America! America!

America! America!!

At 04:00am, PST, it became official.
I turned on CNN and it was announced in bold print:
BARACK OBAMA IS OUR NEW PRESIDENT
OF THESE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!!!

Praise God,
praise Jesus,
praise the intellect and good instincts of the people,
the same people who have suffered for eight years
under the auspices of the Great Oil Party.

Obama did it right,
Hurrah, hurrah!!
He put his battalion of barristers out there watching
the polling places like hawks,
ready for a scrap,
ready to prosecute,
and the GOP goons, the redneck sombitches,
the fascist skinhead super-patriots,
the good old boys, the demagogues, the bullies
all kept their greasy hands in their pockets;
no hanging chads,
no cops keeping the black voters from the polls,
no screwed up polling machines,
no Jeb Bush to rig the situation, to put in the fix,
no excuses, just
the righteous election of the first black President of the United States!

America,
we are the winners,
we can once again feel that swelling in our chest as we announce
we are Americans, and we are proud this morning,
pride putting a strut in our step,
pride that has been pushed down and back like heartburn
for much too long, the rescue, the resurrection of the emotion
we all felt in elementary school saluting the flag,
cheering for JFK, protesting the war in Viet Nam,
hating LBJ, hating Richard Nixon, tolerating Ronald Reagan,
reaching out to Jimmy Carter, watching the Lion in the Desert,
Islam, rise up from the dust and ignorance, and stab so many of us
squarely in the heart.

Obama at his rally late last night said,
“American, this campaign was not hatched
in the halls of Washington.
This campaign was created because you demanded it,
and now I assure you,
this is your victory, and you will once more be proud
of a government of the people, for the people, and by the people
that shall not perish from the earth!”
Thanks for sharing, Barack,
our hero, our eloquent leader, the first of many to come we hope,
thank you Jesus, you are the Sidney Poitier of politics,
the Jackie Robinson of the White House;
the first, the first, the first man to step up
with solid compassion,
with truth in both fists,
with clear eyes,
with a good heart,
and now you have a firm grip on the helm,
and you will need it,
for there are dark days yet to come
as you struggle to bring America back from the brink,
out of the quagmire of stupidity and greed.

You have wrested control out of the hands of zealots,
of the Illuminata, the skull and bones boys,
the rich assholes who have tipped the balance
directly into their deep and treacherous pockets.
Never has this been done so cleanly, so completely.
You rubbed their noses in their own feces.
You let the people create more money for your campaign
than the politicos could ever have dreamed about,
you have stopped Sarah Palin from being a heartbeat
away from the power she did not deserve, nor should
have had under any circumstances.

Now the work begins.
We must form a ring around your family, around you,
millions deep, with each of us more than willing to take
a bullet for you, that bullet the John Birchers are already
polishing. We must protect you so that you can protect us,
divine reciprocity, democracy in action.

I wept as I drove through the chill of this morning,
pounding my fist on the dash of my pick up,
pumping the air, screaming Yeah, Yeah, Yeah,
goddamn rights, oh yeah.
Now is the time.
The time is now.
America, America,
you will rise again,
yesterday we spoke with one voice,
and it was so strong, so bellicose, so clear
that the words were heard in every corner of the globe;
the oil barons have been stopped,
the Depression has been abated,
the new Crusades will find a peaceful solution,
and being an American means
being color blind.

Glenn A. Buttkus November 5, 2008


President-elect Obama faces daunting challenges (AP)

AP - His name etched in history as America's first black president-elect, Barack Obama turned Wednesday from the jubilation of victory to the sobering challenge of leading a nation worried about economic crisis, two unfinished wars and global uncertainty.


PARIS – Barack Obama's election as America's first black president unleashed a global tide of admiration, hopes for change and even renewed love for the United States on Wednesday.

The president of Kenya declared a public holiday in Obama's honor, and people across Africa stayed up all night or woke before dawn to watch U.S. election history being made.

In Indonesia, where Obama lived as child, hundreds of students at his former elementary school erupted in cheers when he was declared winner and poured into the courtyard where they hugged each other, danced in the rain and chanted "Obama! Obama!"

"Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place," South Africa's first black president, Nelson Mandela, said in a letter of congratulations to Obama.

Rama Yade, France's black junior minister for human rights, told French radio: "On this morning, we all want to be American so we can take a bite of this dream unfolding before our eyes."

Recapping Obama's Acceptance Speech
by Mike Krumboltz
November 5, 2008 04:14:47 AM

163 Votes Last night, in his first speech as president-elect of the United States, Barack Obama thanked his supporters and acknowledged the tough road ahead. With him, both onstage and in spirit, was his family. Searchers and bloggers looked for more on the successful candidate's brothers and sisters around the world as well as the future first daughters' reward for sticking by their dad: a new (and presumably cute) puppy.

Who are Obama's brothers and sisters?
During Obama's acceptance speech, he referenced and thanked all his brothers and sisters. Almost immediately, searches soared on "obama family" and "obama sisters." Most folks already knew that Maya Soetoro-Ng was a half sister (she spoke at the 2008 Democratic National Convention). Here's a brief rundown of the others who can now brag about a brother headed for the White House: Malik Obama, Barack's half brother living in Kenya, spiked 241%. Auma Obama, a half sister, tripled her search count. Mark Ndesandjo, another half brother, saw his searches more than double. Half sister Zeituni Onyango stayed relatively steady in search. Soetoro-Ng, a teacher from Hawaii, posted the biggest gains, soaring 6,680%.

OMG! Obama's daughters are getting a puppy!
Of all the campaign promises, here's the one Sasha and Malia are hoping their dad doesn't have to break. During his speech, Obama said his daughters "have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House." The new president-elect didn't get into specifics about the dog breed or name (may we suggest Buzzy?), but various news outlets, including Time, still picked up on the feel-good story. The puppy will follow a long line of canine residents in the White House, including Barney Bush, Buddy Clinton, and Checkers Nixon.

Almost like family...
He's not related to Barack Obama, but one can assume that campaign manager David Plouffe has spent more time with the Obamas than he has with his own relatives. Obama thanked Plouffe during his speech, and searchers responded. Queries on "david plouffe," "david plouffe bio," and "david plouffe campaign manager" all surged. Even a couple of not-even-close misspellings ("david plough" and "david pluff") posted huge gains. Should Plouffe be offered a high-profile role in the Obama White House, expect those misspellings to quickly fade away.