It's Official!

Congratulations President Barack Hussein Obama! Best wishes to you and your administration.

Shut Up and Sing!

It's A New Day!

The people have spoken. What a phenomenal victory for Obama! The best way to put this historic victory into perspective is by looking at some facts:

First minority president in U.S. history
Most votes ever for any president: 69 million (53%)
Largest percentage of popular vote for Democrat since 1964
Largest percentage of popular vote for any president since 1988
Margin of victory: 10 million (7%)
States won: 28
Republican States Won: 9
Electoral votes: 365 (68%)
Control of House: Democrats +78
Control of Senate: Democrats +17 (1 race pending)
The World Celebrated Obama's Victory: click here, here, and here.

Comparison with Gore (2000):
Gore only won 20 states, 266 electoral votes, 48.4% of popular vote (51 million)
Obama +8 states, +99 electoral votes, +4.2% of popular vote (15 million)
Obama outperformed Gore in 45 states
Gore didn't even win his home state of Tennessee

Comparison with Bush II (2000):
Bush won 30 states, 271 electoral votes, 47.9% of popular vote (51 million)
Bush + 2 states
Obama +94 electoral votes, +4.7% of popular vote (15 million)

Comparison with Kerry (2004):
Kerry only won 19 states, 252 electoral votes, 48.3% of popular vote (59 million)
Obama +9 states, +113 electoral votes, +4.3% of popular vote (7 million)
Obama outperformed Kerry in 44 states

Comparison with Bush II (2004):
Bush won 31 states, 286 electoral votes, 50.7% of popular vote (62 million)
Bush +3 states
Obama +79 electoral votes, +1.9% of popular vote (4 million)

Bush II claimed a mandate with his win in 2004, so I guess Obama has a super-mandate with his victory in 2008. Unfortunately, the next four years will be difficult for Obama. Here are just a few reasons:
Record deficits and debt
Unemployment rate 6.5% (highest since 1994)
47 million uninsured Americans
Failing banks and insurance companies
Falling stock market and retirement funds
"Our entire economy is in danger." Not my words, not the media's words, but President Bush's words.
$10 billion per month of taxpayer's money to an unneccesary war
4000+ US soldiers dead in Iraq

Lackluster campaigns by Gore and Kerry in 2000 and 2004 paved the way for an Obama victory in 2008. And Bush's bad judgment and lack of leadership also helped, not to mention McCain's embrace of Bush and his administration. It's certainly nice to have Obama as our President, but Gore could have saved many Americans a lot of pain and heartache if he had just taken care of business in 2000. But like the Rolling Stones said, "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes well you just might find.....you get what you need."

Click here for post-election political cartoons.

PS. This will be my last post for a while, especially from the political perspective. This doesn't mean I won't disagree with Obama or his administration. I already have. I simply feel better about the future and direction of our country. Like the title says, "It's A New Day!" Plus, my wife and I have our first little one on the way, so our lives will be too busy to follow the political landscape regularly. Peace and Love.

Congratulations President-Elect Obama!

I really don't know what to say. I admire John McCain. As I've mentioned before, he is a good man and I wish him well.

To Barack Hussein Obama...Congratulations! You ran a well-organized campaign, you stayed on message, you stayed calm, you worked hard, and you won.

The face of America is no longer just that of white males. The face of America is a composite of all the people who live here, and it's my hope that a female will win the presidency next time. Best wishes to Hillary Rodham Clinton and all women fighting for equality in this country.

More reflection to come once I've had time for all of this to sink in...

Whatever Happens...

it's not the end of the world. Both Barack Obama and John McCain are good men, and I wish them well in the election tomorrow. It's time to let the people speak and may the best candidate win.

Three Scenarios and One Prediction

Scenario #1: Some Democrats have been talking about an Obama landslide (375+ electoral votes). I seriously doubt that will happen. In my opinion, the best Obama can expect to do is 338 to 200.
Click the link below for map:
http://news.yahoo.com/election#1

Scenario #2: The consensus is that McCain is unlikely to win the election. Nonetheless, McCain's path to victory might look something like this: McCain 273 Obama 265.
Click link below for map:
http://news.yahoo.com/election#2

Scenario #3: The final possibility is a worst case scenario for the American people. One that involves settling the winner by means of the US House of Representatives as dictated by the 12th Amendment.
Click the link below for map:
http://news.yahoo.com/election#3

My prediction: Obama 291 (52% popular vote) McCain 247 (47%).
Obama's path to victory has always been hold Kerry states + Iowa, New Mexico, and Colorado. I believe he also picks up Nevada and Virginia. This election always has been and still is a close race. In the end, Obama wins by a margin of victory similar to Bush in 2004.
http://news.yahoo.com/election/myprediction

"That One"

I didn't watch enough of the debate to determine a winner, so all I have to go on are polls of people who actually watched it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQqjqb95uNc
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/08/politics/2008debates/main4508430.shtml?source=mostpop_story

From what I've watched and gathered, I suspect both candidates did well but not well enough to move the electorate much in either direction. Today we have exactly 28 days until we decide who the next president will be. May the best candidate win.

By the way, his name is Senator Barack Hussein Obama.

PS. Have you checked your 401(k) recently?