Reality sets in...

I have said this over and over in conversations with all kinds of people (particularly my liberal friends)...
Obama is not, and has never been, a far left liberal.
He's a left-leaning centrist. Just like Bill Clinton was.

Just like I am.

It truly baffles me that the left couldn't see this all along.
Kucinich was the hardline liberal candidate.
Edwards was the hardline progressive candidate.
Nader was the radical (and in need of a reality check) candidate.

Obama was always the centrist.
I hate to say this, but you were blind if you didn't see that.

That whole "most liberal senator" meme was a republican construct aimed at derailing his campaign among conservatives and independents.
Ironically, it was liberals and progressives who bought into it.

I supported Obama because I believe that no president can effectively run this country from either the left or the right.
Like it or not, we have all kinds of people with all kinds of ideologies as citizens.
There has to be common ground found in order to get anything done.

Obama is our best shot to get the kinds of policies in place that will satisfy the left-leaning among us without being stonewalled by the right.
Let the man work. He knows what he's doing folks.

Obama to close Guantanamo...

Matt Apuzzo and Lara Jakes Jordan write for HuffPo:

President-elect Obama's advisers are quietly crafting a proposal to ship dozens, if not hundreds, of imprisoned terrorism suspects to the United States to face criminal trials, a plan that would make good on his promise to close the Guantanamo Bay prison but could require creation of a controversial new system of justice.

During his campaign, Obama described Guantanamo as a "sad chapter in American history" and has said generally that the U.S. legal system is equipped to handle the detainees. But he has offered few details on what he planned to do once the facility is closed.

Under plans being put together in Obama's camp, some detainees would be released and many others would be prosecuted in U.S. criminal courts.

A third group of detainees _ the ones whose cases are most entangled in highly classified information _ might have to go before a new court designed especially to handle sensitive national security cases, according to advisers and Democrats involved in the talks. Advisers participating directly in the planning spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans aren't final.

(Full Article)

Bloggers for Obama 2.0

Aw hell,
Who am I kidding? I just cant "drop it like it's hot". :)

The election was just the beginning. The real work is yet to come.

Maybe I'll use this as a forum to put on my "make-believe cabinet advisor hat" and write about my own ideas of where I think the Obama presidency should be going.

I'll also keep up with pertinent news items that I think should be aggregated.

Time to write the next chapter indeed...

Closing shop...

"What a long, strange trip it's been" -- Robert Hunter


Well folks, this is it.
Time to go write that next chapter.

The purpose of this blog was always to help get Obama elected. I never had any plans to continue it beyond that.
How he governs as President will be another matter, but I think that should be left up to the general political bloggers.

Thanks to all of you who took this trip with me!
All of the contributors who wrote such great opinion pieces. Thank you!

To Christopher of "From The Left", even though we didn't always see eye to eye, thanks for being a great supporter and the first to add us to a blogroll.
And to "Big Yellow Forehead", thanks for giving me that boost when I was running out of steam.

I'll leave the blog up, but I probably wont be posting from this point.

Quote of the day...

"Rosa sat so Martin could walk, Martin walked so Barack could run, Barack is running so our children can fly."

I don't know who said this, but it sums it up beautifully.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH + PA = ?

Not gonna jinx it, but we all know what just happened! ;)

A harbinger?

Glenn Adams writes for HuffPo:

Barack Obama came up a big winner in the presidential race in Dixville Notch and Hart's Location, N.H., where tradition of having the first Election Day ballots tallied lives on.

Democrat Obama defeated Republican John McCain by a count of 15 to 6 in Dixville Notch, where a loud whoop accompanied the announcement in Tuesday's first minutes. The town of Hart's Location reported 17 votes for Obama, 10 for McCain and two for write-in Ron Paul. Independent Ralph Nader was on both towns' ballots but got no votes.

...

Hart's Location started opening its polls early in 1948, the year Harry S. Truman beat Thomas Dewey, to accommodate railroad workers who had to get to work early. Hart's Location got out of the early voting business in 1964 after some residents grew weary of all the publicity, but brought it back in 1996.

Dixville Notch, nestled in a mountain pass 1,800 feet up and about halfway between the White Mountain National Forest and the Canadian border, followed suit in 1960, when John F. Kennedy beat Richard M. Nixon. Nixon, the Republican, swept all nine votes cast in Dixville that year, and before Tuesday, the town had gone for a Democrat only once since then. That was in 1968, when the tally was Democrat Hubert Humphrey eight, Nixon four.

(Full Post)

"Kache" also posted a comment noting the results of the last 3 Presidential contests in Dixville Notch...

2008 - Obama 15, McCain 6
2004 - Bush 19, Kerry 7
2000 - Bush 21, Gore 5

RIP Madelyn Dunham.

Election results post

Maddow on the "modern poll tax"...

RIght on, Rachel!

Coming down the home stretch...

It's been a crazy ride, but it ain't over yet folks!

PLEASE VOTE! NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES!

Even if the lines are long! VOTE!

Even if you think the system is broken! VOTE!

Even if you live in a "blue" state! VOTE!

Even if you've never voted or haven't in a long time! VOTE!

WE CAN DO THIS!

WE CAN MAKE A CHANGE!

YES! WE! CAN!

The Maverick family to McCain: "You're no Maverick!"

Double ouch!

Arizona Daily Star endorses Obama

From the editors:

We see America the way Barack Obama sees America.

Our future requires a steady, intelligent and, as former Secretary of State Colin Powell said, a "transformational" leader to guide us into a new era. Obama brings deep intellectual curiosity, equanimity and discipline.

The ground under America is moving. A generational change is under way with or without Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., or Barack Obama, D-Ill.

The core concerns are more about the future than the past, be it eight years ago or one day ago. They are about the moment and the movement to engage Americans in ways not seen before, especially against a backdrop of economic strife unmatched since the Great Depression.

McCain is correct that it's time to stand up. "Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. Nothing is inevitable here. We're Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history," he said at the Republican National Convention.

However, the ways of the past, which we believe McCain understands, will not work in this new America. The future requires new tools and new expertise. A premium must be placed on more than just love of country. We must re-embrace American ideals and lead the world on a stronger path to prosperity and peace.

The time is now and the leader is Barack Obama. The Star endorses Obama for president of the United States.
Like a race car driver going into a turn, a leader must see not only what confronts our nation today but envision where we come out on the other side. Obama sees how the United States is connected to other nations through our economic, immigration, national security and energy policies. No one can thrive alone.

Obama sees a foreign policy where force is but one tool. He envisions countries collaborating to confront bad actors and shared challenges such as global warming, poverty, terrorism, disease and religious extremism.

Obama sees a health-care system in which children can go to the doctor and families aren't forced into bankruptcy by medical bills. He experienced the same hardships many American families face. While his mother was dying of cancer, she battled her insurance company for care.

He embraces the strength of the free market, but sees that, in the United States today, the market doesn't meet people's health-care needs. He knows the heavy toll that inequitable public policies take on people's lives. We agree with Obama that health care should be as affordable and accessible to as many people as possible.

Obama sees an economy creating jobs through innovation, helping families stay in their homes and lifting the middle class and small businesses. He would reduce taxes for the majority of Americans and not raise taxes on those making less than $250,000.

Obama sees education as an investment in America's prosperity, political system and national security. He would expand early childhood education and protect funding for public schools. A college education is out of reach for many Americans. He would help make it more affordable through tuition tax credits.

He's proved himself with his nuanced understanding of complicated issues. His vision is not built on rhetoric. He offers substantive, detailed policies and the acumen to make these changes a reality.

He demonstrates leadership by surrounding himself with smart people who will strengthen his administration. For vice president Obama chose Joseph Biden, a U.S. senator with 35 years of experience, a foreign policy expert qualified to be president.

Obama made a responsible, pragmatic and intelligent choice that shows us he puts the nation above party politics.
This moment in history requires courage to change. Our nation must find a way to restore the confidence that our government is of the people, by the people, for the people — all of our people.

We share Obama's vision of America. And we share his urgency.

(Link)


Ouch!

Seriously?!

Woman denies candy to kids of Obama supporters on Halloween...



Seriously... WTF?!?

Ron Regan (officially) endorses Obama

From HuffPo:

I assumed most people already knew that I had supported Obama. Anyone who has spent five minutes listening to my program would have known that. But if it helped to make it official, I'm happy to make it so.

(Link)