Woo-hoo America - You Did It - And the World Thanks You!

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Permalink Reply by Фелч Гроган on November 15, 2008 at 2:07am

I know. Keeps him out of other threads. Infinity = Ashby. A 9 pound sledgehammer couldn't stop him. The greatest bullethead since King Kong Bundy.

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Permalink Reply by Chrys Stevenson on November 17, 2008 at 7:23pm

You left something out! It's not a proper acceptance speech unless you thank God! ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Tedster on November 18, 2008 at 11:48am

LOL

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Permalink Reply by Eve Melano on November 26, 2008 at 4:47pm

The night I stayed up watching, waiting, and wishing for an Obama victory was easily the most historical, and amazing night of my life. I remember clearly the moment I saw the message "Barack Obama is the next president of the united states", and I almost didn't believe it at first. I mean, after 8 years of Bush, I had lost all faith in this country. When he re-elected in '04, I almost lost my mind. But November 4th changed everything, and for a split second I saw our country restored and respected once again. I remember looking over at my mom and she was crying. We didn't even say anything for like 10 minutes, we were all just too happy. And to everyone still trying to bring Obama down, build a bridge and get over it. We need to come together as a country-- a country of Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Whigs, and everyone else. Because this is our time now, and I won't let anyone tell me I can't be anything I want to be anymore, because November 4th was proof that America is finally a nation of hope once again.

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Permalink Reply by Chrys Stevenson on November 26, 2008 at 5:06pm

I wish I could find the cartoon that appeared in our local paper just after the election.

It featured a rather rotund American wearing an "I *heart* America" t-shirt several sizes too small.

Another character in the cartoon said to him, "It's a long time since that t-shirt fit, buddy!"

And the large fellow in the t-shirt replied with a smile, "Yep, about 8 years!"

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Permalink Reply by George Kane on November 26, 2008 at 10:51pm

Eve Melano wrote on November 26, 2008 “The night I stayed up watching, waiting, and wishing for an Obama victory was easily the most historical, and amazing night of my life.”

I see from your profile that you are in the 14 – 17 year age group. I assure you that that night will recede in your memory, and that you will encounter much more historic nights.

As far as the US presidency, my most vivid memory is the assassination of John Kennedy. The next morning I saw Jack Ruby shoot Lee Harvey Oswald live on TV.

Bigger, too was one of Lyndon Johnson’s frequent televised addresses. It was on a Sunday night. I used to visit my family on weekends, and they were driving me back to my dorm at the University of California. We listened to it on the car radio. At the end of the address, Johnson announced that he would not seek, and would not accept, the nomination of his party for another term as president. The text of his speech had already been distributed to the press, without that concluding announcement. We could not believe what we had heard, and the radio commentators afterward did not mention it, but dissected his released text. As soon as I got to my dorm I ran down the hill to see some friends, to ask them if they had heard it. When I got to Telegraph Avenue, the main drag near campus, traffic was blocked because hundreds of people were dancing in the streets.

In that same year there were the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy.

As far as events in one day, the fall of the Berlin Wall was bigger. So was the government retaliation against the occupation of Tiananmen Square. The most memorable week was the Cuban Missile Crisis. Over a period of a few months, the biggest event ran from the army coup against Gorbachev to Yeltsin’s declaration that Russia was seceding from the Soviet Union and forming the Commonwealth of Independent States with Ukraine and Belarus.

You will experience much more historic nights, Eve, than November 4, 2008.

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Permalink Reply by Chrys Stevenson on November 26, 2008 at 11:14pm

I don't necessarily agree, George. From the time I was born, Australia had a right-wing conservative government. When I was 14, our first left-wing socialist government was elected. I will never forget the euphoria of dancing around the city square chanting, "It's time for a change!" It WAS historic, and it remains historic. What's more, because it was probably the first historic event in which I was 'involved' it is etched in my memory forever.

In recent years, I was privileged to attend a lecture by that long-since retired Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam. The charisma of the man was palpable. He's in his 80s now, but still a man of tremendous intellect and wit.

Gough did some great things for Australia - he also was an almighty screw-up. But, wow, did he change this country forever.

I hope Obama will do the same for yours.

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Permalink Reply by George Kane on November 27, 2008 at 1:15am

Over the course of my years I have grown distinctly unimpressed by charisma and political symbolism. My first political enthusiasm was for John Kennedy, our greatest orator and most personally charming president, but he was a cold warrior, a captive to the boundaries of the nation’s political vision. He died early and accomplished little. Reagan was the “great communicator,” but his greatest contribution to the nation was a national debt so large it defied comprehension.

The sad truth is that none of the US presidents in my lifetime has done anything significant to improve the national quality of life, while several have adopted distinctly harmful policies, such as the Vietnam War, the Iraq Occupation and the national debt. The improvements in quality of life that we’ve had are nearly all attributable to the enormous increase in worker productivity and to technological advance. There has been real political advance elsewhere in the world, but none deserving comment in the United States.

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