Amen.

you said a mouthful

thank you for the broad perspective
and for the helpful nuggets of little-known-information, too -- how helpful to learn or be reminded that President Bush started out with a probably very sincere agenda of compassionate conservatism --frankly, I have always loved the man and I believe he is good-hearted-- cannot believe that he is an oilman and little else, or a sell-out or mouthpiece of cynical powerful corporate interests

He and/or the country just got scared and turned things over to people who view the world almost exclusively in militaristic terms, and the Republicans thereby got cheated of much of the defining non-warlike goodness at the party's core... So very heartening to see that many many Republicans ARE NOT RACIST whatsoever, as many Republicans voted for Obama ...hope their party will continue to reclaim its egalitarian roots

By the way....wondering when, oh when, will the United States restructure, improve, or altogether eradicate the unfair and completely unAmerican, vote-skewing Electoral College .....this relic from horse-and-buggy days has HURT US ENOUGH!!

Amen.

om shanti.

Namaste

dude...u said a mouthful! damn!

Yes WE all can!

I second that Amen!

Mr. President Barack Obama of the United States of America!

Praise the Lord!

Cheers!

Yes WE all can!

I second that Amen!

Mr. President Barack Obama of the United States of America!

Praise the Lord!

Cheers!

Each of us has a different reaction and a different opinion about this election and the results of the election. You have expressed yours well, and it sounds to me that your primary concern is that of being a minority. Originally, this nation belonged to a group of individuals known to us now as the American Indian, a redskin. Not the Indians of India of which you appear to have as your ethnic roots. The people of Europe who settled here came from several nations, England, Spain, France, and Italy, and were followed by other European nations in vast numbers over the ages. The principles of Europe were used to begin a new nation and thus America was born.

I am a member of the silent majority, a descendant of European roots, and am brown haired, occasionally bleached blonde, and have green or hazel eyes. I have had freckles and bad teeth in the past and have suffered insults and discrimination alike due to height, weight, freckles, age, and sex. So it is with dismay that I hear that people who are of a racial or ethnic background shout joy because of a minority finally elected only due to the majority of silent majority voting for him due to his political beliefs more than his ethnic roots.

Granted, he is a black man or mulatto, having a white mother and white grandparents, but most importantly, it is his political sense, his position on the issues that gained him the right to run for his party.

I am concerned that because of the attitudes of racial inferiorities that his administration will probably suffer many challenges due only to that cause alone, and I believe that to be a seriously wrong reason for anyone to offer challenge to the democrats who are now in power, but so be it, sure as I say it, it is likely to occur.

In other words, the minority groups are who will likely cause the most problems for Obama when he is finally the president. As for now, he is the president-elect and George Bush is still president until Inauguration Day.

But don't expect that demands won't be made of him for one simple reason. To the black people, he is a brother. To the rest of us, he is only the president-elect.

I believe we all will need to take huge breaths many times in the days that come....

arizonasunset:

That's a mouthful of drama.

I almost always vote along party lines (Dem.). This time, that decision was strongly reinforced by the fact that my boyfriend believes that Sarah Palin is so doggone CUTE. Frankly, I couldn't STAND the thought of his "bonging" over her a** for four more years. I question the judgment of McCain for nominating such an upstaging and adorable running mate, one whom Mrs. Cindy would never EVER warm to. Go Figure. I also loved Obama's composure and adore his brilliant and beautiful wife, Michelle. He must be one smart dude. The fact that he is Afro-American is a plus, to me, for it has hugely opened my eyes to the fact that True Genius is no respecter of race. The man is staggeringly brilliant. He has helped heal many 1950s folks like me of the lingering racial preconceptions we inherited as a result of the unfortunate timing of our birth. I'm sure he will bring further healing along those lines. People of other nations love him, and he reopens doors for our country that slammed shut a few months after our invasion of Iraq.

The dude has been a community agitator, a state senator, and briefly a senator. When Axelrod writes a speech for him...he delivers it...but, c'mon Jane....staggeringly brilliant? we have no idea if he can find the door to the oval office!

After 4 years of this kind of ineptitude...you may think GWB is a mensa man....

And Sara Palin did have a good a**! you have a smart boyfriend.....

:)

I arrived in Havana yesterday, just before the first election results emerged and today, a day after, I have not met a single “Cubano” who is not happy and hopeful that Obama will be able to change things for the better in Cuba.

I think the Cubans sum up the sentiments and hope for the whole the world.

All the best to all of you and “Viva Obama”.

Hey skinny, I had a puff of your cigar whether you red my book or not!

Excuse me for Palin-jacking (again)

Sarah Palin, freeloader. Also. by Kagro X @dkos:

"I feel compelled to revisit an earlier call on this in order to restate a now obvious theme: Sarah Palin is The Chiseler Supreme.

What a really, truly unpleasant experience has been our exposure to the two insta-celebrities created by the McCain campaign. These two grubbers, Joe the Plumber and Sarah Palin, became the perfect symbol for everything that was wrong with and ingenuine about modern Republicanism.

Joe griped endlessly about taxes even as it turned out he was ducking them, and groused that Obama's "socialism" would mean there was no incentive to work hard and succeed in earning more than $250,000 a year, even as he shopped around for an agent and a Nashville recording contract. (And excuse me -- what?! A recording contract? Based on what, Mr. Hard Work?) Meanwhile, there was Sarah griping about pork and wasteful spending even as she tried to rip off the Feds for the Bridge to Nowhere, rip off the state for her per diem, and rip off the campaign for her clothes (and her husband's, and her family's).

Yes, in the few short weeks we knew her, Sarah Palin turned out to have more hands in more pockets than we could keep track of. She and Joe were the perfect pair. Instantly famous but for no good reason, pushy, greedy, and all the while cheating behind the scenes, and cheating on the very issues about which each of them complained that regular Americans were getting a raw deal from the elite.

Good riddance. I get enough of that crap from Reality TV as it is.

It's like a whole election nearly went down the wrong pipe. Thank God the country coughed them back up."

john macpain supremely embarassed himself by puttin' a weird barracuda on the ticket....what was he thinkin' or can he think?...whoahahahaaaaa.....

It was a fantastic day for America. I felt so proud to be part of the history. And all the Obama bashers, we have evidence of his intellect by the fact he went to Harvard Law School. The school is next to impossible to get into and even harder to graduate from (he did this on his own merit, not some coat tail hanging such as Bush who went to Yale). Of course, how Obama uses this intellect and his ability to lead and make significant change don't necessarily follow his obvious smarts. But I tell you this, after having someone in the presidency who made gaff after gaff in speeches (example - stating that the 'killing fields' happened in Vietnam) and violated the US Constitution openly (warrantless wire-tapping), I am certain Obama will at the very least bring some respect back to the office and that's good for America. He understands the issues, he engages the public and he has proven his ability to lead through rallying a populace that not more than 40 years ago was openly racist. The consciousness of this nation is changing for the better.

Anything is possible! That is so evident in election's results. We can now tell any child of any color that if they dream big, they too can see their desires become into realities. It is not without hard work, dedication, and surrounding one with positive people. But, it is a lesson that can be applied to anyone. So what are your dreams, desires, and goals? How can you inspire to greatness? Who can you look to make these into your realities? What resources that you can tap into to complete your goals? Just take that one step with an open heart and mind to fulfill your purpose and see your life unfold in amazing ways!

How exciting is that? Yes, we can all analyze about what happened the last four years, and the campaigning. However, I cannot but feel great hope for our future, and yet I realize that we have a lot of work to do locally and abroad.

Ref. Norm et al

And so it begins...

We didn't have to wait long for right wing brains to explode into loopy, tangled strands of conspiracy theory nonsense. Creationist brains, already in a state of disarray, are already predisposed to this kind of inanity, so don't be too shocked at what Cynthia Dunbar, creationist, Christian, and Texas State Educationist has to say:

"So we can imagine the blatant disregard for our Constitution, but what other threats does an Obama administration pose? We have been clearly warned by his running mate, Joe Biden, that America will suffer some form of attack within the first 6 months of Obama's administration. However, unlike Joe, I do not believe this "attack" will be a test of Obama's mettle. Rather, I perceive it will be a planned effort by those with whom Obama truly sympathizes to take down the America that is threat to tyranny."

http://timpanogos.wordpress.com/2008/11/05/is-our-children-learning-science-o-woe-is-texas/

Apparently, Obama is going to have the terrorists he loves so much carry out some awful action, which will excuse the use of martial law and the subsequent abridgment of our constitutional rights. Talk about projection — has she looked at the Bush record since 2001?

I heard this on the Fox News, Shepard Smith's show. Apparently the tensions and drama behind the scenes in the McCain Campaign were far, far worse than anyone guessed.

Smith: Now that the election is over, Carl, tell us more about those reports of infighting between Palin and McCain staffers.

Here's a partial transcript:

"Smith: Now that the election is over, Carl, tell us more about those reports of infighting between Palin and McCain staffers.

Cameron: I wish I could have told you more at the time but all of it was put off the record until after the election. There was great concern in the McCain campaign that Sarah Palin lack the degree of knowledgeability necessary to be a running mate, a vice president, and a heartbeat away from the presidency. We’re told by folks that she didn’t know what countries that were in NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, that being the Canada, the US, and Mexico. We’re told she didn’t understand that Africa was a continent rather than a country just in itself ... a whole host of questions that caused serious problems about her knowledgeability. She got very angry at staff, thought that she was mishandled....She didn’t accept preparation ... when the aides say that that was part of the problem. And that there were times that she was hard to control emotionally there's talk of temper tantrums at bad news clippings......

Notwithstanding that there is to be an avalanche that will continue for many days now we’re told of stoy upon story of the foibles of Sarah Palin."

Here's the teaser from the site:

"PHOENIX, AZ-Breaking news from FNC chief political correspondent Carl Cameron, who spoke to several senior McCain aides a little while ago who tell him " that there is no path" to victory for John McCain now, after Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Mexico have fallen into the Obama column. Cameron being told by insiders that more behind-the-scenes info will be revealed in the following days about the friction between the Palin camp and certain parts of the McCain camp..."

http://embeds.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/11/04/cameronmccain-aides-there-is-no-path-to-victory/

Here's some JUICY news:

CNN's Political Ticker reports that Randy Scheunemann (the McCain foreign policy advisor whose clients included the government of the Republic of Georgia) was fired last week for trashing the campaign staff (i.e., yakking to the press). Dana Bash notes that Scheunemann had "bonded" with Palin, apparently during the debate prep process when he coached her (or tried to) on foreign policy.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/05/soruces-mccain-aide-fired-for-trashing-staff/

As for the Fox News report, Cameroon was told this information before the election but was asked to keep it quiet and away from the public and he did.

Is there any doubt that the GOP internal knives are drawn and aimed at Palin? Will she come back to be the leader of a reborn GOP? This will be fun.

The right man got the Job

end of discussion!

Simon xx

NYTimes's Roger Cohen wrote a beautiful column, titled "Perfecting the Union":

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/opinion/06Cohen.html

(or click my name)

It was so good it made me cry. Not going to steal his thunder by pasting any of it. If you want to be moved by a short piece of writing that is lyrical, uplifting, and profound despite being very personal, check it out.

from NYTimes.com:

"...On Wednesday, two top McCain campaign advisers said that the clothing purchases for Ms. Palin and her family were a particular source of outrage for them. As they portrayed it, Ms. Palin had been advised by Nicolle Wallace, a senior McCain aide, that she should buy three new suits for the Republican National Convention in St. Paul in September and three additional suits for the fall campaign. The budget for the clothes was anticipated to be from $20,000 to $25,000, the officials said.

Instead, in a public relations debacle undermining Ms. Palin’s image as an everywoman “hockey mom,” bills came in to the Republican National Committee for about $150,000, including charges of $75,062 at Neiman Marcus and $49,425 at Saks Fifth Avenue. The bills included clothing for Ms. Palin’s family and purchases of shoes, luggage and jewelry, the advisers said..."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/06mccain.html

Jeez, I could easily buy six good business suits plus all the accessories needed, including shoes and jewelry, and the luggage needed to carry them, for half the original $20k-$25k budgeted for them.

(As much fun as it is to dis Palin, this is the last time I'll type her name, unless she decides to run for national office in the future.)

Is the conservative movement going to throw Sarah Palin under the bus? Let her take the blame -- some of which she rightfully deserves -- for McCain's loss? A few days ago I would have said No. One of the few truisms of this election is that the conservative base loved Sarah Palin, so why would the very infrastructure that feeds that base, the lies that nourish them and that depends on them for their own existence attempt to destroy her?

Well, watching the video below (h/t to Tipper #21), it's hard to conclude anything other than that Fox News intends to do just that, perhaps to ensure that she does not emerge as the future of the conservative movement, what with her not knowing Africa was a continent and all...

Fox News: Palin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWZHTJsR4Bc

Sort of makes you feel bad for her...almost.

PS: And it seems McCain advisors are doing more under the bus throwing of their own, dishing some unflattering tidbits to Newsweek about Palin:

"Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. [...]

Palin launched her attack on Obama's association with William Ayers, the former Weather Underground bomber, before the campaign had finalized a plan to raise the issue. McCain's advisers were working on a strategy that they hoped to unveil the following week, but McCain had not signed off on it, and top adviser Mark Salter was resisting."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/167581

The GOP civil war has begun.

"RedState is pleased to announce it is engaging in a special project: Operation Leper.

We're tracking down all the people from the McCain campaign now whispering smears against Governor Palin to Carl Cameron and others. Michelle Malkin has the details.

We intend to constantly remind the base about these people, monitor who they are working for, and, when 2012 rolls around, see which candidates hire them. Naturally then, you'll see us go to war against those candidates.

It is our expressed intention to make these few people political lepers."

http://www.redstate.com/diaries/erick/20 08/nov/05/operation-leper/#comments

Ah the next 4 years of GOP is going to be awesome.

I just don't get these people. They honestly think that Palin is so awesome that they are willing to chuck the rest of the Republicans overbroad? Why does she inspire such insane loyalty?

I think the "base" likes her because she is a hardcore "Christian", she loves guns and she doesn't want to learn anything about the issues. To a group who really does believe that government should be eliminated, she's solid gold.

Honestly, though, i'm not particularly certain. I guess they're so used to automatically bucking conventional wisdom that it becomes reflexive. They're like the stereotypical men who gets lost and refuses to ask for directions.

The thing is, there are countless Republicans just like her, including some (like Huckabee) that can actually survive a thirty-minute interview. Why they would latch onto such a liability is beyond me, unless it really is just because of "teh starbursts." Ah, of course that's it. I completely forgot about that aspect. You may call me sexist! Can I use the fact that I completely forgot about her appearance as proof that I ain't? That said, I still think that they consider her ignorance to be anything less than a virtue. They liked W because he was dumb. They want someone who isn't very bright because they think that makes them more insightful.

Operation Leper...RedState...

All I can say is . . . WOW.

And I agree about the next 4 years gonna be awesome! These fools thing that they need to be MORE "conservative" with Sarah Palin at the helm. Keep this up and they may not even carry Utah.

***

It's a battle between conservative ideologues and conservative intellectuals.

It's Palin versus Romney; Kristol v. George Will; Barnes v. David Brooks; Michelle Malkin v. Peggy Noonan.

And it all makes me so excited. I think the Palin side is going to win because they have more passion (and vitriol, to be honest). The problem for them is that they have no money. The GOP money comes from corporate interests(economic conservatives) not from the base; social conservative. I hope this destroys their party for generations. And I hope A LOT of the Romneyite Republicans become libertarians.

Getting the hang of this winning thing is hard work. Just ask Andy Borowitz:

"Failure to Blow Election Stuns Democrats

Party Faithful Mourn End to Losing Tradition

Just minutes after their party's longstanding losing tradition lay in tatters on the ground, millions of shell-shocked Democrats stared at their television screens in disbelief, asking themselves what went right.

For Democrats, who have become accustomed to their party blowing an election even when it seemed like a sure thing, Tuesday night's results were a bitter pill to swallow."

http://www.borowitzreport.com/article.aspx?ID=6957

Wrestling with our new positive reality, though, is getting easier by the hour, I must say.

The New Blue America

http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html

The NY Times breaks down of how the country voted compared to 2004.

The redder the area, the more people shifted towards republicans. The bluer the area, the more people shifted towards the Democrats.

(via HuffPo)

Matthew Yglesias at ThinkProgress spots the above NY Times map of counties where McCain outpolled Bush, and outside Alaska and Arizona, the trail of red south down the Appalachian mountains, and the fact that his sweeping victory didn't include the Democratic states of West Virginia and Arkansas, does suggest that race had some staying power.

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/11/the_mccain_belt.php

The counties where McCain did better than Bush. Ah, yes, Appalachia and Arkansas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachia

Obviously concerned about marginal tax rates for those earning over $250,000 a year, I suppose. Also note that the polls under-estimated McCain's support throughout many Southern states. Hmmm.

Ben Smith of Politico has an intriguing post:

Real America?

'The late days of the 2008 campaign turned into a bit of a referendum on "real America." Sarah Palin, I thought, made a political and demographic mistake in imagining that "real America" is small-town America. While that may conjure nostalgia, it's just not true: 79% of Americans, in 2000, lived in urban areas, and the number's probably higher now.

A reader makes a fascinating, related point about the slice of the country in which McCain overperformed: That New York Times map Matthew Yglesias linked yesterday, showing the counties in which McCain outperformed Bush running down the Appalachian mountains and into Arkansas and Oklahoma, matches another map, the one on which people self-report their ancestry:

http://www.economicadventure.org/visit/exhibits/nbss/maps/ancestry/ancestry.cfm

[VERY STRIKING MAP indeed.]

"This second map is based on census data and shows what the largest (self-reported) ancestry is in county of the United States. Take a look at it and you'll see that the interior south, where Obama could get no traction and almost the only part of the country where people voted more Republican in 2008 is the part of the country dominated by people who describe their ancestry as not German or English or Spanish or Irish but "American."

This sounds at first blush like simple ignorance of the concept of ancestry, but the map's annotation notes that "The region had very low levels of immigration for 200 years. ... According to the 1870 census, less than 2% of the south was immigrants." In most of the rest of the deep south's counties the biggest ethnic group is African-Americans descended from slaves. While the rest of the country has gotten more ethnically mixed recently, the south, and I'd guess particularly Appalachia, has had a nearly static, isolated population for two centuries.

And now those "American" Americans are the most reliable Republican voters.

Interesting, eh?" [www.politico.com]

Any bets on wether the Repubs survive this in the next two years or that they officially split into two political parties? I am thinking, right now, that splitting into two parties looks a LOT more like easy money...I say 70%.

I LOVE the thought that the "wealthy donor", who is a Minnesotan Repub by the way, was "shocked" at the Palin shopping bill. That is a HUGE warning signal to the fiscal conservatives that the social conservatives are eyeing them up for some quick change and a free ride, kinda like what those same fiscal conservatives just did the the social conservatives. I seriously think that they will eye those hard-right fanaticals, look at the Obama admin., and decide to become right-wing democrats or some such.

There is going to be hell to pay in dealing with Palin supporters (For the love of all that is Holy, Alaskans are damned close to ELECTING A CONVICTED FELON TO THE SENATE!) If you think Palin supporters hate liberals, wait till you see what they do to republican non-believers...Holy Mother Hanna.

I was WAY off on my election predictions, but this seems to be VERY clear: The Republican party is going to go down like the Hindenberg (fairly apt description too) and I think many of us will be on the side-lines saying "Oh the humanity". This will NOT be pretty, but to be honest, I have lived under their smug yoke nearly all my life. I will give a helping hand to those who decide to play fair by civil rules, but for all others, I will sit back and enjoy the heat. I have some hotdogs, lemonade, and the ingredients to make SMORES. I may not have gotten as much blue in the Federal Govt. as I wanted, but the consolation prize is pretty damned nice.

Maybe from the ashes a decent counterbalance party will come out so we can actually debate respectfully, make well thought out decisions, get the work done that needs doing...and THEN go have that beer with the Pres. (Now that we have one I want to sit and have a drink with and not throw at...)

anyone knows that the weird barracuda was a failed experiment conducted by a deprepit old man without a brain..that clown will be forgotton like last week's trash...unlikely to be heard from again except as the butt of jokes...so those repoopers who think she's awesome also thought the same of bushnut ...just like a certain fat troll....whaaaaa....

gripes ole flabs...

"The dude has been a community agitator, a state senator, and briefly a senator."

oh yeah...the brother has accomplished more in 4 years than u will in several lifetimes...now take that in ur big pipe and smoke it...and stop being so bitter..at least for once show some class and give a compliment where it is due...damn!