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Oprahs thoughts and reactions to Obama’s win
Oprah’s insight on Obama’s win
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Oprah Winfrey had a special live post-election special on Wednesday, and screamed with joy over the victory of Obama. Winfrey publicly endorsed Obama and campaigned for him, but hadn’t really talked about him on her show since her endorsement last winter.
But as she put it on Wednesday, she is “UNLEASHED!” Wearing a “Hope Won” shirt and waving an American flag, she celebrated with unbridled joy for the first several minutes before settling down to talk to a panel including Peggy Noonan and John Lewis. She also joked that if Obama hadn’t won she would probably be in the hospital today “on a drip.”
WATCH
Jesse Jackson explains his tears
Standing with more than 200,000 Obama supporters in Grant Park Tuesday, the Rev. Jesse Jackson cried as learned that Barack Obama would become America’s first African-American president.
The veteran civil rights leader, who ran for president in 1984 and 1988, explained his tears in an interview with National Public Radio (as transcribed by the Tribune’s Mark Silva):
“Well, on the one hand, I saw President Barack Obama standing there looking so majestic. And I knew that people in the villages of Kenya and Haiti, and mansions and palaces in Europe and China, were all watching this young African-American male assume the leadership to take our nation out of a pit to a higher place.
“And then, I thought of who was not there,” Jackson said on NPR News’ Tell Me More. “As mentioned, Medgar Evers, the husband of Sister Myrlie. …So the martyrs and murdered whose blood made last night possible. I could not help think that this was their night.
“And if I had one wish: if Medgar, or if Dr. King could have just been there for a second in time, would have made my heart rejoice. And so it was kind of duo-fold - his ascension into leadership and the price that was paid to get him there.”
Source: Huffington Post
Our First Family!
Condoleezza Rice comments on Obama’s win
Message from Obama: “You did it”
Obama takes a moment to thank his supporters…
“Thank you.
You did it. You showed America — and the world — that change can happen.
Thank you for the miles you walked, the doors you knocked, the phones you rang, the hard-earned dollars you gave, the spirit you committed to this campaign. Thank you for never wavering, even when the days were dark, the clouds grayed the skies, and the rain poured. Thank you for tuning out the static of the cynics and believing in your power to change this country.
Thank you for all the late nights and all the far too early mornings, for trudging through the bitter cold of winter and wading through the oppressive heat of summer to canvass in your communities. Thank you for the rain-soaked jeans, the mud-caked sneakers, the sweat-drenched t-shirts, and the snow-covered scarves and hats. Thank you for your patience; thank you for your perseverance.”
Read the entire post on BarackObama.com…
Reactions to Obama’s win across the U.S.
Reactions from across the World
Congratulations Barack Obama !!
The Obamas cast their Ballots!
Barack and Michelle Obama, along with their beautiful girls, cast their ballots in Chicago on Election Day.
Wow, I’m so EXCITED!!
Penn State: 1,000 Students in Line at 7am!
They say the young folks will not vote. I’m not so sure about that.
Check out the line at Penn State at 7am this morning!
Obama Infomercial
Tonight, the campaign aired a special 30 minute program in which Barack addressed the nation about his plan for the country and the issues that are at stake in this election. In case you missed any part of it, or if you want to watch it again or share with your friends, you can watch the full program below:
Source: BarackObama.com
New Ad from DNC: More Of The Same
On Tuesday Joe Biden laid out a simple challenge to John McCain: to name just one difference between himself and President Bush on the economy.
Well all morning McCain surrogates have done their darndest to convince us that McCain is nothing like that George Bush character, whoever he is. Appearing on ABC’s This Week, for example, Senator Lindsey Graham said “John McCain is truly an independent, stood up to his own party.” But not too long ago Graham was singing a different tune, and it earned him a starring role a DNC web ad put out moments ago looking at how the McCain campaign has addressed this most pivotal question over the months:
Various opinions of Palin. Is she Failing?
It’s the final days of the presidential race and things are turning sour in the McCain campaign. Is Palin bailin’ from a campaign that’s failin’?
By Joshua Micah Marshall of Talking Points Memo
There’s a chance McCain may lose his home state
A poll suggests John McCain, having trouble all over the map, might not win his home state:
Democrats are circulating a poll showing Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) losing ground in his own state, an ominous sign for his beleaguered campaign as state after state turns blues.
Project New West, which aims to build the Democratic Party in the Intermountain West, says McCain leads Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in the Grand Canyon State, 48 percent to 44 percent.
The pollsters call that a “dramatic shift” from a survey they took in mid-September, which had McCain ahead by 14 points, 54 percent to 40 percent.
The New York Times’ Randal Archibald writes that McCain will probably win Arizona, but may not be able to save the rest of his state party:
Democrats — and privately, some leading Republicans — say they believe that the Democrats can pick up one and possibly two Congressional seats now held by Republicans. That would give them a majority of Arizona’s Congressional delegation — now with eight members — for the first time since 1966.
“I don’t think that there is probably any seat in the country for Republicans this year that is safe, and particularly not in light of the spending disparity,” said Representative John Shadegg, a seven-term Republican who is battling to hold on to the seat for his north Phoenix district.
“The Democrats are well-funded, organized and hungry,” Nathan Sproul, a Republican strategist here, wrote this month in a memorandum to party members. “It is every man and woman for himself or herself. Good luck. You’re going to need it.”
The Huffington Post | Rachel Weiner | October 26, 2008
Obama draws over 100,000 at Denver Colorado rally
Barack Obama drew a crowd of over 100,000 at a rally in Denver on Sunday, the AP reports:
The Obama campaign released an initial crowd estimate of 75,000 people. That was later upgraded to “well over” 100,00 people, a tally confirmed by a Denver police spokesman.
The setting, on a sparkling day in this battleground state, said perhaps more than Obama did in his actual speech. His campaign is capitalizing on the scope of such rallies to get people to cast votes early, permitted in Colorado and more than two dozen other states.
Below are some great photos of the event, courtesy of Getty.
Souce Huffington Post
Alaska Anchorage Daily Newspaper endorses Obama
Alaska enters its 50th-anniversary year in the glow of an improbable and highly memorable event: the nomination of Gov. Sarah Palin as the Republican vice presidential candidate. For the first time ever, an Alaskan is making a serious bid for national office, and in doing so she brings broad attention and recognition not only to herself, but also to the state she leads.
Alaska’s founders were optimistic people, but even the most farsighted might have been stretched to imagine this scenario. No matter the outcome in November, this election will mark a signal moment in the history of the 49th state. Many Alaskans are proud to see their governor, and their state, so prominent on the national stage.
To view full story click here
Karl Rove predicts McCain has a steep hill to climb
Blacks make record braking turnouts for early voting in south
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Blacks are already surging to the polls in parts of the South, according to initial figures from states that encourage early voting _ a striking though still preliminary sign of how strongly they will turn out nationwide for Barack Obama in his campaign to become the first African-American president.
There have been predictions all year of a record black turnout for Obama. The first actual figures suggest that wasn’t just talk:
_ In North Carolina, blacks make up 31 percent of early voters so far, even though they’re just 21 percent of the population and made up only 19 percent of state’s overall 2004 vote.
_ Roughly 36 percent of the early voters are black in Georgia, outpacing their 30 percent proportion of the state’s population and their 25 percent share of the 2004 vote.
No one but the voters can be sure how they voted. And John McCain’s campaign officials note that the Obama camp has put much more effort than they have into early voting. But the numbers are still notable.
Democrats are outvoting the GOP by a margin of 2.5-to-1 in North Carolina, where early voting has been under way for a week. That’s roughly double the margin from 2004.
More than 210,000 blacks who are registered as Democrats have cast early ballots in the Tar Heel State _ compared with roughly 174,000 registered Republicans overall. Four years ago, the number of GOP early and absentee voters was more than double that of black Democrats.
“It’s a sign about how energized African-Americans are about this election,” says David Bositis, who tracks black voting trends at the Washington-based Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
MIKE BAKER | October 23, 2008
To view full story click here
McCain advisor votes for Obama
The Wall Street Journal today rounds up the horde of prominent Republicans jumping ship to Barack Obama. Now one of McCain’s actual advisers has switched sides:
Charles Fried, a professor at Harvard Law School, has long been one of the most important conservative thinkers in the United States. Under President Reagan, he served, with great distinction, as Solicitor General of the United States. Since then, he has been prominently associated with several Republican leaders and candidates, most recently John McCain, for whom he expressed his enthusiastic support in January.
This week, Fried announced that he has voted for Obama-Biden by absentee ballot. In his letter to Trevor Potter, the General Counsel to the McCain-Palin campaign, he asked that his name be removed from the several campaign-related committees on which he serves. In that letter, he said that chief among the reasons for his decision “is the choice of Sarah Palin at a time of deep national crisis.”
TPM has the press releases touting Fried’s presence on the McCain campaign.
The Huffington Post | Rachel Weiner | October 24, 2008
Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, and Andy Griffith for Obama
Ron Howard is the latest star to voice his support for Obama, and he did it alongside his old costars Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler in a video for Funny or Die. Watch him strip down, trim his nose hair and don an Opie wig for a black and white call to action before fast-forwarding to “Happy Days.”
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del.ico.us news trust mixx.com Huffington Post | October 23, 2008
First time ever! Obama leads in Ga poll
For the first time ever, a new poll has Barack Obama ahead of John McCain in Georgia, on the heels of a recent trend that showed the race tightening here.
The new numbers from InsiderAdvantage: Obama 48%, McCain 47%, within the ±3.8% margin of error.
On the one hand, this poll could be an outlier. But other recent polls have shown McCain ahead by only two to eight points in this deep-red state, and the gap has narrowed from previous larger McCain leads.
From the pollster’s analysis: “While this is a tight race, the problem for McCain is that all but 3 percent of whites have made their decision and approximately 8 percent of black voters have continued to say they are undecided or voting ‘other.’ This will likely move closer to 95 percent for Obama when all said and done. Obama has room to go up.”
By Eric Kleefeld -Talking Points Memo- October 24, 2008
Another endorsement from a former Bush Administrator
NEW YORK — Scott McClellan, President Bush’s former press secretary, says he is backing Barack Obama for president.
McClellan made the endorsement during a taping of Comedian D.L. Hughley’s new show that is premiering on CNN this weekend. The former Bush administration official said he wanted to support the candidate that has the best chance for changing the way Washington works and getting things done.
He’s the second former Bush administration figure this week to publicly back Obama, following former Secretary of State Colin Powell. McClellan caused bitterness among his former co-workers with a tell-all book that criticized Bush.
Source: DAVID BAUDER | Huffington Post October 23, 2008
Obama: On visit to see grandma
Talking Points Memo has footage from the CBS Early Show of Obama discussing his decision to take time off the campaign trail to visit his ailing grandmother.
WATCH:
Ga just might flip democratic
According to a new Democracy Corps poll in Georgia, Sen. John McCain leads Sen. Barack Obama by just two points, 46% to 44%.
In the U.S. Senate race, Sen. Saxby Chambliss holds a four point edge over challenger Jim Martin (D), 48% to 44%.
“The Republican brand is tarnished in Georgia and a national wave threatens to carry the state to Democratic shores. Obama and Martin still trail and must make gains to win here, but the fact that Georgia is even close speaks to powerful political currents across the country.”
Meanwhile, Marc Ambinder notes the early voting numbers look very good for Democrats.
Source: Taegan Goddard of Political Wire
Obama leads crucial battleground states
As the race for the White House enters its final days, the Big Ten Battleground Poll shows Barack Obama holding double-digit leads over John McCain in eight crucial Midwest states.
To view full story and results click here
