One wonders how many more votes a candidate named “Barry Houston O’Banion” might have gotten. What a concept lol.
Yes, he’s all that, and his kids are cute too.
As much as I had hoped for it, and worked for it, and expected it, I was still in a state of shock when Obama gave his speech last night. I will go out on a limb and say that I believe he is more pragmatic than the conservatives think he is, and less liberal than the progressives think he is. I expect that he will change the country and the world in the ways he has promised, however some of the stops on that journey are likely to surprise all of us.
There were other very important elections last night, and I’ll have a lot to say about all of them. But not quite yet. I’m still enjoying the afterglow of Obama’s victory and want to savor it a little while longer.
CNN just joined MSNBC in calling the state of Ohio for Obama. John McCain no longer has any way to get to 270 electoral votes. Congrats to Barack Obama, the next President of the USA.
Helen is an 82 year-old woman who lives near Austin, Texas. Her kids gave her a blog and she doesn’t pull many punches. She has a lot to say, and if you visit there, keep reading back for the good stuff. Here’s a sample from something she wrote today to an undecided acquaintance.
Now let’s talk about taxes. John McCain is working overtime to scare the hell out of all the Joe the Fill-in-the-Blank’s out there. He’s trying to fool them into thinking that they actually make enough money to be worried. That is the biggest joke the Republican party has managed to play on the good people of America. Most of us don’t even make enough money in a life-time to afford the membership into that club. The idea of a progressive tax where the wealthy pay more in taxes than the poor is nothing new. Not even close. In fact 81% of economist agree with the concept… and here is a real eye opener - until he crapped his pants about losing this election John McCain supported the concept as well. Trust me, that dog don’t hunt, he will say anything to win at this point. De-regulation of banks? He was for it, but now is against it. He was for privatization of social security and now he is against it. He was for the estate tax and now he is against it. He used to have a spine and now he doesn’t. You know, at his age, he should know there’s medication for such personality swings.
If I hear that McCain is a Maverick one more time I just might throw myself to the floor and break a hip. A maverick is an independent individual who doesn’t go along with a group or party. If John McCain’s a maverick I am one of those cheerleaders on the sidelines of Harold’s beloved Dallas Cowboys. Nobody seems to dispute that the Republican party led by George W. Bush got us into this mess but what everybody seems to forget is that Sarah Palin and John McCain are Republicans. Look, when the Religious Right came knocking at the door of the RNC Membership Round-Up, someone should have turned out the porch lights and told everyone inside to be quiet until they went away… the same thing I do when those nice looking boys on bicycles with bibles come to my door. But the Republicans opened that door, invited them in and now they have to live with that decision.
Cecilia, when was the last time a politician brought a tear to your eye… moved you deep in your soul? Honestly when was the last time you really felt that Americans could do anything if we put our hearts and minds to it? I am an old lady. Most of my life politicians have moved me. Most of my life I have felt that Americans can do anything if we put our hearts and minds to it. It’s been 8 long years. I had almost forgotten what that felt like. Thank you Barack Obama. Thank you.
Just in case you or someone you know missed it last night, here’s the full show.
On his way to endorsing Obama last night, Steven Colbert had a few words to say about John McCain’s temperament (see above). He also described the Republican party as “A staggering mass of flaming agony” lol.
Obama was really busy yesterday, he guested on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show via satellite before his appearances last night.
The town of Obama, Japan is going for their 15 minutes of fame, and selling a whole lot of Hawaiian shirts in the process. Gotta love those Obama Obama girls hehe.
Barack Obama speaking yesterday in Canton, Ohio.
The Anchorage Daily News endorsed Barack Obama today. That’s right, Alaska’s biggest city has seen Sarah Palin up close and personal, and feels she is in no way ready for the job of Vice President. Money quote:
Palin’s rise captivates us but nation needs a steady hand
Anchorage Daily News link:
http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/567867.html
Why change? This video makes the case perfectly.
Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for finding this video.
I think most people understand that if you’re not caring for your family, then you’re probably not the kind of person who’s going to be caring for other people.
Ron Howard, Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler all come out for Obama in this humorous clip.
Obama spoke in Richmond, Virginia yesterday, and focused on the politics of inclusion and unity.
Black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, young, old, rich, poor, gay, straight, city dwellers, farm dwellers, it doesn’t matter, we’re all together. There are patriots who supported this war in Iraq and there are patriots who opposed it. There are patriots who believe in Democratic policies and those who believe in Republican policies.
The men and women from Virginia and all across this country who serve on our battlefields, some are Democrats, some are Republicans, some are independents. But they fought together, and bled together. Some of them died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a blue America, they haven’t served a red America, they served the United States of America. Nobody should forget that.
At that point in the speech the crowd broke into a solid shout of USA! USA! USA!
Barack Obama sounded a whole lot like a former Senator from Illinois yesterday, with echoes of a former Senator from Massachusetts. It’s hard to be cynical about politics and politicians at moments like this.
CC Goldwater, Barry’s granddaughter, announced her family’s support for Barack Obama today.
There always have been a glimmer of hope that someday, someone would “race through the gate” full steam in Goldwater style. Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened, and the Republican brand has been tarnished in a shameless effort to gain votes and appeal to the lowest emotion, fear. Nothing about McCain, except for maybe a uniform, compares to the same ideology of what Goldwater stood for as a politician. The McCain/Palin plan is to appear diverse and inclusive, using women and minorities to push an agenda that makes us all financially vulnerable, fearful, and less safe.
When you see the candidates in political ads, you can’t help but be reminded of the 1964 presidential campaign of Johnson/Goldwater, the ‘origin of spin’, that twists the truth and obscures what really matters. Nothing about the Republican ticket offers the hope America needs to regain it’s standing in the world, that’s why we’re going to support Barack Obama. I think that Obama has shown his ability and integrity.
Huffington Post link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cc-goldwater/why-mccain-has-lost-our-v_b_137150.html