2008 U.S.A Presidential Election

[A. Clay]

FOR THOSE INTERESTED . . . A PHOTO COLLECTION

ONE of TWO

 

Edited November 6, 2008 by A. Clay

[A. Clay]

FOR THOSE INTERESTED . . . A PHOTO COLLECTION

TWO of TWO

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2008 by A. Clay

[kk448]

I have an impression you think I haven't been screaming 'Obaaama!" to every living soul I've talked to today.

 

 

What I am saying is: don't expect to much from him,and then say he was a bad President because he didn't deliver things that aren't even humanly possible in just 4 years

 

I don't have the impression that you don't support Obama. I read that you said you supported him.

 

I just said that he specifically said that he wouldn't get it done in 4 years, which Americans don't expect.

 

I get the impression that you don't think I know what the person I voted for plans to do and what his limits are.

[kk448]

 

 

That's definitely a beautiful family.

 

 

I always like the expression Barack has when he's with his wife. He has a huge smile on his face and it's like he's saying, "Yeah, this is MY wife."

Edited November 7, 2008 by kk448

[Wendi]

That's definitely a beautiful family.

 

I agree!!! I have just saved that photo - not sure why

but I just had to!!

[SuperTwat]

Name recognition IS pretty important!

MEET JOE BIDEN . . .

http://www.barackobama.com/learn/meet_joe.php

you can call him "JOE"

I was surprised that more people didn't know who Barack Obama's running-mate was... maybe that's an indicator of how Barack Obama became a character more than a politician and the person became more important than the policies? I've always liked Joe Biden's policy stances, he has a good liberal track-record.

Edited November 7, 2008 by SuperTwat

[kk448]

I was surprised that more people didn't know who Barack Obama's running-mate was... maybe that's an indicator of how Barack Obama became a character more than a politician and the person became more important than the policies? I've always liked Joe Biden's policy stances, he has a good liberal track-record.

 

It's probably because Tina Fey didn't dress up like Joe Biden on Saturday Night Live.

[SuperTwat]

It's probably because Tina Fey didn't dress up like Joe Biden on Saturday Night Live.

Touche. Nor did his teenage daughter get pregnant and engaged.

[Wendi]

I think Sarah Palin was pounced on by the press as they could find plenty to

write about - very little of which were to do with policies!!

Between her, and obviously the two main players, I think Joe Biden was

largely ignored by the press, and certainly by our press over here!!

[SuperTwat]

I think Sarah Palin was pounced on by the press as they could find plenty to write about - very little of which were to do with policies!!

That's true but her policies in themselves were far more outrageous and easy to criticise by the press than Joe Biden's. Her policies would have set the wom*n's rights movement back by at least 50 years, she was a bad choice of running-mate for John McCain (don't get me wrong his policies are centre-right/right-winged too but a tad less inflammatory than hers).

[A. Clay]

OBAMA

ACCEPTANCE

SPEECH . . .

http://www.youtube.com/barackobama

[A. Clay]

 

Remarks of President-Elect Barack Obama-as prepared for delivery

Election Night

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

Chicago, Illinois

 

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

 

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

 

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

 

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

 

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

 

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

 

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

 

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

 

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

 

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.

 

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

 

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

 

continuation . . .

[A. Clay]

continuation . . .

 

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

 

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

 

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

 

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

 

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

 

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

 

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

 

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

 

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

 

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

 

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

 

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

 

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

 

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

 

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

 

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

 

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

 

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

 

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

 

[A. Clay]

Edited November 7, 2008 by A. Clay

[A. Clay]

-------------

Post to Print 350,000 More Copies of Election Edition

 

By Petula Dvorak

Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, November 6, 2008; 1:22 PM

 

The Washington Post fired up its presses today for yet another printing of a commemorative edition of the Nov. 5 paper reporting the election of Barack Obama and additional copies will go on sale tomorrow.

 

The Post is printing an additional 350,000 copies that will be for sale at 7-Eleven, CVS, Giant, Harris Teeter, Safeway, Shoppers Food and Pharmacy and other retail retailers around the region.

 

Yesterday the newspaper printed 350,000 copies of the special edition and some retail outlets quickly sold out.

 

In this Twittering, podcasting digital age, the morning after America's presidential election found thousands of people clamoring for something more old-fashioned and tangible: extra copies of the morning paper.

 

"You can't put a computer screen into a scrapbook," said Joyce Mutcherson-Ridley, 56, an office manager who came to The Washington Post's 15th Street NW headquarters only to learn that the paper's first printing, reporting the election of Barack Obama as the nation's first black president, had sold out by 11 a.m.

 

The scenario was repeated from coast to coast as newspapers found themselves scrambling to meet unparalleled demand. Some newsstands were cleaned out before dawn. A few papers made it onto eBay (as much as $100 a copy, with the bidding still going) or Craigslist ($50, "still in plastic bag"). And some were rolled out in additional batches all day, sold to folks in lines that snaked down blocks and around buildings.

 

People who stayed up late, bleary-eyed from television or online page clicking, woke up needing something to touch. They sought physical proof that it wasn't all just a dream from a computer monitor's blue glow.

 

"You can't show your children your BlackBerry or your computer screen," said Merwyn Scott, 39, a lobbyist who carefully covered his newspapers in plastic wrap against the drizzle after waiting in line outside The Post for more than an hour. "In 30 years, my children will be able to touch and feel these papers when I tell them all about this historic day."

 

The Post printed 30 percent more copies for single sales but sold out within hours. An additional 350,000 commemorative edition copies were to be available at local retailers yesterday evening and today, said David Dadisman, vice president of circulation. Copies, as well as framed front pages, will be available at The Post's online store.

 

Similar scenes played out across the country as people tried to get their own little piece of history.

 

Papers sold out in Atlanta, Indianapolis, Charlotte, Detroit, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles, among other cities. Some newspapers sold extra editions on the streets or special commemorative copies online. Others began offering front pages laminated or mounted on marble or wood.

 

The Los Angeles Times ran 40,000 extra copies, sold them all and began printing a second run of 30,000. The New York Times printed 50,000 extra copies; the Chicago Tribune, an extra 200,000. In Atlanta, the newspapers set up tables on the street to sell three extra printings: 40,000, then 60,000 and then a last run of 50,000.

 

Many were willing to pay almost any price to get a copy without having to stand in line. One man said someone on a bus offered him $20 for his Post. A man stood at 17th and L streets last night selling copies of The Post for $5, shouting, "Barack makes history!"

 

At The Post, circulation officials finally closed the office doors and posted a sign saying, "SOLD OUT."

 

"I wanted a copy for my kids. I have a newborn son who won't remember this, but I want him to know about the history that was made here, how important this is for us as African Americans," said Samantha Crawford, 35. "I want him to hold the paper in his hand and read about it someday."

 

Michael Meeks, 57, stood in a long line at a newsstand in Chicago.

 

"I'm buying as many newspapers as I can find so I can have a little piece of [Tuesday] night to keep with me forever," said Meeks, a communications consultant from Chicago's South Side. "Every decade or so, something happens so historic that you want to be able to say, 'I was there. I was alive.' "

 

Staff writers Eli Saslow and Lena H. Sun contributed to this report.

-------------

http://www.cafepress.com/washingtonpost.326992528

Edited November 7, 2008 by A. Clay

[A. Clay]

 

 

[Diana]

Yes I agree on that, McCain isn't a bad man

but I don't like Republicans:wink2: that much.

I liked his speech after losing the elections,and I believed everything he said.

 

Even though Obama is seen as very liberal in the US, here in the Netherlands his standpoints would be considered right-wing.

 

Like I said before, I'm probama and very happy that he won but I don't agree with all his views.

[A. Clay]

P H O T O

S T R E A M

LOTS of behind the scenes PIX

for those who are interested . . .

http://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/

Edited November 8, 2008 by A. Clay

[A. Clay]

Obamatrons sing 'Obamalujah' over Barackisms

By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer

 

First there was "Obamamania," punctured in places by naysayers crying "Nobama!"

Now, as President-elect Barack Obama prepares for the White House, his message of change, resounding both at home and abroad, seems to have unleashed a barrage of Barackisms. Or maybe they should be called Obamanyms.

Here's a glossary, culled from Web sites, news reports and the blogosphere:

___

OBAMAPHORIA: The postelection rapture that swept over Obama's supporters worldwide.

OBAMANATION: A twist on "abomination," expressed by evangelicals and other conservatives who oppose Obama's stance on abortion, gay marriage and other social issues.

OBAMARAMA: The celebrations around the Jan. 20, 2009, inauguration.

OBAMANOS: A play on "Vamonos," or "Let's go," among Obama fans in Mexico.

OBAMATOPIA: The political paradise that Obama's staunchest supporters hope he'll usher in.

OBAMALUJAH: Exultation shouted by his fans.

OBAMATRONS: The policy wonks who will occupy the West Wing of his White House.

OBAMASCOPE: Media scrutiny of the new leader. (Example: "One hundred days after Barack Obama took office, newspaper editors put the president's economic plan under the Obamascope.")

OBAMANATOR: Hollywood-inspired nickname for the new president — even if he's got what California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger contends are "skinny legs" and "scrawny little arms."

OBAMALICIOUS: Complimentary term used by those who like Obama's looks.

OBAMALOHA: Goodbye, Obama-style, with a nod to Hawaii, his birthplace.

OH-BAMA: Joyful exclamation, via headlines in the Kennebec, Maine, Journal, The Register-Guard in Eugene, Ore., and The Namibian, from the southern African country of Namibia.

BAMELOT: Description of his presidency, from a New York Post headline that played on the youth and freshness of John F. Kennedy's administration that came to be known as "Camelot."

OBAMERIKA: Headline from the Croatian newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija.

BARACKSTAR: Description from those who believe Obama is "the Mick Jagger of politics" (from Slate.com).

Edited November 8, 2008 by A. Clay

[rilo8913]

Even though Obama is seen as very liberal in the US, here in the Netherlands his standpoints would be considered right-wing.

 

Like I said before, I'm probama and very happy that he won but I don't agree with all his views.

 

Yes, he's more liberal than what the White House has seen in recent years, but technically he's not very liberal, and that's why he's palatable to the American people (just like how typical Democrats and Republicans really aren't so different from each other along the political spectrum). Anyone who's extremely right- or left-wing wouldn't have a chance since so many people don't share those more "radical" viewpoints and are more moderate.

[Monie]

Even though Obama is seen as very liberal in the US, here in the Netherlands his standpoints would be considered right-wing.

 

Like I said before, I'm probama and very happy that he won but I don't agree with all his views.

 

I don't think there will be ever a president (or human being) which one agrees with on all his views . I feel that the fact that Obama has been chosen is a good step forward. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

A.Clay: wow, you know a lot about the subject. I even see a Dutch newspaper among the papers .

[A. Clay]

CHANGING of the GUARD--A L M O S T--

Edited November 10, 2008 by A. Clay

[Monie]

Thanks for the update!

[Wendi]

Has Missouri declared yet? I have lost the link for the

interactive map!!

[mandilambi]

As far as I've heard, it was split down the middle. Apparently we're being called a rascist state because of that other half that voted for McCain.

 

Sweet.