IcyPatriot

That's what it is for me also ... I am a very optimistic person and i refuse to let life suck ... that's why I'm not feeling it I guess.

sdaniels7114

I'm just glad we now have a president-elect that respects, dare I say, champions thought, intellect and study. Its not that Bush is stupid that was so embarrassing and infuriating, because he isn't, its that he pretended to be.

In the end he'll still have to succeed as President for this to have a major effect; but the potential is huge.

Patriot_in_NY

Good for you. If you work hard, are honest, respect others and look after yourself and your interests, you don't need a politician to promise you anything. You can do it yourself.

Many people, perhaps not people like me and you, but many........ have a real false sense about what Barack Obama will do for them.

Tunescribe

Yup. Call it messiah syndrome.

PatsFanInVa

In re: the original post --

Yes, this is like the wall (I assume you mean the Berlin Wall) coming down.

Icy, you seem to really be asking. These guys haven't got a clue, but that's not surprising. Particularly among code-hate-spewing, and hate-spewing people, there's a myth around that "everybody knows nobody is discriminated against anymore," etc. etc. etc.

This is not how most of America views America. In particular, it's not how African Americans view America, but also the majority of Americans.

I can not honestly say that two years ago I thought the election of an African American president -- or anything but a white male president -- was a given in my lifetime, and I'm in my mid 40s.

That's one aspect. We can look at ourselves and say "Yes we did."

Another aspect is that Obama does have a charisma missing from the presidents named. I think you have to go back to Kennedy to find an equivalent personal magnetism (for better or worse.)

This idea that people think the government will take care of them now is way off base. The only people acting like big brother will make it all better at the moment is the corporate world. Your rhetoric is out of date. It's not the "welfare queen" of the Reagan era you have to worry about -- it's the corporate welfare queens we've just spent $350 billion on. Nobody is watching this election and celebrating because we think we're going to get goodies out of it, whether power or material goods. We're in it for us, not me, us.

I don't know how many of you right wing types were at the polls today, and how many of you live in mixed or majority Black precincts... but for those who do, you could tell the kind of excitement it was. It was all about respect here, even for the pinched-faced guys who came tromping crankily out after casting their votes. You have to figure those guys had just cast a vote for McCain, and were sorta pissed they were gonna lose. But at least here in Virginia, it wasn't about the crap we waste our type on here. It was about all being in it together.

I expect Obama to be capable and to give his true best effort to this position, no more, no less. It is all we can ever ask.

Nobody's all teary-eyed because of what he is going to do for them. They are teary-eyed because of what he has done for us already. He's not the agent of that change, we are... This election is a time to be proud that now, it's no longer a lie that anybody can grow up to be president. You no longer have to say "...well, except, you know, he's more likely to make it if he's a white male christian."

And on the spectrum, I think we've had two female candidates very close to the very top this time. I think as a Jew -- a Jew, not a disadvantaged minority, but a well-off one -- I now think a Jewish kid could be president. (Um, maybe.) I think a Muslim kid could grow up to be president. I think any ethnicity can grow up to be president, because since over a century ago, African Americans have been the "prime boogyman" of American fears.

We voted for hope, not fear... we're not just happy for Obama, we're happy for us.

PFnV

patzchick

I agree reality will hit us hard, very hard. Obama is a great speaker but that is it. I hate to say it but if a democrat needed to be in office I would have much rather see Hillary than Obama.

I agree taht Bush had to go but I do not think that Either McCain or Obama was the right replacement.

Tunescribe

Agreed. I see all that wild cheering and crying tonight and it's "messiah syndrome fever." People have gotten carried away by image, rhetoric and promises. If Obama can deliver on a fraction of what he's represented to us, he'll gone down as one of the greatest in history.

PatsFanInVa

I'll say this much: given the reaction to the election, there is only so much "upside" left

My wife just got a thank-you e-mail from ol' Barry (a form e-mail, of course,) which went out to his volunteers. It was a big thank-you letter, and basically said don't get too excited, because there is so much left to do, that it's just a beginning. It ends with "I'll be in touch."

Of course the right wing can go into paroxysms of fear at such a letter (though it is nowhere as scary as a robocall saying "go ahead and wait until Wednesday to vote"). But more to the point, it was the continuation of something that points to a tremendous organizational talent, which basically is a "problem-solving" talent.

He has applied the intensity of house-to-house organizing you usually see at the local level, and made it happen on a national scale. He had 4 million people on the ground volunteering today. And that's not an accident, and it's not a "messiah" thing, and it's not a "celebrity" think. It's an organizing thing. While McCain was jibbering on about a plumber, Obama was still getting out the word -- "make some phone calls for me. Knock on some doors for me. Get out to vote, and bring 5 friends..."

I read a story today about Obama partisans saying to each other, "I know some of you haven't called everybody you could call." Etc.

This is simple ground-level stuff, but it resulted in a huge involvement in the political process, and a huge turnout nationally. Long story short, Obama, his campaign, and his partisans knew the historical problem in front of them, and they found the solution in organizing and action.

The problems of governance are different from the problems of campaigning. By all accounts we have elected an intelligent, thoughtful, talented candidate.

But I don't think anybody thinks he'll "fix everything" by getting elected.

You may notice, however, how quickly and effectively he'll get his cabinet and staff ready to hit the ground running. And you'll probably see a very effective first 100 days.

I wish him luck. He'll be doing all our business come January, not just the people who agree with him.

PFnV

DarrylS

Not sure it is as big as the wall, but it is a different time than we are used to.. here is a guy, who essentially is self made and a minority to boot.. how many people wind up in Harvard, editor of the Law Review and get elected to the Senate.. not a lot of folks, usually they are bred and backed by families.. Obama has a truly non traditional family, and it defies all of what we are used to.. his grandfather was not an investment banker or an admiral, he was an african and an average guy.. this all shows that for many people things can be much different than ever before and there is opportunity.

He is inheriting a mess, it will take years to recover on all fronts.. the difference now is people think it can change, whereas before it seems most folks thought they just had to accept the status quo and things would always be the same.

__________________
"Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you win more than anyone else".. tweet from Kurt Warner to Tom Brady.

mcgraw_wv

Yes I think a lot will change...

A reporter on CNN commented that after it was official the Obama campaign sent out an email to the Media saying how for the next four years they want to work with the media, be open and out front on issues with the public and they look forward to working with the media to help involve America in politics again..

I think that is amazing.

I think we see the death of the NEO-CON agenda, one of the more hate filled, destructive and divisive ideologies we have ever seen.

This feels like a triumph of good over evil...

When are phones are being tapped, our email read, and our friends dying in a war that was proven to be started over lies and cover ups... It feels as though good as overcome evil.

I feel like I just watched Star Wars a New Hope... the End of that movie just has such a great uplifting feeling to it.