However they felt about the results, Whidbey Island residents were united in one moment of shared history Tuesday night. Just after 8 p.m., major news organizations around the nation declared that Barack Obama is the next president of the United States of America.

For many people, the election of the nation’s first African-Amerian president is not only historic, but meaningful in a very personal way.

“I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed,” said Sue Karahalios, a former Democratic state representative and former city councilwoman in Oak Harbor.

Karahalios said she’s very aware of “how far the country has come” since she volunteered to register voters in Louisiana and Mississippi in the 1960s. She was shot at and chased by trucks.

“It was a very, very powerful night for all of us,” she said.

Fannie Dean, pastor of Oak Harbor’s Mission Ministry Outreach, was at a Bible study when her daughter called to tell her the news. Dean, a prominent African-American, was thrilled.

“I know he’s not going to be able to fix everything, but it’s just great to know the dream Dr. King was talking about is happening right now,” she said.

Dean said she had been a little depressed because racists had vandalized the church thrift store, but she said the election has raised her up.

“Just to see everybody celebrate all colors and to see that they judged a man on his character and not his color, it really blessed my heart,” she said.

“Yes we can” is exactly the right message at the right time, she added.

Langley resident Grethe Cammermeyer was originally a Hillary Clinton supporter, but like many people in her shoes, was won over by Obama’s promise of a better tomorrow. His victory was an emotional moment for her.

“I had the same sort of tears of hope when I was at Clinton’s inauguration and when Kennedy was elected president,” she said.

Cammermeyer also has a very personal hope for the Obama presidency. As a former Army colonel, Cammermeyer rose to national fame when she sued the government for removing her from her military position after she admitted she was a lesbian. She won that battle, but was dismayed when the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was adopted. She’s hoping Obama will end that practice and finally bring equality to the armed services.

Cammermeyer feels Obama personifies change like never before.

“He represents a new generation of leaders in a new century,” she said. “He has a unique, awesome and overwhelming responsibility to be the leader of the free world, which we haven’t had in the last eight years.”

Like many people, Lionel Peoples said that Tuesday night felt a lot like the night Kennedy was elected. Peoples said he’s the Democrat with the longest history of political activity on the island. He ran for the county commission and the school board.

People said a lot of people assumed he’s an “Obama man” because he’s black. While he stressed that plenty of black people supported McCain, he admits he was very happy to see Obama win. After all, Peoples and Obama are both from Illinois.

“He shows that America is growing up and coming of age…” he said. “A lot of people want change when they are hurting, and right now a lot of people are hurting.”

Kathleen Schofield spent election night with fellow Democrats at a party in Oak Harbor. She said the scene was wild, at least in a middle-aged kind of way.

“My throat was sore the next day,” she said. “It took hours for me to relax.”

The active Democrat said that Obama embodies all those who’ve been marginalized.

“I feel like he represents a diverse mixture of America,” she said.

The moment when the importance of Obama’s victory really hit home came when she was watching an African-American woman and her daughter weeping on TV. The mother pointed to an image of Obama along with portraits of the 42 other presidents, several of whom were slave owners.

“She said, ‘This has washed the stain away,’” Schofield explained.

Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks is exhilarated by Obama, to say the least, and he has plenty to say. He feels that the election of a black man to the most powerful position in the world has “reshaped our nation in a fundamental way.”

“I agree with Colin Powell — he’s a transformational figure. I’m not so jaded by politics that I can’t be inspired by a leader like Barack Obama. I think Obama will drive a stake into the heart of the oft-repeated Reaganism that ‘government is the problem,’” Banks wrote in an email message. “It’s true that government has its problems. But, our American government is the most powerful force for advancing the human race that has ever existed. I know that Barack understands the power and potential for doing good inherent in our government. I believe he has the charisma, the intelligence, and the skills to put it to work and accomplish great things. I will do what miniscule things I can to help him…”

I am so happy for my kids that they are old enough to appreciate the importance of what just happened, and young enough to be profoundly influenced by a man like Barak Obama,” he added.