Congress certifies vote, making Obama officially president-elect
WASHINGTON — Barack Obama might seem to have been president-elect for months. But he officially gained that status only Thursday, as Congress met in a joint session to tally and certify the vote of the Electoral College.
Vice President Cheney presided over the ceremony, which marked the near-end of the Bush presidency and provided a gratifying moment for Democrats who have raged against the Republican administration since the disputed election of 2000.
“All I can think about is how, in such a short period of time, there has been such a dramatic change politically and emotionally,” said Rep. Charles B. Rangel, D-N. Y. “Never give up on your country, because she will come back and surprise you.”
Republicans were distinctly less jubilant and slower to join in applause as Cheney confirmed the results of the Nov. 4 election: 365 electoral votes for Obama, the Democratic candidate, and his running mate, Joe Biden; to 173 votes for John McCain, the Republican nominee and running mate Sarah Palin.
But some conservatives put aside partisanship for the historic moment, which brought the country one step closer to having its first black president.
“This is a joyous occasion, to see an African-American elected,” said Rep. Zach Wamp, RTenn. He planned to celebrate with 200 of his constituents — mostly Democrats and blacks — who traveled to the capital for the occasion.
For some lawmakers, the ceremony was a reminder of a more divisive occasion that followed the election of 2000 and the contentious recount in Florida, which ultimately was resolved by the Supreme Court in favor of Bush and against Al Gore, the Democratic nominee and vice president at the time.
When Congress met in 2001 to certify the electoral count of that election, some House Democrats protested when Florida’s votes were announced. They rose one by one to object.
In a poignant irony, Gore presided over that session in his role as vice president and ruled the objections out of order, presiding over his own defeat.
Some Democrats could not hide their glee at seeing Cheney lead the session that marked a final chapter for the Bush administration.
“It is kind of, ‘In between your eyes, Mr. Cheney, after all you did, after all you said to Democrats and to Mr. Obama,’” Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., leader of the 2001 protest, said in a National Public Radio interview.
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