It was a night of tears. Some shed tears of joy and astonishment, others of frustration and defeat. But it was difficult not to be overcome by emotion on the night of Nov. 4. It was one of those historic moments in which you will always remember what you were doing when it happened. I was reporting on the amazing rise to power of a young African-American just 50 years after blacks in some states weren't even allowed to vote and the graceful concession of a war hero who stumbled on far too many roadblocks in his quest to become commander in chief. 

 But there was another event behind that story that was also making history that night: the awakening of the sleeping giant. Latino voters all across the nation heeded the call to go to the polls to have their voice be heard. And they spoke loud and clear.

 A more profound analysis of just how many Latinos voted in the presidential election could take a couple of weeks, but initial estimates based on exit polls suggest it could be anywhere from 10 million to 11 million. Those figures exceed the expected 9.2 million that was projected by several organizations. That would be an increase of more than 2.5 million voters from 2004, and it would mean that the efforts of dozens of Latino civic organizations and Spanish-language media outlets paid off.

 “The Latino community has demonstrated the influential role it is playing and will continue to play in American politics,” said Janet Murguia, president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza, one of the many organizations that worked on the get-out-the-vote campaigns. As she pointed out, “Latino voters and new citizens were motivated by the desire to see a stronger economy, better jobs and access to education and health care.”

 That is precisely what Latino voters said in an extensive Zogby/Reuters poll commissioned by Univision Network in the days leading to the election. Top issues in the minds of voters were the economy and health care, followed by immigration and the war in Iraq. Eighty percent of respondents said the U.S. should decrease its military commitment in Iraq. Sixty-six percent of Hispanics said that Obama would most likely work to pass immigration reform, and 72 percent said that Obama presented a plan that they understood would improve the economy. It is no wonder, then, that 78 percent said they would vote for the senator from Illinois, and only 13 percent said they would vote for his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain.

 At the end, McCain didn't fare that badly with Latino voters nationally. According to the first readings of exit polls by the Pew Hispanic Center, McCain received 32 percent of the Latino vote, while Obama got 66 percent. The Pew report is based on an analysis of exit polling in nine states with large Hispanic populations, most of which overwhelmingly supported Obama.

 Several states that voted for Bush in 2004 turned blue this year, thanks to the Latino vote. In Nevada, 76 percent voted for Obama; in Colorado, 73 percent; in New Mexico, 69 percent; and, more surprisingly, 57 percent of Latinos in Florida supported Obama. That's the first time the Latino vote has gone to a Democrat for the presidency. George Bush received 56 percent of the Latino vote in Florida in 2004. But changing demographics have shifted the political landscape there. While the Cuban-American vote is still overwhelmingly Republican, a more ethnically diverse Latino electorate with immigrants from Central and South America and Puerto Rico, as well as younger Cubans who don't feel as strongly about the Cuba issue, is shifting to the left.

 So now the question is, What is President-elect Obama going to do for the Latino community in exchange for its support? John Trasvina, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, says that Latinos must be a major part of the new administration: “We urge President-elect Obama to appoint Latinos and Latinas in significant positions at all levels of the new administration as well as to the federal judiciary.” More importantly, will Obama keep his promise to pass legislation on immigration reform in the first year of his presidency? With a stronger Democratic Congress and a new attitude of “bipartisanship,” there should be no excuse for not complying.

 During my first interview with Obama I asked him if he could win without the Latino vote, and he responded, “No, because the Latino vote is not just the vote of today, it is the vote of tomorrow.” I'm sure he'll keep that in mind.

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 (Maria Elena Salinas is the author of “I AM MY FATHER'S DAUGHTER: LIVING A LIFE WITHOUT SECRETS.” Reach her at www 
.mariaesalinas.com)

 © 2008 by Maria Elena Salinas

 Distributed by King Features Syndicate