Taking the High Road / The End Of Election '08

[JohnO]

I question whether America really embraced hope over fear yesterday....versus just rejecting the last 8 years of Republican BS.....or, for that matter, relying on their fears about the current economic problems. (My guess is - had the Wall Street collapse not happened...and instead, a terrorist attack had taken place on US soil, I suspect the outcome may have been totally different.)

While I voted a straight Democratic ticket, to a large extent this was based on my fear about a potential McCain/Palin team in the White House.....and NOT any great love of the Democratic ticket....although having a really intelligent President for a change will certainly be a novelty! And it's great that he is, with the #$%^& mess he's inheriting....coupled with the fact that he'll have to govern from a very middle-of-the-road posture if he wants to survive....and seeing as he was running for President from his first day in the Senate, my guess is he's already planning for his second term now!

[sterling]

LC,

Yes, our B=days are upcoming and what a great cause for optimism. My wife's birthday was yesterday so what a great historic time for that! Obama is certainly the person for our times now and thank the Good Lord that he was put here and able to serve. I also thank his wife Michelle for allowing him to run. That is not an easy decision to have your spouse take on that and all the privacy issues and the impact on their kids. But I think she knew how important this was for everyone. Barak is very intelligent and well spoken and calm and collected. It will be so nice to hear our President speak as if he knows the English language and understands how to use it effectively. Hey Eric, would you consider singing ABM to GW Bush as he leaves the White House for the last time?

Phil

[LC]

I haven't felt this much optimism since Bobby Kennedy died.

I love that Obama is brilliant. I love that he seems like a reasonable man. I love that his wife is at least as bright as he is. I love that America chose to embrace hope over fear. And I REALLY love having a President that can pronounce the word "nuclear."

e

Eric, the editor in me is dying to take a whack at that first sentence (re: Bobby Kennedy). I know what you mean, though!

I also like the "reasonable" characteristic you see in Obama. And maybe the best thing about him is his ability to stay calm and cool -- you want someone who's gonna be under pressure to have that trait, big-time. The word everyone always uses is "unflappable."

It really was fun to watch this historic campaign unfold, especially as it "played out" in the spicy posts here at EC.com!

[Bessieboo]

I don't feel a lot of hope

Women are 50%+ of the population and are not represented.

Go look your daughter in the eyes and explain to her why no matter what she does, she doesn't have a chance. She can be a brilliant woman but she will be judged by different standards, she will be judged by her looks and not her abilities.

We haven't come very far.

[raspberrywine]

An amazing moment in these troubled times. Look at the set of circumstances he is inheriting, quite ugly. We should all be pulling for him, this is a guy that always has had the attitude to be everyones President. I am so proud that enough white people in the U.S. saw through the bologna and the attempts at division to give this guy a chance.

He has shown grace and level headedness under immense pressure. He has a tremendous amount of character. Lets hope for better times ahead.

[Margaret]

Hear, Hear EC! I for one have so terribly missed your voice of reason during this election season. And yes, I also am incredibly proud of my country this morning. What an historic night! Let the healing begin.

[hollies65]

Obama is the most liberal member of the Senate, so he is someone I have very little in common with when it comes to his politics. I wish him luck.

As we sit here this morning, Israel is more than likely preparing to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities. Hello cold hard facts of life.

[Tim From Wisconsin]

I was glad to wake up this morning and see that this thread took on some life. As much as a lot of us have opposite views on the issues, there has always been a respect for each others opinions even if they are polar opposite from our own.

Some of these threads would be interesting to print out and read a few months from now.

Tim

[Wendy-Ann]

I don't feel a lot of hope

Women are 50%+ of the population and are not represented.

Go look your daughter in the eyes and explain to her why no matter what she does, she doesn't have a chance. She can be a brilliant woman but she will be judged by different standards, she will be judged by her looks and not her abilities.

We haven't come very far.

Bravo Elizabeth! And I have no hope this morning - I like Obama, but alot of his views are basically the opposite of what I hold dear in my heart. So, not only did I vote for McCain, I did vote AGAINST Obama. However...as my President I will NOT disrespect the office he holds, no matter how I feel about him.

I don't care for his wife, not a bit. She's obviously not stupid, but nothing about her makes me feel warm towards her. ZERO...

I would have preferred to see Hillary take over as President if a Dem was voted in, but then again, as a woman she hadn't a chance. If she's attractive well then, she's an air head, right? If she's not attractive then, she has the wrong "plumbing."

I give up...I don't care how intelligent a woman is, as for now, as long as she stays the "little wife" and not the President or Vice President...then I guess, that's a good thing! Seriously, I have a headache...no, really I do...I just took Tylenol!

Wendy (who's finally in New York City and woke up in a less then a wonderful mood! )

[hollies65]

The way they attacked Palin...this includes the entire media, was as mysogynistic as anything from decades ago. The funny thing is, any critisism of Obama was always met with the cry of "racism"...when many of the concerns were legitimate. The treatment of Palin [and Hillary to a certain extent] really has opened my eyes to the fact that sexism is still alive and well...esp in the media.

[raspberrywine]

Sore loser. Examine the threads here the past couple weeks, very muched laced with racism. People brought up racism because there was alot of it. It was no ones imagination.

Palin was her own worst enemy. There are many wise female politicians across the country, including Hillary, but I dont think weve really yet seen the woman we would want for President. She's coming along soon in my opinion. More hope.

McCain is a good man and a good candidate. I think he was getting turned in too many different directions by his campaign people. They took him in bad directions, like the Joe the Plumber emphasis. He was not the McCain of 2000, who was a genuine reformer and maverick. The Republicans will be back in the White House sometime soon, the cycle goes on and on.

But we really need to hope that many of the bad trends and serious issues are going to be addressed successfully by our new President. We should all want the best for him just as people really did for Bush in 2000. Obama will move more center because this guy is sincere in my opinion about representing all folks. I think hes genuinely concerned about the middle class in these times and that its not B.S.

[hollies65]

The fact that you can't see the misogynstic treatment of Hillary and Palin by the media would say more about you than me. Sore loser? Just because McCain lost the election does not prevent me from stating my opinion.How does pointing out sexism [A big liberal talking pont...when it suits them] make one a sore loser?

I'll be waiting for you to point out the "sore loser" points.

BTW, my points were clearly directed at the media...not Obama...which makes your "sore loser" phrase all the more puzzling.

[Bessieboo]

I wasn't thinking of just Palin, just look at the House and Senate and also the Supreme Court while you are at it, where are they women ?

Could you guys picture any of those places if the numbers were reversed? What would it be like with less than 16% of the seats filled by men?

Maybe a little work would get done!

I will pray Obama can be a good President and that somewhere out there a young lady is preparing to become our next President.

[pretender]

"Oh, the moon and stars have gone

And I can see the light of dawn

Like a golden smile

Brightening up a brand new day

Brand new day"-EC

[hollies65]

I would rather have had Hillary as president than Obama. I'd like to know what Obama brought to the table that Hillary did not...other than inexperience. S-E-X-I-S-M.

[JohnO]

While I was rooting for Hillary, once it became obvious that it would be either her or Barack O., I believe their differences stuck out like a sore thumb!

IMO, Hillary lagged way behind Obama in (1) her ability to get a strong organization/team behind her (one where she wasn't either firing her campaign manager or constantly having to replace key workers); (2) her ability to raise money (while his run to the Dem nomination left him with a surplus, and he raised by far the greatest amount ever in a Presidential run, she wound up loaning her own campaign what, $6 Million?); and (3) her need to change her basic message to suit whatever state primaries were coming up over the course of the campaign. By the time she figured out a formula for success in the primaries, he had already wrapped up the nomination.

Say what you will about Obama....he pretty much stuck to his message throughout both of his campaigns...and kept a very even temperament throughout as well.

To me, it just seemed like Hillary ran the usual old-fashioned political campaign, and many of them turn into massive clusterf*cks (like hers), while Obama used modern technology for fundraising, pinpointing exactly where he needed to campaign...and he had a very loyal and hard-working team backing him. He ran his campaign more like a successful businessman, than a politician.

[marvin]

I wasn't thinking of just Palin, just look at the House and Senate and also the Supreme Court while you are at it, where are they women ?

Could you guys picture any of those places if the numbers were reversed? What would it be like with less than 16% of the seats filled by men?

Being somewhat unfamiliar with the representatives, Bessie why don't you tell me where the women are, and how many actually were in the running for a seat in the Sentate / House?

[hollies65]

JohnO...No doubt, Obama's campaign was brilliant.

[hollies65]

Although Hillary was give Obama a a** whuppin at the end of their campaign...too little, too late.

[Ecstasy]

I'm very, very jaded and felt enormous depression last night. I watched all of these happy, hopeful faces and thought, "Just wait." I'm sorry, folks, but I have nothing left for this. I just saw a doctor in a Public Aid clinic abuse two of my children. I just lost a 5 MONTH battle to get residential placement services for a son with a mental health record as long as a Christmas wish list. I can't get anything done on a state or county level and I'm gonna worry about the nation? I'm struggling day to day to get services my taxes pay for each year! Yeah, just wait. I'm sorry,everybody, I'm just a lot more cynical and hopeless these days after having to look into my son's eyes and tell him Mom couldn't get him help... again.

[JohnO]

While honestly, I still can't warm up to Obama, I believe his cold-bloodedness and more robotic-like qualities may serve him well as President, especially in dealing with Congress or foreign countries. He's not likely to act without giving anything a lot of thought, and probably will put together a good team of advisors.

(I heard an announcer the other day say that Barack O's reaction to his grandmother's passing was the first hint of emotion he's seen him display in the year and a half he's been covering him....)

[LC]

I don't feel a lot of hope

Women are 50%+ of the population and are not represented.

Go look your daughter in the eyes and explain to her why no matter what she does, she doesn't have a chance. She can be a brilliant woman but she will be judged by different standards, she will be judged by her looks and not her abilities.

We haven't come very far.

Yeah, that's nice, Bessieboo. Very nice. I should tell my daughter that she "doesn't have a chance"? And WendyWorld agrees with you? I cannot give you a "WORD!" on that, WW.

Or, maybe you "Debbie Downers" should give me a script? Here, I'll start....

------------------------------------------

ME: Quinlyn, I have bad news for you.

Q: What, Dad?

ME: Well, because you're a girl, you won't be getting a fair shake.

Q: At what?

ME: At anything.

Q: But I get 90s and 100s on all my tests....

ME: Doesn't matter. You're a girl, and throughout life, you'll be judged only by your looks, not by what you know or what you can do.

Q: How come?

ME: Just never mind. Forget about any dreams you have. I know you're only 9, but, well, John McCain lost the election, and Sarah Palin got beat up by the press because she's a woman -- not because she was ill-equipped to become vice-president of our country.

------------------------------------------

Geez.... Negativity is a tough path to travel. Life is hard enough. If you want to start dashing young girls' dreams, that's your deal. I'd rather instill a positive, "can-do" attitude -- even to a daughter. Especially to a daughter! How else can you prepare someone to handle bumps in the road? It beats the heck out of being "Debbie Downer."

Yeah, I'd hate to have her grow up thinking, "We haven't come very far." If that's your attitude, then no, you haven't come very far..... Good day!

[Ecstasy]

LC, each of us speaks from our own experiences. Beth's and Wendy's experiences have forged their attitudes just as yours or mine have been over the years. The fact is, if I had a nickel for every time someone (usually male) treated me as a dumb blonde my mortgage would be paid off! I've sat on 4 county boards where 50% or better of them was female and still we were not given then credibility we were due usually being treated as hysterical mothers instead. It's all those hormones, you know, that can't allow us to function anywhere but the home. And those are just my experiences. Do they match Beth or Wendy's? No, but they don't need to, either. I respect the fact that they are hurting and discouraged due to the experiences they've had and trust that they'll find their own way to do the best they can in spite of it. And you and I will, too, with whatever we face. <smile>

[Paulie Mississippi]

(My guess is - had the Wall Street collapse not happened...and instead, a terrorist attack had taken place on US soil, I suspect the outcome may have been totally different.)

Which might just explain why there was a collapse and the terrorist stayed quiet... and it might lead us to that "test" that Joe Biden hinted at...

[hollies65]

Of course we have to be positive with our daughters...mine is only 6...but that does not change the mysogynist hit jobs the media laid on the female candidates this election. Hopefully this will be the last time they get away with it.