ATLANTA—After a difficult early voting period marked by computer outages, long lines and legal questions, Atlanta voters on Election Day had beautiful weather and shorter waits than expected. More than one third of Georgia voters went to the polls before November 4th. On that day, a random sampling of people in central Atlanta shared their thoughts. They did not know that Obama would have such a strong mandate, but they were seven to two for Obama.
Roger Hammons, retired, said the most important issue for him is integrity. “On a national level, I think the integrity of the party and the politicians in office—which I think has been totally absent for the last eight years,” convinced him to vote for Obama. He said “We were lied to in 2000. We were lied to about the war. I have no patience with that. This is a government of the people, not of the politicians.” Mr. Hammons, a senior citizen, went to the polls on his motorcycle.
Lionel Brewer, investor, said he voted for “Barack.” He is looking for a job. He hopes the next administration will end the war in Iraq. A first time voter, he chose Obama over McCain because he is a Democrat, but he considered McCain. “I liked the fact that McCain was trying to do something about the housing market. It almost sold me on him.” [caption id=“attachment_75988” align=“alignleft” width=“320” caption="INTERNATIONAL: Terence O
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