Heroes of the Revolution

Two items on one of the new stars of the blogosphere, Nate Silver.

First, from 23/6 over at the HuffingtonPost.com:

From "The seven wonkiest things you never thought you'd say":
"Because Nate Silver said so!"
He's had complete control over our emotional lives since at least August. Anytime you heard something or read something (Drudge) that made you anxious, you went to fivethirtyeight.com and were instantly reassured. In the Autumn of 2008, Nate Silver was better than Xanax.

This is so true. The last few months of the campaign, whenever I got down and thought the race was slipping away from Barack Obama, I just went over to fivethirtyeight.com and got some cold, hard facts and figures from Nate and his boys, and those numbers were usually reassuring.

And Nate also got a nice profile in the New York Times:

At 9:46 p.m., blogging on his site fivethirtyeight.com, Nate Silver called the presidential election for Barack Obama. The television networks followed suit about an hour and 15 minutes later after most polls in Western states closed. Of course, Mr. Silver had a head start: he had forecast that Senator Obama would beat Senator John McCain back in March.

I have no doubt that Nate and his big brain will find new topics and interests to keep his site relevant between big elections.
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What now?

Check out this funny video from The Onion:


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Great stuff here

This land was made for you and me ... by Roger Ebert

Winners and Losers ... and Epic Fail ... by John Cole

Nothing to Fear ... by Steve Benen

Nation Finally Shitty Enough To Make Social Progress ... by The Onion

Hey Peggy Noonan: Savor ... by Jason Henderson

The Content of His Character ... byBernard Aviashai

I confess a certain impatience, on this poignant day, with all the earnest talk about how America achieved something remarkable yesterday by electing our first African-American president, as if the choice has been about race all along. I do not mean to diminish an historic first, like electing a Catholic in 1960; I, too, choked-up when John Lewis spoke. But relief today is not about Americans choosing an obviously black man over a white man, which proves we can come to terms with our past. It is about our choosing an obviously brilliant, reciprocal man over a thick, cynical one--a man who articulates a coherent vision of global commonwealth over someone advancing vague, military patriotism--which proves we can come to terms with our future.

The hits keep comin'

If you thought you had heard the best of the Sarah Palin stories, you ain't seen nuthin' yet.

There are a lot of people ready to spill the beans on this joke-of-a-VP-candidate. And this is direct from FOX News, of all places ... via Balloon-Juice.com.

The Wasilla Wingnut

Among the hits in that video, it is announced that Palin did not know the countries involved in NAFTA nor knew that Africa was a continent. I have no idea how much of this is true, but there can be no doubt that this woman was ill-prepared to be Vice-President and really was pretty ill-informed about a wide variety of things. The Gibson and Couric interviews proved that, with additional proof offered in the form of the complete unwillingness of the McCain campaign to allow her to interact with the press. They were afraid for a reason.

And the sad thing is that the stories about Africa and what not will keep trickling out and be fodder for arguments the next few days- the right wing blogs will say they are smears and people out to get her, reasonable people could agree with that, and what will be missed in all the rumors and leaked stories is the very evidence that she was and is, in fact, a dangerous buffoon.

This nation seriously dodged a bullet.

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Bow down to your President

Thank you Paul Krugman. When the Wall Street Journal publishes this crap you throw it back in their faces. As you say at the end, they will not show the same respect to President Obama.

Meanwhile, in an alternative universe

Known as the Wall Street Journal opinion pages,

"The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time. Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty — a shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House."

Yes, George W. Bush’s status as the most disliked man ever to occupy the White House shows that America was not worthy of him. And attacks on Bush gave aid and comfort to his enemies — unlike the firehose of abuse that will be directed against President Obama, which will of course be an expression of true patriotism.

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Windows to history

Newspaper headlines and front pages I.

Newspaper headlines and front pages II.

News Web site home pages from around the world.

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Blue days ahead

Which way is the country trending? Towards the Democratic Party.

This map shows that most of the counties in the country turned toward the blue. It shows that the Republican Party is becoming a niche party of the south and Appalachia.

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Forgive? Maybe. Forget? Never!

As the post-mortems on the McCain/Palin campaign are written, many of them will have these common themes:

• McCain was a man of principle who let himself be turned toward the dark side by Rovian handlers who promised him electoral glory and a big painting in the White House for posterity,
• Palin was unprepared and out of control ... a self-centered, power-hungry woman hardened by rough and tumble Alaskan politics,
• There was no way McCain/Palin could compete with the vast sums of money collected by the Obama campaign,
• Everything would have gone the Republicans' way if the economy hadn't tanked,
  Everything would have gone the Republicans' way if the media had reported our victory in Iraq,
• Everything would have gone the Republicans' way if the media had reported who the REAL Barack Obama was!

But as McCain's self-proclaimed base, the mainstream media, try to rehabilitate his image as a proud, principled, fallen warrior, I will be one of many who will never forget how hateful and ugly the Republican campaign was. As John Aravosis writes on AmericBlog.com:

After eight years of having Republicans call me an un-American troop-hating fag-loving socialist, after months of John McCain embracing the hate to a level where his own supporters were calling out for Barack Obama to be assassinated, no one is going to be permitted to tell me with a straight face that "oh you know, both sides do it."

Your side was abominable. Your side was hateful. Your side race-baited. Your side gay-baited. Your side lied like we've never seen in recent presidential campaign history. Your side used a tax-cheat who would do better under Obama's tax proposal to be your everyman on the issue of taxes. Your side, in a veiled effort at race-baiting, said Obama doesn't put his country first. Your side had the audacity to call Obama a socialist. Your side suggested he was a Muslim. Your side suggested he was a terrorist. Your side suggested he was Osama bin Laden.

Spare me the crap about how both sides do it.

You people are a disgrace, you've been a disgrace for eight long years, and all your hate and lying and venom and vitriol finally bit you in your collective fat ass.

Democrats don't do nasty, and they certainly don't do it well. Lord knows I wish they did, but they don't. Republicans elevate it to a religion. You are the party of Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity. Angry, bitchy, bitter and elitist. What do we have to compare? Jesse Jackson, I often hear from my Republican friends. Um, maybe in 1980 when he was relevant. It's been 28 years, got any other examples? Michael Moore, you say? What has Michael Moore said - name one thing - that's comparable to the filth that regularly issues forth from Limbaugh, Hannity and Coulter and, of late, McCain and Palin?

Democrats, when they skewer (which isn't often enough), do it with biting truth. Republicans skewer, early and often, with vicious lies. It goes back to a more general
philosophy that liberals have: If we just tell them the truth, the people will agree with us. Republicans are far less sanguine. They know that a good lie beats the truth any day of the week.

Except on a Tuesday in November.

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The hijinks of the Wasilla hillbillies

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahah ... HA!

From Newsweek via TalkingPointsMemo:

NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family--clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.

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I'm not sure how to say this ... but

FUCK YES!

Sorry for my dirty hippie language, but I am overjoyed and relieved to wake up to the reality of ... President-Elect Barack Obama.

We stayed up late flipping between channels and surfing the net for the latest election news and opinion. Sha and I threw back a shot of cognac (thanks Alex & Natalia!) for every big announcement of a state called for Obama. We took special satisfaction in seeing two states turn blue -- Ohio and Florida. Those two states and the voting irregularities and political machinations in 2000 and 2004 were heart breakers for Democrats. But not this time. Blue covers so much more of the map than in '00 and '04. How sweet. And it was gratifying to see so many demographic groups support Obama's candidacy. More on those numbers later.

Now the hard part begins. The country is a mess, the people remain divided. But for many Americans there is renewed hope in the future and a presidency for all people. We will continue to work toward a brighter future and push our elected leaders to greater heights.

On January 20, 2009, Senator Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America.

Hallelujah!
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Great stories from the Voting Booth

I'm going to post some links throughout the night to some powerful stories from polling places and voting booths around the nation. Check them out!

• Dream from my Father: Why, as the son of a Navy pilot, I couldn't bring myself to choose a candidate until today.
• This is a day for glory!: My polling place is at the fairgrounds in Southern Maryland, about 40 minutes from Washington, D.C. This used to be tobacco country, but is slowly being developed, or other crops are grown. We waited until 10:00 to vote, to avoid the lines. When we got there a 97-year-old Black man was being wheeled out of the polls in his wheelchair. It was the first time he had ever voted in his life. When he came outside he asked if anyone could give him an Obama button. There were none left at the Democrat's booth so I gave him mine. He was so proud and I started crying. He looked at me and said, "Why are you crying? This is a day for glory." I am still crying.
• Our special voter of the day: At 3 p.m. on Election Day, the Foundry Methodist Church voting station in Dupont Circle was doing light but brisk business. As I signed my name to receive my ballot, one of the poll workers loudly asked another to ring the small bell on their table. "Everyone please listen up for a moment," he boomed while holding on to an old black woman standing perhaps 5'2" with a huge grin. "This is our special voter of the day. She's 95 years old and this is her first time voting." As everyone in the room took her in and the thundering applause echoed through the old church basement, her glinting eyes quickly teared up and she somehow managed an even bigger smile.
• I did not vote for Obama today: I have a confession to make. I did not vote for Barack Obama today. I've openly supported Obama since March. But I didn't vote for him today.
• From the Right: Sure, there's much about an Obama administration that troubles me. Yes, I'd probably feel a lot better if he didn't have huge Democratic majorities in both chambers of Congress. Yes, I'm worried about what he'll do with taxes and who he'll appoint to the Supreme Court. But in the end, Barack Obama inspires with eloquence, surrounds himself with good, competent, people and seems to have good instincts about big issues -- political and cultural. Ultimately, we elect presidents to deal with both the current situation and the unforeseen one around the corner. For me, today, that means Barack Hussein Obama gets my vote. I hope he won't let me down, but I pray that he won't let the United States of America down.
• Not a voting story but ...: I work in Alpharetta, Georgia in a very Red area. I just went out for lunch to get the emissions tested on my car. Took it to a place where, when you walk in, the first thing you notice is a copy of the Ten Commandments on the wall. Outside: Old white man who is testing my car sees the “GLBT For Obama” sticker on the back of my car. “That sonofabitch better win!” says he, with a smile. Maybe there is hope. Of course, I’m sure he didn’t know quite what the GLBT meant.

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Will it be morning in America?

I'm praying for Barack Obama to win the Presidency tonight.
I hope it's a blowout, a flood of hope sweeping the nation, but even if it is close, as long as he wins I will be uplifted.
After nearly eight years of the disastrous Bush/Cheney administration, the country needs positive change. The people need to believe in our government again.
I want a country that chooses hope over fear. Compassion over hate. Inclusion over exclusion. Tolerance over bigotry. Truth over subterfuge. I want people to choose security over fascism. Safety over paranoia. More equality. Less racism. Less sexism. I want people to value intelligence and articulate discourse over simplistic platitudes often designed to divide us, not unite us. On and on and on ...
If he loses, I like millions of others will be devastated. America can be greater than it is today. I don't think John McCain, Sarah Palin and the Republican Party have the ideas of the commitment to get us there.
But should the worst happen, we will find the strength to get back up and continue to fight for change. Our spirits will be low, but we will look to the future.
But, I sense that America wants change. That Americans have accepted Barack Obama as the man of high character that he is.
President Barack Obama.
Beautiful!
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One voice can change the world

Fired up! Ready to go!


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Don't Vote!

What you do inside the voting booth is sacred ...
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She influenced the man he bacame

Condolences to Senator Barack Obama and his family on the loss of his grandmother.

As Joe Klein notes on Swampland, she did not make it to the mountaintop ... how sad.

Word comes that Barack Obama's grandmother has died. The timing is ridiculous. But think, for a moment, if you will of Madelyn Dunham, a white woman from Kansas, strolling the aisle of a supermarket, or having lunch in a coffee shop, with her grandson--way back at the turn of the 1970s, when such sights were uncommon, even in Hawaii.

Think about what her friends might have thought, or said, about her...situation. Think about what she poured into the child during the years when her daughter was in Indonesia and she was the closest thing to a mother that Obama had; think about the impact that she and her husband had on creating the man we've come to know, and the satisfaction she must have felt in her dying days.

Some politicians simply are larger than life. Their stories are the stuff of high drama. Over the past few days, I've been hearing about the high emotions out in the field, as volunteers flood Obama offices to help canvass--and, in some places, find they have to wait on line for a spot on a phone bank. It is almost banal at this point to say that this has been the most remarkable election I've ever seen. It's been a privilege to be a small part of it, to have had a ringside seat. And now, there is a sense that tomorrow will be the sort of day none of us ever forgets, one way or another--a day of reckoning, in the purest sense, when we will suddenly see ourselves and our country differently, for good or ill.

It will also be the first day that Barack Obama lives without the presence of the woman who was his surrogate mother. How sad for him, how remarkable that it would happen this way.

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Still the smartest woman on television

Another great profile on the awesome Rachel Maddow and her show on MSNBC ...

Rachel Maddow is not like other cable news hosts. A self-described butch lesbian with short hair and black-rimmed glasses, off-camera she resembles a young Ira Glass more than the helmet-headed anchoresses and Fox fembots who populate television news. Doing the press rounds when MSNBC first announced her show in Agust, she’d show up to interviews looking like, she says, “a 14-year-old boy” in uffy Samantha Ronson sneakers with iPod headphones dangling from her ears—but then she’d easily segue into an informed foreign- policy or economic discussion that ended with a Daily Show–worthy punch line.

Her résumé is similarly unexpected: A Rhodes scholar and an Oxford Ph.D., she’s done stints as an AIDS activist, barista, landscaper, Air America host, and mascot in an inflatable calculator suit. She’s a civics geek who reads comic books, goes to monster-truck rallies, likes to fish, calls herself an “amateur mixologist” of classic cocktails, and even Twitters.

There’s something about the mix of personal details that is—to a young, educated, left-leaning, cosmopolitan audience—instantly recognizable. As one New York acolyte told me, “She is more like one of my friends than anyone else on television.” And her ratings have been astounding, especially in the coveted 25-to-54-year-old demographic. Maddow averaged a higher rating with that group than Larry King Live for thirteen of the first 25 nights she was on the air, enabling the network to out-rate CNN in that time slot for the first time. It’s an impressive feat, even given the fact that the show started two months before the election when political interest was at a fever pitch.

“You come out of the gate as fast as she came out, it gives me incredible excitement,” thunders MSNBC president Phil Griffin. “We are stronger than we’ve been in twelve years. We have more swagger today than we have ever had. It’s because of Rachel. And trust me. The other guys see it. They are watching. And they are scared.”

Find it here.
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Craig F*#%^ed Up

If it is a close race, you don't want to be the one person who didn't vote!

This is what could happen!

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We live it, she says

Watch this video of a young African-American man asking Sarah Palin why he is the only person of color at her rally.

The Palin's are familiar with racial bias and the hardships of minorities, because her husband is discriminated against because of his native Alaskan heritage. Or so says, Sarah.

Yeah, when I think of people who have faced racial discrimination and hatred the first people I think of are Sarah and Todd Palin. You betcha'.
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Endorsement Wars (continued)

More newspaper endorsement tallies from Editor & Publisher:

We're in the homestretch! And the Obama-Biden ticket maintains its strong lead in the race for daily newspaper endorsements. The Democratic team now leads by 240 to 114, a better than 2-1 margin and an even wider spread in the circulation of those papers -- see full tally below as of today. The circulation of the Obama-backing papers stands at over 21 million, compared with McCain's 7 million.

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The ugliness continues

Why do some adults have to take the fun out of Halloween for the kids? This woman denied Halloween candy to any kids who support or whose parents support Barack Obama for President. Real classy.



I can just picture her asking the kids if they or their parents support Obama, and if they do, telling them that there is no Santa Claus.

Don't cry for me ...

She's no Patti LuPone or Madonna, but this hockey mom belts out a familiar tune about Sarah Palin:


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Another wingnut smear bites the dust

Well, we can put this one to bed finally, right?

State declares Obama birth certificate genuine

State officials say there's no doubt Barack Obama was born in Hawaii. Health Department Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino said Friday she and the registrar of vital statistics, Alvin Onaka, have personally verified that the health department holds Obama's original birth certificate.

Fukino says that no state official, including Republican Gov. Linda Lingle, ever instructed that Obama's certificate be handled differently. She says state law bars release of a certified birth certificate to anyone who does not have a tangible
interest.

Some Obama critics claim he was not born in the US.

Actually, I don't think this will shut the wingnuts up. Many of them still believe he is a Muslim or not a "good" Christian.
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Sarah got punked!

Amazingly, a couple of DJs from Montreal were able to set up a phone call with Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin. They worked on the prank for four days and convinced her staff that they were reps of French President Sarkozy, and that he wanted to speak with her. The result was a hilarious six-plus minute interview that leaves you laughing one minute and open-mouthed the next. There were so many clues throughout the conversation that she was the victim of a prank call, that either she simply couldn't understand what he was saying or she is a complete idiot. I'll let you decide.

Check out the transcript and the tape here.

I loved the line about him learning about her by watching a documentary ... Hustler's Nailin' Palin.

UPDATE:
"Britney Spears could never be president of the United States, but Sarah Plain could."
Those are the words of one of the two Canadian Comediennes who punked Sarah. They said only Britney was more gullible.


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