President Joe Lieberman announced his candidacy in 2007, and defeated North Carolina Senator John Edwards to win the nomination, after a sex scandal forced the latter to drop out. After winning, he named Secretary of Defense Wesley Clark as his running mate, who resigned from his position in line with the Hatch Rule.

 Joe Lieberman

### Republican Primaries:

Because of both his popularity and the stability of Pennsylvania, even during the recession, Incumbent Governor of Pennsylvania Barack Obama became a front runner and fan favorite in the GOP due to his libertarian stances and likeable personality. He would go past Incumbent Governors Sarah Palin of Alaska, and Rick Perry of Texas, along with former Governors Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas. He then named Huckabee as his running mate after the latter finished as the runner-up in the primaries.

 Barack Obama

## Campaign/Issues Unique to the Election:

### Democratic Campaign:

Lieberman campaigned on his experience, questioning Obama's overall years in politics for his age, he also campaigned to continue environmental policies under Gore, as well as add spending to the Iraq War.

### Republican Campaign:

Obama campaigned on a libertarian conservative message that, "Washington must change." He called the Democrat's attempts to fix the economy bogus and a complete bust, and also campaigned on the idea of America needing a tax break, along with tying Lieberman with the unpopular Gore administration.

### Iraq War:

Lieberman had supported the invasion and war in Iraq of 2003, as well as a troop surge in 2007. Obama called the Iraq situation a case of hysteria, as the Democrats had blamed Iraq for something that may not have even been true. Obama highly opposed the war, but he wouldn't withdraw seeing as it was far too late at this point.

### Gore's Unpopularity:

During the recession, Gore's popularity plummeted with the American people, and Obama tied Lieberman with it, claiming he may have had a hand in the wars, which could've been a stalling point in the economy. Lieberman pointed at the Republican majority in the house from stopping Gore from getting anything done, blaming the GOP for why Gore was unpopular.

### The Economy:

As said before, the Democrats were extremely unpopular during the recession, and Obama blamed Gore for this, and pointed at liberal laws he passed as they key reason the economy spiraled in America.

### Health Care:

During Gore's term, he had desperately tried to pass measures to enact a government funded health care program. Obama was extremely against this idea, as he believed Gore was trying to take jobs from the people and put them in the hands of Government, which he described as "unlawful and immoral." Lieberman meanwhile endorsed this program which he said, he would call "Liebercare," if he was elected.

## Results and Aftermath:

Obama defeated Lieberman in a landslide, becoming the first African American to be elected President. He also managed to flip the states of Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Michigan, New Mexico, New Hampshire, and his home state of Pennsylvania. Obama also won the highest popular vote in Presidential history up to that point, winning over 73 million votes.

Obama and Huckabee were sworn in on January 20, 2009, while Lieberman returned to Connecticut to somewhat mixed fanfare.