Barack Obama: 44th President of the United States of America

Senator Barack Obama has secured the Presidency of the United States with a landslide 338-156 victory (with 44 Electoral votes to be assigned). His victory was announced and confirmed at 11:00 PM November 4th, 2008.

President-Elect Obama gave a speech in Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois to a crowd estimated at over 100,000 people. His message focused not on past glories, the hard fought campaign, or what we did. Rather, President-Elect Obama spoke in his eloquent manner about what we must do to continue the fight for a better America. A brighter America for our children.

As we were sitting and watching this history taking place, my wife said something profound and I’d like to share it with you. She said: “I get it know.” When I asked her what she meant, she said, “I finally understand what the people who supported John Kennedy felt when he was elected President. That feeling of hope and optimism. Things will get better.”

All I could do was nod in agreement. Things will get better, but it will be a tough road. As President-Elect Obama said, (and I am paraphrasing here), the real work starts now.

I want to shift gears here and talk a little about Senator John McCain. As Keith Olbermann said, ‘let’s call him the runner up,’ I can’t bring myself to call him a loser. Yes, he lost the campaign. Does this make him a loser? No.

Senator McCain did the right thing in giving a quick concession speech. Of course, this was a clear Obama victory, so any move McCain made would be seen as political suicide. In his speech, the John McCain of old, the knowledgeable, wise man whom I once held such great respect for, came once again to the surface. He was secure, I think, and happy, that the long and arduous fight was over.

In his concession speech, John McCain regained his humanity, and the courage to stop his followers from shouting nasty things or getting ugly. This is the John McCain I respected; the true Maverick of Washington.

I want to publicly thank John McCain for not dragging this country through the mud in a long drawn out process of litigation and Supreme Court rulings. It would’ve been bad for the country and I am glad and heartened that John McCain recognized that and graciously stepped aside when he did.

I’ve been critical of you, Senator McCain, and I apologize for the harsh words. It was a campaign, after all, and these things are done in a political campaign. Sure, I wasn’t exactly the front lines here, but my obvious support of Barack Obama was, I think, helping out the cause in some small way. I honestly don’t know if I changed anyone’s mind or not by what I wrote here. If I did, fantastic. If I didn’t, well that’s okay too.

Senator McCain, you are a classy man and a fine opponent.

The next four years will be difficult. None more difficult than the next few months when the changeover of power will occur and the swearing in ceremony. I will watch on TV and see the man I helped elect lead this country to new heights.

In retrospect, and by the numbers, this is what the 2008 Presidential Election means to me.

Barack Obama: He was born in 1961, three years before the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act.
WonderGoon: I was born in 1971, 7 years after the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Barack Obama: He is 47 years old.
WonderGoon: I am 37 years old.
Barack Obama: He was born at a time when America had never heard of a place named Viet Nam.
WonderGoon: I was born at a time when America wished they’d never heard of a place named Viet Nam.

For me, these are striking numbers. Sure, they don’t mean squat to anyone else, but its interesting to note them for the fact that these numbers mean I feel a kinship with Barack Obama that goes deeper than party affiliation. We are of the same generation and that’s one reason, one of the main reasons why I supported him for President.

It brought home a sense that I can accomplish great things, too. In Barack Obama I see what America could be; it’s greatness restored on a world stage. “We can once again be a shining beacon of democracy for the world,” President-Elect Obama said in his acceptance speech.

In Barack Obama I see that shining light, that moral example, of how great this country once was, and could be again.

President-Elect Obama has given a lot of Americans hope. Hope that, we too, can have a better future, a brighter future, not only for us, but for our children, and their children as well.

And if you are one of those Americans who think that we Obama supporters signed your death warrant, all I can say to you is please give President Obama a chance to prove you wrong. I honestly believe that Obama was the best choice for the Presidency, and I hope that after a few months in office, you will see that things are looking up. And things will get better. Life, like politics, economics, etcetera, is cyclical. We’ve had a downturn. Soon, an upturn will occur. It’s the way of the universe. Just have patience and everything will be fine.

I know this is a rambling post, and I covered a lot of ground, but I felt I had to say these things. I felt the need to wax poetic, if you will, on the state of this country and the future we all share.

May whatever Gods and/or Goddesses you pray to bless you with prosperity and joy for all the days of your life.

Edited to add video of President-Elect Barack Obama’s victory speech.

National Novel Writing Month 2008

As many of you are aware, November is National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo for short. November here at the House of Goonery will be a rather busy time, as I intend to make at least TWO posts a day for the entire month.

One of these posts will be a part of my novel for NaNoWriMo08, an the other for general posting pleasure. (More than likely of a religious nature, as I am, more and more, drawn to create a religious document designed for worship services).

With the close of the 08 Election, I will have little to blog about regarding politics, unless something catches my eye (a possibility considering the Republicans’ habit of stealing elections in this country).

We will see though.

Les Misbarack an homage to Les Miserables

This is for anyone who’s a fan of Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I found this on Geek USA’s blog.

Here’s the Video:

The folks that put this together are from Ultimate Improv, so go check out their other stuff.

What California’s Propositon 8 will mean for America

By now you’ve probably heard about California’s Proposition 8. If you haven’t, its a vote to enact a Constitutional ban on Gay Marriage.

If this measure is passed, millions of Gay Americans will have rights stripped from them. Reread that sentence. Right now, California has NO BAN on Gay marriage. Its perfectly legal to get married in California for Gay men and women.

Proposition 8 will take that right away from these Americans. What sort of society do we live in when we are willingly taking rights away from people based on religious beliefs? This measure is simply a way for the Christian Right to gain more political power and to dictate morals to everyone else.

As a native Californian, (albeit who doesn’t live in California anymore), I am firmly against Proposition 8 because it violates the rights as laid down by our own Constitution. I am appalled at the notion that any one group would be willing to strip rights away from another group simple because they don’t like who they sleep with, or who they want to marry.

If you live in California, I urge you to vote NO on 8 on November 4th. If this measure passes, it will be used as a stepping stone in other states to promote a Christian controlled theocracy where anyone not professing Christian beliefs are rounded up and placed in a concentration camp and the self fulfilling prophecy that is Revelation will come to pass; if you don’t show a Cross, you can’t vote, be a member of society, buy food, rent a house, or own a car. In short, the Cross will become the Mark of the Beast.

Now I know this last sentence will probably piss you off if you’re a Christian. Guess what: I don’t care. Your political party has too much power in this country and is violating Constitutional law. I will not stand idly by while your zealotry destroys this country.

STOP PROPOSITION 8! SAVE AMERICA WHILE THERE IS STILL TIME!

The Courage of Those Willing to Stand Together

Here’s a video of a group of Muslims, and one self-identified Conservative Christian who stood up to a couple of racist hate mongers outside a McCain/Palin rally. I applaud the courage of these Americas to stand up and shout down the racist elements in Senator McCain’s campaign.

If everyone in America stood up and shouted down the racists, what a country we could be.

Here’s a link to the video:

ANP Video

The sad part of this story (beyond the race hatred and fear mongering) is, one of the gentlemen in the video, Daniel Zubairi, a Muslim who works for the McCain campaign, was scheduled to talk with CNN’s Rick Sanchez via a telephone interview. Someone at the McCain campaign made the decision to pull Mr. Zubairi off the interview for unknown reasons.

I just have to wonder why the McCain campaign would deliberately avoid a chance to clear the air regarding these racists comments. What are they trying to do?

It makes you wonder, or, if it doesn’t, it should.

I Voted Today; You Should Too

I exercised my civic duty today and voted. I took advantage of the early voting process. I urge you to do the same and vote for the candidate you feel is best suited to the job.

What if Palin is Elected President?

Okay, the full title should read “What if Palin is Elected Vice President, then John McCain Dies in Office?” but all that wouldn’t fit. At any rate, here’s a flash animation site which deals with this very topic. I don’t know who did it, but they are brilliant (and are probably hiding their identities for fear of retribution from the McCain/Palin Goon Squad).

NOTE: You will probably need to upgrade to the latest Flash player version. Do a google search for “Flash player upgrade” or something along those lines to find the upgrade.

Palin as President

Enjoy!

Confirmed: Sarah Palin failed Geography as well as Ethics

Apparently, New Hampshire is in the Northwestern part of the country. Who knew?

And you still think she’s ready for the Big Chair?

The Racist Tenor of the 08 Presidential Election

In a typical racist fashion, a “man” holding a Curious George doll (a stuffed monkey) had wrapped an Obama bumper sticker around its head and was proclaiming it to be “Little Hussein” who “wants to learn the truth and see real Americans.”

Actions taken in the truest tactics of race-baiting. Is this all the Republicans have left? Stir up fears about race issues in a vain attempt to win the White House? Really? That’s all you’ve got?

How sad for you.

For more on the story, click here.