Liberal though Washington, D.C. is thought to be, on an average day in the downtown core warm and fuzzy feelings can be hard to come by. Traffic is a prime arena to observe and experience the competitive, individualistic and occasionally nasty undercurrents that form part of the social fabric here. Disagreements often arise concerning the proper hierarchy of the myriad participants in the traffic flow and the car horn is often employed as an audible middle finger. In the evenings the action shifts north to areas including U Street NW and a stretch of 18th Street NW in Adams Morgan. Horns still get honked but feelings of antipathy are also expressed via the occasional robbery or fist fight.
Thus it was refreshing to find a party in progress in the middle of 18th Street NW yesterday evening shortly before midnight. Barack Obama had been declared the winner of the United States presidential election less than an hour before and a chanting, singing, dancing, and shouting throng gathered on the block between Belmont and Columbia Roads and made a joyful racket. The car horns were sounding not angry monotones but giddy, staccato chirps. A mini marching band consisting of an arrhythmic percussion section and an atonal trumpeter offered a spirited version of “When The Saints Go Marching In.” Strangers hugged and took photos of one another and the Metrobus drivers briefly stuck in the crowd showed not a trace of annoyance in their smiles.
The police closed the street and did not attempt to clear it. Obama’s victory speech and a bit of spitting rain thinned out the crowd enough to allow traffic to pass.
Down at 14th and U Streets NW, the celebration was larger and slightly more organized. A group of drummers was sheltered from the precipitation by a small portable canopy and the police had closed the streets for several blocks in each direction. Fireworks streaked into the sky and a man in a banana suit climbed the flag pole in front of the Reeves Center. As in Adams Morgan, the police generally stood by and allowed the people to enjoy themselves, although around two a.m. they began to ask people to descend from their perches on trees and pieces of public art. The crowd was generally diverse in age, ethnicity and economic status.
Elsewhere in the city people squeezed off gunshots of happiness and gathered in the rain in front of the White House.
For a few hours D.C. experienced an unprecedented moment of unity and joy.
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Thousands of bleary-eyed people joined the workforce this morning and promptly snatched up every daily newspaper in downtown. Newspaper boxes that often sit half full by late afternoon had been cleaned out by mid-morning. Whether free, local, national, conservative-leaning or liberal-leaning, every periodical printed that morning announcing the results of the election was by lunchtime a collector’s item.
Even a 25 percent boost in circulation was not enough to satisfy demand for The Washington Times. The Washington Post increased production by 30 percent and still took the step of releasing an afternoon “commemorative edition.” Those who started their treasure hunt late could only hope for help from a litterbug or a sympathetic (or disinterested) building concierge.
And so the newspapermen experienced a bit of euphoria of their own and declared the enduring relevance of their medium. Although not necessarily as a source of news. The commemorative edition of The Washington Post will sell for $1.50.
I hear Apartment Locator printed up an extra 20,000 copies yesterday afternoon.