The election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States was a result of both political circumstances peculiar to 2008 and long-term changes in the demographic composition and political attitudes of the American electorate. While the extraordinary unpopularity of President Bush and the deteriorating condition of the U.S. economy greatly aided Obama’s victory, changes in the composition and political outlook of the electorate, some going back decades and some of more recent origin, were necessary conditions for his nomination and election. These changes have potentially important implications for the future of the political parties and elections in the United States.
In my paper I will examine three trends that are reshaping American politics in the 21st century: the changing racial and ethnic composition of the electorate, changing religious beliefs and practices, and changing attitudes toward marriage and the family. Taken together, these trends are producing a new generation of American voters who are more tolerant, progressive, and internationalist than their elders. Whether these trends can be sustained, however, will depend on how successful the Obama Administration and the Democratic Congress will be in responding to the current economic crisis along with the challenges of globalization and terrorism.
