November 4, 2008

Obama Wins

Marc Comtois

We have a new President, Barack Obama. The symbolism and historical import is unmistakable and speaks volumes about our country, to both ourselves and to the world. So congratulations to him for the campaign he ran and for his victory. I hope he governs more as the politician he campaigned as, not as the Senator his record indicates. I'll give him a chance, be critical when I think necessary, but I'll always strive to be fair. I also hope I never find myself in the position of placing the blame of everything wrong in the world on his shoulders. I certainly don't think he can make everything right. The world is more complicated than that. I hope those who supported Barack Obama realize that, too.

We should take a step back, set the politics aside, and recognize the history that has been made. Not only because we elected an African-American President, but because we did so through the normal means we've always followed: through a vociferous debate over ideas and principles. Even those of us who find ourselves on the losing side of things can appreciate the skill and talent and weight of Obama's ideas that carried the day.

Few thought this moment possible, but America is about possibilities. Americans have proved yet again that we are a land of opportunity, that we do live up to our ideals--if sometimes we take too long--and that we truly are the greatest nation in the world.

Tomorrow is another day.

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LOL I WON.. SORRY.. 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Posted by: Obama at November 4, 2008 11:57 PM

Good point Marc.

This election is bittersweet. Sweet to see someone who looks like me President for the first time.

Bitter because I feel that our outgoing president also had an opportunity to shape the country and instead set the stage for Obama to be so very appealing to folks even like me. And it scares to me to think of the various things that could go wrong in an Obama presidency.

But this definitely tells the world, in America anything is certainly possible.

Posted by: donroach at November 5, 2008 12:30 AM

Thank you, America, for not giving in to fear.
And thank you. John McCain, for a gracious concession speech (and also for not letting your running mate
near the microphone).
I'm still amazed Obama won Pennsylvania that easily. If McCain had chosen Lieberman or Ridge, we'd still be sweating this out.

Posted by: rhody at November 5, 2008 12:35 AM

Not at all, rhody. With a McCain/Lieberman ticket, the Republican base would've stayed home. It would have been over even earlier.

Posted by: EMT at November 5, 2008 1:20 AM

"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." - H.L. Mencken

First of all, I thought Sen. McCain's concession speech was exceedingly gracious. Good for him, if not for us.

I'm not disappointed that we lost, since I never honestly expected to win. There's no let-down. No Republican riots in the streets. Fortunately, when you set your expectations low enough, it's not too difficult to exceed them. In that respect, we succeeded.

"Thank you, America, for not giving in to fear."

Whatever that's supposed to mean. I don't recall hearing that line used when Obama was demagoguing President Bush, trying to scare people from voting for McCain. Frankly, you should be afraid -- and I'm referring to Americans, not Republicans. You shouldn't be afraid of Obama as a man, but rather for some of the radical policies that he espouses. They are dangerous.

The silver lining, if there is to be one, is that we still have enough of a voice in the US Senate, to prevent anything too radical from going through. The other "positive" is that Obama has made so many promises, that he's almost certain to break a great host of them. There's going to be a lot of disappointed people. I'm already looking forward to the 2010 mid-term elections.

The only thing that really bothers me about this whole thing, is that so many people are being deceived, either because they are simply ignorant, or because they are so desperate, that they are willing to believe a lie (or in this case, a whole series of them), because they so desperately want the lie to be true. Unfortunately, that sort of thing seems to occur in history from time to time. It would be nice if we could learn from history, instead of repeating it.

PS There may be a few other silver linings. Since both Obama and Biden are sitting US Senators, they will need to be replaced. It might be an opportunity. The other silver lining is that Gov. Palin is still governor of Alaska. She can either wait it out until 2012, or better yet, if Sen. Ted Stevens' conviction holds up, she will have the power to appoint his replacement (preferably, with herself).

Posted by: Will at November 5, 2008 3:44 AM

The country made a free choice.They'll have to live with it.
Thanks to George W.Bush,a good man like John McCain faced an uphill battle.
Strangely,if Al Franken winds up in the US Senate,I'll find that worse than Obama winning the Presidency,because Franken is just a complete scumbag.
It appears that the Senate didn't get swept by the Dems so Obama will have some checks and balances on his judicial appointments and insane ideas like the "civilian national security corps"aka paramilitary.
I hope all the jubiliant people are just as happy in 2 or 3 years when electricity rates are out of sight.
I don't want to speculate about foreign policy right now.Let's see what the psychopaths around the world do to confront the new administration-it ought to be interesting.The Russians have just moved missiles into the Kaliningrad enclave bordering Poland and Lithuania.
I will say one last thing-the allegation that this country is so racist needs to get a rest from our detractors abroad and their handmaidens here.Obama didn't get elected because of the "minority"vote.He got elected because of mass dissatisfaction with the administration,regardless of his ethnic background.

Posted by: joe bernstein at November 5, 2008 6:04 AM

Obama didn't get elected because of the "minority"vote.He got elected because of mass dissatisfaction with the administration,regardless of his ethnic background.


and the same thing can happen in four years....barry obama has made alot of huge commitments like getting troops out of iraq in 18 months.

Posted by: johnpaycheck at November 5, 2008 6:50 AM

You won't hear McCain supporters whining about a "stolen election".We accept the fact that Obama got more votes in both the popular and electoral arenas.Imagine if the shoe had been on the other foot.The crocodile tears about "stolen votes"would've overwhelmed the Hurricane Barrier.

Posted by: joe bernstein at November 5, 2008 7:53 AM

Republicans will accept the vote and not worry about a "stolen election" cause the democrats BEAT YOU BY A HUGE MARGIN!

Unlike the "stolen election" that was decided by less than 600 votes.. and electoral college/popular vote differences.

So.... stfu

Posted by: LOL at November 5, 2008 7:58 AM

STFU yourself troll.And go back to whatever bridge you were living under.
And FYI I am not a Republican and didn't vote for Bush either time.Hey,you got your choice in office now,so no excuses when things get a little f**ked up LOL.

Posted by: joe bernstein at November 5, 2008 8:04 AM
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