R 071338Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 4110
INFO AMCONSUL CHENNAI 
AMCONSUL KOLKATA 
AMCONSUL MUMBAI

UNCLAS NEW DELHI 002888 
 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/PPD, IIP, AND R 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO OEXC SCUL IN
SUBJECT:  ELECTION DAY 
 
¶1.  The American Mission in India celebrated the 2008 U.S. 
Presidential Election around the country with colorful and festive 
events attended by enthusiastic friends and contacts.  Mission 
India's election programs superbly highlighted American democracy 
and the strong and growing relationship between the U.S. and India. 
India's vibrant press, joined by American media representatives, 
became active players in the creation of an atmosphere of excitement 
and political participation, and their excellent coverage ensured 
that millions of Indians around the country were focused on this 
historic election. 
 
PROGRAM SUMMARY 
 
¶2.  NEW DELHI: The American Center in New Delhi was transformed into 
a red, white and blue "Election Central," with activities and 
hospitality for over 500 guests, including more than 100 members of 
the media.  PepsiCo and CocaCola donated drinks to the breakfast 
spread provided by Hyatt.  On the lawn, balloon statues of an 
elephant and a donkey towered over life-size cutouts of the 
Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates.  In the main lobby, 
guests had the opportunity to cast ballots at three electronic 
voting booths before moving on to the auditorium where a bank of 
televisions provided continuous coverage from CNN, BBC, Sky and 
several local channels.  University and high school student leaders, 
including YES alumni and ACCESS students, participated in quizzes 
and information activities arranged in the Center Library.   SPAN 
magazine's photo essay on the candidates and IIP's power point "The 
Long Campaign," converted into poster show. 
 
¶3.  An army of journalists and television cameras representing more 
than 20 media outlets eagerly recorded interviews and provided 
virtually continuous live coverage for the conclusion of this 
historic election.  In addition to talks with every American 
present, one TV channel interviewed a young YES alumni who had 
worked on the Obama campaign during his stay in Ohio last year.  The 
Fulbright Executive Director even conducted an interview in Hindi. 
The Country PAO's non-stop TV appearances continued late into the 
night. 
 
¶4.  KOLKATA: Election Day 2008 was celebrated with fanfare and 
excellent media coverage at Kolkata's Park Hotel.  More than 500 
guests attended the half-day "Election Watch," funded entirely by 
generous corporate sponsorship.  A handful of attendees arrived even 
before the doors opened at 5:30 a.m.  Kolkata Consul General Beth 
Payne spoke on the democratic tradition of the United States and 
affirmed the continuing closeness of U.S.-India ties.  The media was 
out in force, with seven news channels, including Doodoorshan and 
Star Ananda (the most popular Bengali-language news channel) present 
at the event, with all featuring interviews with the Consul General 
and Public Affairs officers.  Guests were able to watch broadcasts 
of incoming election results from U.S. news channels and cast mock 
ballots. 
 
¶5.  In the run-up to Election Watch, Kolkata's American Center 
hosted a mock debate on October 31 with university students playing 
the roles of each Presidential candidate.  These students and many 
of their peers attended the election event, demonstrating the keen 
appeal of this election to young Indians.  Consul General Payne 
declared this the best election event she had witnessed during her 
career. 
 
¶6.  CHENNAI:  Consulate General Chennai organized a series of three 
events to celebrate the elections.   In a pre-election reception on 
November 4, 200 top contacts marked the opening of polls in the U.S. 
Guests cast mock ballots and took photographs with life-size 
cutouts of Senators Obama and McCain at the festively decked-out 
Hotel Taj Coromandel.  Speaking on the occasion, Consul General 
Simkin assured the audience that Indo-U.S. relations would flourish 
regardless of the election outcome.  The evening's special guest was 
an ACCESS student from Anjuman-e-Himayath-e-Islam school, who read 
his prize-winning essay on "What Democracy Means to Me."   On 
display were the colorful election posters by Trivandrum ACCESS 
students.   The PAO gave a brief presentation on the "Electoral 
College" invited guests to participate in a "Guess the Electoral 
Vote" contest.   Press coverage before election day included an 
Op-Ed/exclusive by-liner in The Hindu by the Consul General on the 
US Elections Open House and  PAO Kaplan's comments on the election 
process aired on Chennai Live (FM radio). 
 
¶7.  On November 5, 1500 enthusiastic citizens of Chennai joined U.S. 
Consulate General officials at an Election Open House beginning at 
7:00 a.m.  Guests, including over 40 journalists, eagerly watched 
CNN and other major television networks for results.  The excitement 
was palpable as hundreds of school and college students jostled with 
other invited guests including leading politicians, senior 
government officials, artists, think tank officials, policy makers, 
representatives of numerous media outlets and curious citizens of 
Chennai waiting for the announcement of the next U.S. President. 
Consulate officials spoke on issues of interest including 
absentee/early voting, the impact of the youth vote, and 
participation of Indian-Americans in the political process, and 
provided election analysis at regular intervals.  The event received 
wide coverage with photos in Chennai editions of India's major 
English language press as well as Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi 
newspapers, extensive TV and live radio coverage.  On the following 
day,  November 6, PA Chennai invited academics, think tank members 
and media representatives for a wrap-up discussion of the election 
and a view of the transition process. 
 
¶8.  MUMBAI:  Mumbai's penultimate U.S. Election program, on November 
5 at the Hard Rock Caf, brought together 200 political leaders, 
government officials, business persons, academics, artists, 
activists and media to watch results stream in and the candidates 
speak.  The venue, complete with its own Americana dcor, was a 
befitting site for the day's historic event. The wide range of 
Mumbaikers in attendance watched in awe during live CNN feeds from 
battleground states, polling stations, and ultimately the 
candidates' speeches from Phoenix and Chicago.  Several in 
attendance commented that Chicago's Grant Park was the site of 
racial violence during the 1968 Presidential convention and noted 
how far the U.S. has come in such a short amount of time.  Consul 
General Paul Folmsbee welcomed guests and framed the morning's news 
in a historical context, drawing parallels to India's history and 
our shared democratic traditions. 
 
¶9.  The American Library supported the event with  an 
election-themed book display, ran the America.gov "Elections 2008" 
series of 16 short videos, and helped promote the "Democracy Is..." 
short video competition. Guests eagerly helped themselves to 2008 
Democratic and Republican memorabilia and informational materials 
while others jostled to click photos alongside cut-outs of Obama and 
McCain. The information materials provided by IIP, including the 
Election Kit and poster shows, added to the election fervor among 
Mumbai's eclectic audience which cheered and clapped as the election 
results trickled in. 
 
¶10.  Most impressive was the extensive press coverage and 
vulture-like media presence. No American in the audience was left 
alone, including visiting SCA/PPD Deputy Director Paul Houge, as 12 
prominent newspapers and magazines and 16 electronic media outlets 
collected sound bites for transmission. 
 
¶11.  Guests clearly appreciated sharing in this historic day with 
their American hosts.  Discussion focused on the meaning of the U.S. 
election for India and the intensive participation from many 
different sectors.  Audience members not infrequently commented that 
they look forward to the day when Indian voters will match America's 
2008 voters in their zeal.  Both print and broadcast media were 
extremely well represented, and had ample opportunity throughout the 
nearly three-hour event to interview American officers, including 
the CG.  Through this event PA Mumbai successfully furthered Mission 
goals of democracy and public diplomacy, and highlighted American 
values of liberty, equality and democratic practices, while 
successfully leveraging corporate partnership for this premiere 
public diplomacy event.  The overwhelming response to US elections 
and to this election event highlighted the growing US-India 
relationship and the sentiment that, irrespective of who makes it to 
the Oval Office, US-India relations could only strengthen. 
 
¶12.  Conclusion:  Celebrations of the American election had a major 
impact on how India sees the United States. The combination of 
energy, hospitality and education reinforced some of the most 
respected aspects of America. The media reporting helped carry that 
message to millions of people across India. 
 
 
MULFORD