Across the Hudson River from Manhattan sits a city by the name of Hoboken. In the last decade, the city's population has grown by 30 percent. It is in high demand. Many who dreamed of living in New York City but could not afford to moved to Hoboken. They work in New York and live in New Jersey. Hoboken has become the new promised land for its 50,000 residents, who represent the American middle class. The people of Hoboken also went out to vote on Tuesday. And while New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a leading voice in the Republican Party, was not on any ballots, in Hoboken, too, as they did across the country, people voted for their senators -- and for the local parent-teacher association. Because that is the beauty of America: On Election Day, the people vote for the Senate, the House of Representatives, for or against legalizing marijuana and, why not, for the local PTA. Even if President Barack Obama's name was not on any of the ballots, however, his policies surely were. And he can blame only himself because he was the one who pointed that out. "I may be a Republican, but I voted for Obama [in the 2008 presidential election]," says Chris, 33, who works at a real estate office not far from city hall, where residents cast their votes. "I even voted for him twice, once because he represented a long-awaited change, and the second time because I feel as if four years isn't enough time," Chris says. "Now I'm going back to the Republican candidates. I feel it's best for Congress to take matters into its own hands because with Obama everything is stuck. Nothing moves. The economy looks as if it's going somewhere, health care looks as if it's going somewhere, we look like we're in a war in Iraq and Syria -- but none of it can actually be felt, nothing is going anywhere. It's not pleasant for me to say, but when Obama ends his presidency in two years, history will say he was a president without a legacy." Before saying our goodbyes, I ask Chris what he expects from his party: to turn further to the right with the tea party faction, or look to the center? "Of course to go to the center -- that's the only way we can win in America," he says adamantly. Just in front of city hall is Carlo's Bake Shop, famous for its reality TV show ("Cake Boss"). A person can order almost any type of pastry or cake imaginable there. After casting their votes, many people come in, among them Jennifer, a young Belgian woman who relocated to New Jersey, and a friend of hers, who comes from India. "It's hard to believe how pessimistic America has become," Jennifer says. "People here have lost faith. I moved here because of that faith, the optimism, because of the endless opportunities. All of a sudden people started thinking small." Jennifer is not ashamed to say she voted Republican. Her friend doesn't even want to think of a Republican majority in the Senate: "It will be the end of America. It will paralyze everything." And what about Obama, I ask. "I voted for him," the friend says. "But apparently he's like all the other politicians: The second he steps into office, he forgets who sent him to the White House and becomes a servant of the lobbyists." America on Tuesday went out to vote amid a pessimistic atmosphere, the likes of which has not been felt in a long time. While people received their fair share of disappointments during the Clinton and Bush presidencies, American morale seems worse now because hopes were so high. The Wall Street Journal ran a front page story on Tuesday about the fierce battles in four states: Colorado, Arkansas, Iowa and New Hampshire. Fox News emphasized how Obama stayed at home on Tuesday, so as not to hurt the chances of the Democratic candidates. Who would have believed that on Election Day the Democrats would be hiding Obama? Thus passes the glory of the world, and right before our very eyes. Because most Democratic voters are disappointed in their own party but cannot bring themselves to vote Republican, it is no wonder they cast their ballots with a sense of depression. In 2008, say the people of Hoboken, almost everyone swore allegiance to Obama -- the man who was supposed to take them all to new heights. Just like the civilian spaceship last week, this dream has also crashed to the ground.
