It's over.The Obama ground game was a sight to behold, with record turnouts that approached 75%. As voters stood in line outside Forks Faith Lutheran Church, Team Obama served them turkey dinners. In Allentown, it was pizza.
But that's not why Obama won. As I drove through Easton in the late afternoon, I saw the real reason. A woman of color, around my age, was standing on a street corner proudly waving an Obama-Biden sign. She was actually singing to the cars as they went by. This was clearly an emotional event for her and many people like her.
My grandson, who is half black and half Vietnamese, was fascinated by Obama, too. I'm sure he identifies with him. When he recently turned 9, he actually took some of his birthday money to buy a biography instead of the usual video game. He's even reading it. Yesterday, he kept asking his apolitical mother whether she had voted. What's sad is that this little boy is also concerned that "the white people" might kill Barack. I'd like to tell him he's wrong, but bigotry is still very much alive. When a 9-year old boy stops wondering about those possibilities, only then can we finally say racism is dead.
As inspiring as Obama's victory is to so many, what really moved me was McCain's eloquent concession.
"Senator Obama .... has prevailed, and I pledge tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us in the challenges we face. ... Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. Please believe me when I say, no association has ever meant more to me than that."
Clearly touched by McCain, Obama had a simple message for those who voted against him. "I need your help."
Despite the local landslide for Obama, Lehigh Valley Congressman Charlie Dent prevailed with a commanding 58% lead with 86% of precincts reporting. His opponent, Sam Bennett, was very gracious in conceding her defeat.
The big disappointment, locally, was to see a slim lead in the AG race slip out of DA John Morganelli's hands. He took his loss in stride, noting that he still has an opportunity to serve the people of Northampton County. Corbett clings to a 49% lead with 82% of all precincts reporting. The remaining state row offices were easily captured by Democrats Jack Wagner (Auditor General) and Rob McCord (Treasurer).
The state representative races went as expected. Incumbents Joe Brennan (88%), Bob Freeman (73%) and Jennifer Mann (78%) scored easy victories.
As it ends, so it begins.
52 comments:
While I have always revered the principles of our republic, as one might expect of a government teacher, I have grown quite cynical of the human element as I have aged. Yet, President-elect Obama has given me a genuine hope that I honestly have not felt since I was a young man drawn to Ronald Reagan.....forget all your analysis of that statement... despite political differences, there is the "art" of leadership that must be longed for and recognized.
Two quotes to end with.
"Public life is the crown of a career, and to young men it is the worthiest ambition.. Politics is still the greatest and most honorable adventure." (Lord Tweedsmuir)
"Pleasantries, self-satisfied mediocrity will serve us badly. We need the best of many--not just a few. We must strive for excellence." (RFK)
The two candidates for the presidency have affirmed Buddha's saying, "A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity."
He lied by rejecting public financing and outspent his opponent 3 to 1. He's a phony who won a choice between two deplorable candidates.
I'm sickened and fear we've gone from very bad to far worse.
Has Morganelli announced what he's running for now?
the easy part is done. Now the hard part beings: governing.
I pray for all who one. Hopefully their deeds reflect the greater good.
After feeling like I was getting screwed by Bush for 8 years, I'm glad to see the water-carriers finally get f***ed by him, too. Now we only have to listen to the haters and not follow their rules.
The apologists talk about the economy being bad luck for McCain but for me it was the Bush policies/war, an erosion of civil liberties and who would be filling several Supreme Court seats.
My question is why did it take so long? It's about 8 years too late.
I wouldn't say that Bennett graciously conceded because she said that she's holding "Dent accountable". She can't just lose and walk away - she still has to take the cheap shot.
Hopefully, her next campaign is in another state. She can take POM with her.
Thank God our long national nightmare is over. Now, where do I line up for free gas and to get my mortgage paid by rich people?
bob jr. should check the exit polls which consistently showed only 9%-10% thought iraq was the most important issue, compared to 60+% who cited the economy. obama was even to slightly behind until the first day of the market crash (9/15). he took the lead and never trailed from that point. it's the economy, stupid.
Lots of tears shed last night and for different reasons! I'm proud to be an American again!
Bernie -
I don't think that your grandson's fears should be a racial issue.
The reality is that your grandson need not worry that only bigots will try to kill Obama. Sadly, whoever becomes President earns the honor of having plenty of people (foreign and domestic) who would like to kill him for a variety of reasons.
Unfortunately, the death threats (and sometimes attempts) come with the job. Hopefully, the secret service continues to do their job well - and the presidency continues to be determined only in the voting booth.
I'm not sure if it is better to explain this reality to your grandson, or let him continue to believe what he believes.
He outspent his opponent 3 to 1 and nobody can account for the source of 1/3 of his money.
This election reinforces the "government for sale" nature of our system. Transparency was crushed in this election cycle.
We are all losers today.
He outspent his opponent 3 to 1 and nobody can account for the source of 1/3 of his money.
This election reinforces the "government for sale" nature of our system. Transparency was crushed in this election cycle.
We are all losers today.
8:53 AM
I think you meant to say "we are all sore losers today."
He is asking us for help. When did the past two presidents ask us to do anything for our country.
I'll admit: I'm more than a little inspired this morning.
Frankly, the person who most strunned me last night was McCain. Not known for his speaking ability, he was very touching and spoke from his heart. He pledged to help Obama to govern this country. For his part, Obama did not gloat, but addressed the very good people who supported McCain and Nader and Barr. He needs your help.
It's time to try and end this divisive atmosphere surrounding us. Both sides are guilty. If the truth be told, both conservatives and liberals have good ideas worth exploring. Neither side is completely right or completely wrong. It's time that we start listening to each other.
bobjr.
I want you to know that I agree with you in that the vast majority of those who voted for Obama were not voting for him but against a man named Bush who was not even on the ballot.
As to Bush's policies, that is usually taken to mean the war, I would say to you that it was handled badly but we also had some problems in the beginning particularly the fact that the 4th Infantry division could not go through Turkey. Had we been able to do that, I believe things might have been different. The biggest problem was not having enough troops there from the beginning. I would point out to you a couple of things that can be accomplished here. If we can establish a stable government in Iraq where the folks elect their leaders we will have not only ended the war we will have won the peace something this nation has not done since the war of 1812. If we can do the same in Afghanistan and diplomatically work with Pakistan, we can put the genie, Iran, into a less then pleasant position. Once again, we should be able to prevail with diplomacy. But our efforts in this area should not stop there. This is a region of the world that needs our assistance in adding industries that will allow them to have a fall back position when the oil is gone or when technoloy replaces it. We, as a nation, need to look at an lay out our long term foreign policy for this area and the rest of the world. We are really lousy when it comes to diplomacy. We have a very deep history of winning the war and losing the peace going back to and including our Civil War. Senator Obama has a huge task in front of him and he cannot cut and run from this.
On top of all this he will be looking at a trillion dollar plus deficit and a ten trillion dollar national debt. Some say it is more, much more. We are in the middle of an economic mess. It will be a long time before we and the rest of the world regain our footing. What we need to do as responsible citizens is look at our individual options and demand that the government stops the spending that is causing us to bleed to death.
The same is true with the courts. If you fear the judge situation I am presuming that you support abortion. For the life of me I cannot and never will understand how one can kill an unborn person knowing that you yourself could have been in that situation. On top of that it is a practice that stomps on our most inalienable right and that is the right to life. If you can support abortion I would like to know how you feel about Amendments one and two?
I had breakfast with a couple of other small business owners this a.m. Unanimously, we agreed that we will not allow the government to commandeer any more of our hard earned income. And all said we will deal with it by cutting jobs before our own paychecks, as it was our investment and risk taking that created the jobs in the first place. In the end, if it is the employer or employee, who do you think is going to win, or at least survive the longest?
Here's to history-making. Hope it turns out to be worth it.
"I think you meant to say "we are all sore losers today."
Oh please. If your candidate had lost to a guy who lied about accepting public money and then went on to outspend your guy 3 to 1, you'd be howling. Obama made a mockery of campaign finance. McCain deserved to lose by being outspent in a system he created. His loss is fitting. When the buzz wears off, I hope you come back to the principles you used to espouse before you and your guy sold out. Money, money, money; without any accounting of its source.
We have all lost here.
Look Out, I disagree w/ your attack rather than looking at the issue at hand. One of the biggest problems we have is how dirty politics is, and that's bi-partisan. Your guy is just as deep in the dirt as anyone else.
The Banker
I don't know why we are saying he is the first black president. He is the same as a dog of mixed breed, a Mutt. Congratulations to you supporters of an anti-American and his racist wife by putting him in office.
hey look the racists showed up!
for the record, Obama is not and hasn't been "my guy," so you can address all of your concerns to others. I was merely making fun of the anon poster who couldn't consider the possibility that Obama won because people like his ideas, instead crying about the sour grapes of a 'bought' election.
A liberal won by promising widespread tax cuts (and even offers a fancy calculator on a website to figure your windfall).
Ds picked up only 15 House seats where their low expectations talk was of 20+ (most predicted 24 to 28 or higher).
D's pick up just 5 Senate seats where there was talk of at least 7 or 8, and possibly, the super-majority with 9.
A Democrat-run Congress with historically low approval ratings was given very little, amid a wave of Obama support, on a carefully Gerrymandered Congressional map.
No mandate for their continued abysmal performance.
Remember, four years ago on this day, Bush had just sailed to an unexpectedly easy re-election on a sound economy and a promise to continue the wars. Rs crushed Ds in the Senate, House, and Governorships.
It can all go away very quickly. Clinton ('94) and Bush ('06) both found this out.
"I don't know why we are saying he is the first black president. He is the same as a dog of mixed breed, a Mutt. Congratulations to you supporters of an anti-American and his racist wife by putting him in office."
Normally, I'll delete a blatantly racist statement like this. But I'm leaving this one up because it proves my grandson is right. You just called him a "mutt." You just called several of those who contribute here "mixed breeed."
I want to take this opportunity to say one thing - Fuck you.
How dare you speak that way about another human being. People like you are the reason why we need more blacks, Hispanics, Jews, Muslims and women in government.
The war is over! Time to write the peace. Give the guy a chance to make a difference! I see a bipartisan cabinet..Chuck Hagel! Can't climb out of the mess until we hit bottom and agree to help one another solve the problems. The dark ages have come to an end!
The democratic process has prevailed and the candidates from both parties have honorably called for all Americans to come together and work towards putting our country on the right track under an Obama administration. Senators McCain and Obama should be commended, but more importantly, they should be listened to.
Even if you can't bring yourself to even try to come together as one unity country working towards the betterment of all Americans, for God's sake, stop the whining, blaming and fear-induced name calling already! The election is over. Deal with it like a grown up.
Look out,
If I took your comment incorrectly in my response, I apologize.
Bernie, thanks for your response to the 11:55am "comment" - we can only hope "Goodbye America" means he's moving somewhere else.
The Banker
anon 7:13,
I assume you hadn't had your second cup of coffee when you responded to me post of 6:59, because your remarks only validated my comment. It's ironic that you told me it's the economy stupid. But, at the risk of making this personal, you sound like a McCain voter so you probably don't appreciate the irony.
Finally a black man has been elected. It is good for all the reasons offered by the MSM, but perhaps the best thing about electing a black man is that now we never have to hear that our country is incapable of electing a black man.
Now, when this leftwing, class-warfaring, socialist, advocate of the murder of innocent life just outside the womb gets his ass handed to him in four years, the argument cannot be diverted and the race card cannot be played. That is the true benefit of this election.
Chris Miller, you can't agree the war was handled badly and then make excuses for that mishandling; that's being intellectually dishonest (blame Turkey? I haven't heard that one before).
My concern over the Supreme Court is not driven just by the abortion issue, although it doesn't surprise me that a Conservative (I love those one-issue voters) would make that assumption. I don't support abortion, but I support privacy rights, something the Bush administration has gutted under the guise of national security and with the complicity of those Bush placed on the Supreme Court (has anyone thought or cared about King George's expansion of executive power/privilege). I'm personally kinda interested in Constitutional Law and try to pay attention to as many Supreme Court rulings as I can; it's the strong drift to the right that worries me.
Answering your question, I support the 1st and 2nd amendments and don't think the govt. should regulate firearms (I agree though that a stolen gun should be reported to police, by law, and don't view that as regulation).
"Now, when this leftwing, class-warfaring, socialist, advocate of the murder of innocent life just outside the womb gets his ass handed to him in four years, the argument cannot be diverted and the race card cannot be played. That is the true benefit of this election."
So long as people like Goodbye America continue to exhibit a racist attitude, we will have a problem. It is very significant that this country elected a black president, but the battle for racial and religious tolerance is far from over.
"Let that sink in: Obama is not the descendant of slaves, he is the descendant of slave owners. Thus he makes the perfect Liberal Messiah."
Fascinating. Not one shred of evidence to support your claim, but there it is. Not much in the way of logic, either. What, did you measure Obama's head to make all your assertions about his ancestry?
He has no real identity. He is half-white, which he rejects. The rest of him is mostly Arab, which he hides but is disclosed by his non-African Arabic surname and his Arabic first and middle names as a way to triply proclaim his Arabic parentage to people in Kenya . Only a small part of him is African Black from his Luo grandmother, which he pretends he is exclusively.
Anon 5:40 and the rest...
Yeah, we have a black president now. Get over it!
Where is the evidence to back up your accusations? (1) Why do you claim he rejects his white heritage? I want facts. (2) What is your factual evidence that Obama is actually Muslim? My understanding is that he is actually a Christian, not that his religion should matter. (3) Why do you assert he hides his middle name? His middle name is well known and is often used to scare people. Obama never hid from it. (4) What is your evidence that Obama is partially African black? Do you have his family tree? Why doies that matter?
Assuming you cvan answer any of these questions, so what? The whole point, and something you don't get, is that it makes no difference where he comes from. He is clearly black enough to be the victim of numerous racists. But I don't really give a shit if he is actually 1/8 black and 1/8 Arabic. So what?
You need to let that kind of crap go. It's weird, dude. Look at your own geneaology.
bobjr.
It was not my intent to be intellectually dishonest. My concern from the very beginning was that Bush did not have enough troops set to go. If you remember his dad sent in 500 thousand troops and bombed Iraq for 2 weeks. Originally Bush, Jr. was going to do what his dad did, block off the escape to the north by Iraqi troops by sending in the 4th ID from Turkey.Turkey said no. In Bush senior's war, Syria put troops on their shared border with Iraq. Cheney and Baker pulled that off. I think that being unable to get into the area from Turkey messed up the surrounding of the Iraq army and allowed for a lot of things to happen. The 4th ID had to be put back on board and shipped through the canal to land in South Iraq. Next to not having enough troops and a rather mild shock and awe, the biggest mistake was not understanding the history of the tribal relationships in Iraq. A historian should be a member of the cabinet and sit at the side of the president. The whole history and tribal thing also applies to Afghanistan.
I presume that when you talk about the expansion of executive power under Bush you are looking at the patriot act. There are times, I'm sure you would agree, that extraordinary measures must be taken. Was this one of those times. I think it was. I also think that when you have something like FISA and the Patriot Act they must come up for review. At the same time I think that where appropriate profiling should be used. I believe this administration has kept us safe the past 7 years. I am reminded of that old saw that a democractic style government is the worse form of government you can have but it is better then anything else that is out there.
Abortion is not a privacy right because no such right exists in the Constitution. Any honest constitutional lawyer should tell you that it is a terribly written law. My biggest complaint is that the people were never given an opportunity to vote on this. Personally as a retired teacher I have a very hard time trying to figure out why teachers support abottion. Most importantly I would call your attention to the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. How do you abort an innocent or kill a child who has survived an abortion. Why are we developing a culture of death in this nation? Washington state just approved assisted suicide in this election. As to being a one issue candidate, if I were indeed one I would be anti-abortion but I think you are well aware of the fact that I am pro-gun, pro-first amendment, pornography being the exception and even Senator Shumer agrees with me on that. I also am pro-capitalism and believe in smaller government. I think we need to rebuild our industries. I am in favor of unions as long as they realize they are in competition with the world labor market. I do not believe in sharing the wealth and as long as you make your money honestly I don't care what your salary is.
Bernie
In one of his own writings, I think in Dreams of my Father, Obama states that he did not want to be seen as ingratiating himself to white people so he called himself black. His dad was from Kenya and his mom was a white American. Unless she had an ancestor who was a slave, he does not have the blood of slaves in his make up. Al Sharpton allued to this when he noted that Obama was "not down for the struggle." I can't really offer an interpretation of that. Let me point out that this guy had issues with being abandoned by both parents. Who wouldn't? I don't believe he has really dealt with that. Notice he said nothing about his grandmother when he came home from his visit. Those grandparents are also quite interesting. And keep in mind that he did pick his own name. Personally I think most people would have looked at him a bit funny had he called himself white. What I am waiting for is the day we elect an American who happens to be black. On that day identity politics will have been placed under the sod.
It's telling that this nation elected a candidate who identifies as black before electing a woman. Hillary's and Palin's treatment throughout this campaign illustrates that women have a long way to go toward fair treatment on the national level. Obama's campaign was openly vicious to both women (each of whom had a superior resume'), and his victory is being celebrated.
Anon 6:35,
Very fair criticism. The Obama campaign, and at times Obama himeself, made sexist remarks about two women.
And as a friend pointed out to me today, we have yet to elect a Jew as President.
Although racism is America's original sin, anti-Semitism is much more prevalent world-wide. It wasn't until Lincoln that there was a Jewish member of cabinet, an example that Jefferson Davis himself copied. U.S. Grant, a virulent Jew hater, once forced a train on which he was travelling to stop and ousted every Jew on board.
We are strange people.
Its Oprah's fault. Her talk show watching morons are going to support anything or anyone she does. If she tells them she enjoys drinking poison then they will drink it as well.
Much of this dialog was very sad. I guess there will always be miserable people in the world.
I think a few words from Ronald Reagan would indict a few people who contributed above of being rather "un-American":
"You can go to live in Turkey, but you can't become a Turk. You can go to live in Japan, but you cannot become Japanese--or Germany or France--but anyone from any corner of the world can come to America and become American."
"In America, our origins matter less than our destinations. And that is what democracy is all about."
We've been asked help shape our destination.
Lighthouse,
Thanks for your comment, and especially the reference to Reagan, the Great Communicator. I have always found that real conservatives are very tolerant of diversity.
That Reagn quote will be tomorrow's one-liner.
This Chris dude loves to hear himelf talk. Dude, don't give up your day job. A political scientist you are not.
As for issues from childhood look no further than G.W.B. I know some folks in the healthcare field and they cross Party lines to speak of Georgies obvious Dady issues.
He was his mothers son, Jeb was his fathers son. He grew up in the shadow of a man he couldn't pleas or match. As President he got his second term even if he had to sell his soul. He also proved he was better than 'Dad' by not just invading Iraq but disposing and ultimately killing Saddam.
Pleas, this is one headcase President that will be hard to out neurosis.
Shrinky Dinky Doo
"What I am waiting for is the day we elect an American who happens to be black."
That's who I voted for. I made this comment to my mom today while we talked on the phone. She was talking about how this is historic, etc, etc. I agreed but asked why? She pointed to race and I guess in an historic context she is right. Personally, none of my friends talked about history being made through race. We talked about turning the page on a difficult time in our country's political history, one that will leave my generation with debt for the rest of our lives and a decayed morale that threatens our confidence in democracy. It had nothing to do with race for us. Perhaps it's a generational thing.
Funny thing is that the McCain that conceded last night was the McCain I could have voted for in 2000. Where did he go for the past 6 months?
Bernie, thanks for calling the racists out. A bit strong, but necessary.
His middle name is well known and is often used to scare people. Obama never hid from it.
The only scaring that's done when "Barrack Hussein Obama" is uttered is the hordes of Obama Thought Police who scream "hate speach." This is the first example of ThoughtCrime in America - saying something true about Barrack Hussein Obama. Obama doesn't hide from it but he certainly doesn't do anything to reign in his minions whose view of who can exercise Free Speech is Stalinistic.
Hey, change is coming - Barry selected a former Clinton crony to be his chief of staff. Wow. Feel the change. Too bad so many of the Clinton cronies have mysteriously died otherwise we'd really be in for some serious non-change.
oops. s/b speech. dangit.
So what happens when the president-elect says "I need your help" and the man he just beat says that it's time to back our president and people say "no."
I'm starting to believe that a post-partisan way of governing is possible, but I'm not sure everybody is open to this. Hopefully I'm wrong.
To the "Unredistributor".
Since you obviously are identifying with Senator McCain's "I am campaigning to be the commander-in-chief not the redistributionist-in-chief" quote....I can agree that tax policy was, and is, a valid topic to debate.
However, the big picture includes that he chose Governor Palin to be a heartbeat away. Very interesting story on Fox's (so you KNOW it is not a "biased MSM" story)O'Reilly Factor about how Palin didn't know that Africa was a continent, or what three countries make up NAFTA (in other words, what three countries make up North America).
But, based on some of the comments by several people on this blog, I guess they could relate to her homespun "intellect".....or does it take a "mutt" to know some elementary geography???
Shrinky Dinky Doo
Cute name. Who gove it to you? Would you care to tell us where you got your info on Bush's daddy issues?
Personally I think most of us have issues with parents. I feel a bit sorry for Obama because his dad ran out on him, his mom married again to a guy that doesn't seem to be a great person, then his mom turns him over to her parents and takes off. The kid adopts his father's name, a very muslim name and then during his campaign tells us that he cannot be called by that name. He goes on to make a statement as to how the opposition was going to treat him by convincing the opposing voters that he was different. He had a funny name and was black. McCain ordered people to not use Hussein when referring to Obama. How does Obama respond, he goes back to his original line. I feel sorry for the guy because he was deserted by both parents, did not live a great life in Hawaii and did not deserve that. His father died in an auto accident and was drunk at the time and his mom died of cancer before he could get to her. Very sad story. Certainly unresolved issues.
Mr. Miller,
I do not recall reading or hearing Sen. Obama say that people cannot use his middle name. Can you please cite for us a source for this statement of yours?:
"The kid adopts his father's name, a very muslim name and then during his campaign tells us that he cannot be called by that name."
While the MSM and Sen. McCain, out of respect for muslims, muslim-Americans and minorities in general (and in Sen. McCain's case, probably out of self-respect), openly took issue with people using Sen. Obama's middle name as some sort of derogatory insinuation, I can't find any news source at all where Sen. Obama actually stated that people are not allowed to call him by his full name. I'd be interested to see that.
Forget it Pete. Old Chris is a right wing robot. Every Fox Noise soundbite comes out of his mouth. You are not going to have a very engaging discussion with him. His mind has been made up for him.
Pete
You are correct and I will do my mea culpa. Actually it was Senator McCain who indicated that he would not use Hussein when referring to Senator Obama.
Anonymous 8:59 PM
I really prefer to be labled a conservative member of the vast right wing conspiracy. Much more flare to that.
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