The following is based on a talk by Abayomi Azikiwe at a Workers World Party public meeting in Detroit on Nov. 8.
Abayomi Azikiwe
An alliance of African Americans, Latin@s, large sections of the working class, youth and women of all nationalities led to the victory of Sen. Barack Obama on Nov. 4. In electoral votes earned, which actually determines the presidential winner, Obama defeated Sen. John McCain by a margin greater than two-to-one. Obama won over 52 percent of the popular vote.
In addition to Obama’s victory in the presidential race, the Republican Party lost more seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The turnout of voters in this election surpassed the percentage of participation of many decades before. People stood in line at polling places throughout the country even days prior to Nov. 4.
The most burning issues identified in the corporate media through exit polls and other data collected leading up to the elections, indicated that people were most concerned about the economic crisis, the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the lack of quality health care or any medical coverage at all.
It is very clear that the Democratic Party, which has a different social base than the Republicans, is still a political organization of the ruling class. The Democratic Party leadership is beholden to the international finance capitalists, the industrialists and landowners, who also control the Republican Party.
Consequently, our focus is to shed some light on the real significance of the Nov. 4 election and the future prospects for fundamental transformation in the U.S. and the world. [Continued at Workers World]
