And Now That We Own It...

It's only been a week, so we can still do some victory dances, right?

Shake your booty (and wipe away some more victory tears) to

It's A New Day by Wil.I.Am

I Was There

WHAT-A-NIGHT!

As I rode the 147 up Lake Shore, I made sure to remind myself to take it all in- take in this beautiful day in this beautiful city for this historic event. I have never been a part of something so big and so communal and SO positive. Everyone was talking to each other and bouncing around with excitement.

We got into the rally just in time to find our spot and watch the polls go up and up in our favor. We heard about Ohio in the line outside and we saw Virginia's results on the big screen...and then, without announcement or notice, up on the screen it said BARACK OBAMA ELECTED PRESIDENT.

I'm not exaggerating here- this was a top moment in my life.

From that point on it was cloud 9, pure bliss, "pinch me!". I was so surprised by the relief I felt. I expected to be ecstatic, but the relief was the primary initial feeling. FINALLY! These last eight years have been painful, stressful and incredibly discouraging. And these have been the years my generation has come into its own- we've had no choice but to be disillusioned and disheartened with our country. FINALLY- sweet, sweet relief!

It still hasn't full sunk in- the reality of it all. I can't even believe I get to say that I was there! To say I feel lucky is an understatement.

As we walked north up Michigan following THE speech, there was this feeling of community and love and (you guessed it...) hope. Every ten minutes or so a chant would start "YES-WE-CAN!" or "O-BA-MA". Totally thrilling- the best kind of celebration.

This measly blog doesn't do Tuesday night any justice. It was the real deal and I've promised myself to etch it in my memory. Here's hoping all the rest of you enjoyed the historic night as well! And to those of you that didn't...y'all just had eight years- There's a new sheriff in town.

Sign, sealed, delivered- he's ours :)

This Day In History

I am less than two hours away from hopping out of my cubicle and heading down to Grant Park. I am so excited I can hardly focus. I have that Christmas morning feeling…or the feeling I used to get when the Bulls went to the championship and NEVER lost. Remember that? They just HAD to win. And they did. Except…this is MUCH MORE IMPORTANT.

A victory for Obama is a victory for all of us. If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t have voted for him. It’s been a long road and he’s been steady at the wheel- keeping his eye on the prize. If the way he’s run his campaign is any indication as to what kind of administration he’ll run, we are in good hands.

There’s no denying the historical factor of all of this- we may be on the brink of electing our first black president. Such a victory. There’s no denying the hope that comes along with that. This is not a fix-all, but it is, in my opinion, progress.

Barack Hussein Obama is the American Dream. America is about diversity- whether it likes it or not…and an acceptance and an embrace of a mixed race leader feels so right to me. We are many parts. We are a diverse, complex nation. It seems so obvious that we have a leader that reflects who we are.

I am hoping against hope for a win tonight. I hope I can be there in Grant Park crying tears of joy (because I am a big, political SAP) and shakin’ it while I Barack ‘n roll!




Fingers crossed. Knock on wood. Hail Mary.

That One is My President :)

Getting All Maverick-y

I read the ten page article, Make Believe Maverick in Rolling Stone yesterday and gee whiz! I'm sure glad I did, don't ya know!

(Rather than watching mindless TV, plop down and read it.)

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It's crunch time and this is getting exciting. I caught a clip of Elizabeth Hassleback on The View today squawking about Obama's connection to Bill Ayers and the table also brought up McCain's involvement in the Keating Five. Barbara Walters was right to point out that slander isn't the way to campaign and we should all be focusing on the issues. She's right...BUT! Hassleback didn't Hassleback down! She insisted that this means Obama is palling around with terrorists.

Let's consider this...

Barack Obama once attended a party at Bill Ayers' home in his honor. That's what we know. John McCain, on the other hand, was involved in a huge political scandal that was directly related to the savings and loans crisis in the late 80's. Yes, I'm disgustingly liberal and so of course I'm not completely terrified by the Obama/Ayers connection. But in general, if we are going to actually go back in time and point fingers, shouldn't we be more concerned about an actual accusation- an involved, serious, jeopardizing case that was directly tied to a financial crisis, as opposed to a one time canoodle with someone who was radical FORTY years ago?

Just sayin'.

CuTeSt CoUpLE aWaRd

Aren't they precious?

John and Cindy have nothing on them. Even if I were a (gasp!) republican, I think I'd have to admit these two seem to keep the love alive.

I just took some time out of my day to go through The Obama's Greatest PDA Moments on the Huffington Post. Dork? Yes. Worth it? Totally.

Enjoy :)

A MUST READ

Many props and thanks to Katha Pollitt for THIS article in The Nation.

Left, right, middle or "huh?"- read it.

Two in one day- I'm a maniac!


I was just reading this article on Radar and I just wanted to paste the quote at the bottom of the first page...

"If Obama loses, our children will grow up thinking of equal opportunity as a myth. His defeat would say that when handed a perfect opportunity to put the worst part of our history behind us, we chose not to. In this event, the world's judgment will be severe and inescapable: The United States had its day but, in the end, couldn't put its own self-interest ahead of its crazy irrationality over race." - Jacob Weisberg


Chew on that.

Still Puttin' the O in Hope

The Machinery of Hope

Inside the grass-roots field operation of Barack Obama, who is transforming the way political campaigns are run




...Oh, and then there's this.

Sure Can!

So, you may have seen this "Yes We Can" music video by Wil.I.Am-

...it's pretty cool, but a little cheesy. Some of the celebs in it aren't very admirable, nor well known. I feel like he may have just sent out a mass text and hoped for the best. I was hoping that maybe Oprah, Paul Newman or someone of that credibility would pop up...but no.

Anyway, I'm posting this for two reasons-

1) I think this is actually a very cool mix of an outstanding and inspiring speech by the man that I feel is best suited to lead our country. (Obama, not Wil.I.Am- tough call, I know)

2) Scarlett Johansson takes herself so freakin' seriously in this video that it's absolutely hilarious.

So, enjoy!

I did :)

The K-Sam Endorsement (very, very crucial)