The Anti-Trump Has Arrived

As my longtime truckbuddies know, I've pretty much given up following or blogging about politics lately - it's all too terribly sad, and totally disgusting.  But I did watch the astonishing New York mayoral returns last night, and I listened to Mamdani's victory speech; a cinematic finale to a hard-fought campaign by a political upstart.

So come January 1st, New York will have a Muslim socialist mayor from Uganda.  That's a scenario even Hollywood wouldn't have tried to put over -- "What?  Nah, nobody would believe that."  I'm not sure what to think about it.  New York, you know, is a whole 'nother world from Texas.  What's normal here is considered bizarre there, and vice versa.  So I will reserve judgment until I see what he does in the job.  

Right now, Mamdani is an unknown quantity:  a youngster with lots of idealism but no executive experience - and more than a little naivete, too.  But what's apparent to all is that Mamdani is a born politico, and Fate has dealt him a mighty good hand of cards.  Call it charisma.  It's what makes people sit up and listen.

First of all, he's a sexy guy - handsome, smart, witty, friendly, talkative, flashing a megawatt smile often and easily.  He'd be the life of any party he cared to drop in on.  These things shouldn't count for much in politics, but of course they do.  Imagine if an unknown 33-year-old Woody Allen had run for office, saying all the same things Mamdani has said - would he be in the driver's seat now?  I think not.

Besides his looks and personality, the other thing that stands out is that he's got balls.  At this dark moment in our history, when so many others who ought to be leading the resistance are quaking in their boots, afraid of the Orange Wrath, Mamdani seems ready and eager to face off with the Tyrant.  No fear.  No worry.  Bring it on.  You have to admire a guy with that kind of guts.

One more thing that stands out is his cocksure confidence that he is right.  He doesn't beat around the bush; he knows what he wants to do, and states it plainly.  Promising free goodies is always a crowd-pleasing strategy, on the right or the left.  The possibility of being wrong or mistaken doesn't seem to enter his mind.  That may show leadership ability - or foolhardiness.  A little time in office running the biggest, grittiest, most contentious city in the world will surely temper his juvenile certainties. 

But beyond all that, the headline of  this article from The Atlantic - "Mamdani Is the Foil Trump Wants" - made me realize what the dramatic set-up is here, the protagonist and antagonist.  David and Goliath.  Wow.  Oh wow.  This will make great reading in the history books of the future.  All the elements and players are coming together now, and the drama will proceed to the climax step by step.  

Of course, no one can foresee with certainty the eventual outcome.  But I say, firebrand socialist or not, thank God somebody is standing up for truth, justice, and the American way!  Cometh the hour, cometh the man.

So go make some popcorn and stay tuned.  This is gonna be quite a showdown.

For further reading:  "Zohran Mamdani Is About to Confront Reality" in The Atlantic.

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O Canada, Vote Wisely!

Ten years ago, Americans and Canadians stood proudly together as a band of brothers - as they always should:

 

As I've mentioned several times over the years, I've long admired Canada for several reasons and have kept a friendly eye on our neighbor to the north.  Today Canadians go to the polls in what is surely the most important election in living memory. After Justin Trudeau's ten-year gig as Prime Minister, the leader of the party that gets the most votes in this election will get the job, and that will be either Liberal leader Mark Carney or Conservative leader Pierre Poillievre.

The stakes are extremely high, so I encourage all my Canadian truckbuddies to get out and vote today for a strong, united Canada.  If Canada's leadership is weak or incompetent, it may well end in disaster - at worst, an Anschluss into a Greater America regime, and at best, economic slavery on the end of a short leash.

I don't pretend to know all the ins and outs of Canadian politics, but glancing over Poilievre's career, he seems to be a typical, home-grown, ambitious politician, not outstanding, not a statesman, and not at all ready for the world stage. 

On the other hand, Carney has the education and experience, and I think the moxie, to stand up for Canada at this perilous moment and lead the way.  He has vast top-level experience in economic matters as well as international relations, and has already met many of the world's movers and shakers.  He well knows how the world machine works, and what all the levers, gears, and buttons do.

The choice between the two is a no-brainer, in my view:  the wise, experienced bank president or the nice neighbor on your bowling team -- which one will you trust to protect your life, your family, your job, and your money from the cunning crooks who want to rob you blind and even tear down your home?  That's no joke - they're doing it right now here in America.  

Of course, you can never tell exactly what any politician will do until he's actually on the job.  But all we ever have to go on in human life are probabilities.  You pays your money and you takes your chances.

Think carefully, Canadian friends - go with the best-qualified man and give him a solid majority in Parliament.  Your future and ours - and maybe the whole world's - depends on your vote today.  If Canada crumbles or caves to the American tyrant, it will boost his ego tremendously and stoke his appetite for more takeovers,  more countries to devour.  

The world is watching you, Canada.  Be strong, stick together.  Elbows up!

Latest poll results from the CBC - click to enlarge:

As in most parliamentary countries, Canadians do not vote directly for their head of government.  But here is yesterday's Globe & Mail/ CTV poll of their preferences for Prime Minister, which shows a 20-point lead for Carney:

According to the Associated Press, "A record 7.3 million Canadians cast ballots before election day."  The turnout in the last federal election, held in 2021, was 17 million (62 percent of registered voters).

Update, 4/29/25, 5 p.m., Texas Time:

The votes are in, and the Liberals won.  Carney will stay on as Canada's prime minister.  The Liberals failed to win a majority, but with support from the NDP and Greens they can easily form a government.  The Conservatives made a strong showing and will be the official opposition, but Pierre Pollievre lost his seat, ending his 20-year career in Parliament. 

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Vive La France Libre!

An alliance of left-wing parties has slapped down the far-right National Rally in France in today's legislative elections.  This will complicate things for centrist President Emmanuel Macron, but when have French politics ever been easy?

Thank God the fascist threat is removed - for now.

This is an upset victory; last night all the pollsters were predicting a right-wing majority.  But the left turned out en masse.  A lesson for us in America.  The bullies don't have to win, if we stick together. 

 

The French election upset follows the victory of the Labour Party in last Thursday's UK election.  Having accepted the King's invitation to form a government, Sir Keir Starmer is now off to a running start with his program of "National Renewal," after 14 years of endemic corruption, mismanagement, and gross incompetence by successive Tory governments.

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"Sunny Ways": Trudeau Takes the Helm in Canada

After nearly ten years as Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper was given the boot last night as voters gave the Liberal Party and its leader Justin Trudeau an overwhelming victory, with 154 seats to the Conservatives' 99; the NDP came in third with 44 seats.  Justin's father, Pierre, who died in 2000, was Prime Minister of Canada from 1968 to 1984.

Click to enlarge.

Brian Sims for Congress

Brian at work.

All-American hunk Brian Sims announced today that he is running for a Congressional seat.  The 37-year-old was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2012.




Gee, I sure wish I could vote for him.

Brian off duty.

Canadian Stunner

Source:  CBC.com


Well, the returns are in and Canada is waking up to the biggest political upheaval in twenty years, which has redrawn the political map of our neighbor to the north.  There's a big story about each of the five national parties represented in Parliament, which I'll summarize briefly here, with links to Canadian news sources for anyone who wants to learn more.

First, the Green Party has won its first-ever elected seat in North America, with leader Elizabeth May handily winning her Saanich-Gulf Islands riding, making her the first and only Green MP in Ottawa.

The Bloc Quebecois, for the last two decades something of a spoiler party dedicated to achieving the separation of Quebec from Canada and not much else, went down in flames to a near-total wipeout under the barrage of surging NDP support in that province.  Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe lost his own seat in Parliament, and has already announced his resignation as party leader in this historic switch that brings Quebec back to the national stage as a full player in federal politics.

The other historic loss was suffered by the Liberal Party, long known as "the natural governing party of Canada," which ever since Confederation in 1867 has always been either the ruling party or the Offical Opposition.  But voters definitively put the Grits in a distant third place last night, with Michael Ignatieff losing his own riding to a Conservative challenger.  In his concession speech, Ignatieff said he would stay on as party leader as long as the party wants him to.  [Update, 9:30 a.m. Tuesday:  Ignatieff has announced he will resign and return to his academic career as soon as the party can settle on a successor.]

Smilin' Jack Layton triumphantly surfed the unexpected wave of support for the New Democratic Party in this election to become the leader of the Official Opposition, his party capturing 102 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons, including seats in 8 out of 10 provinces and almost all of the Quebec ridings, which will extend NDP influence and perspective from its former position as the perennial third-place "conscience of Canada."  Some pundits are already saying Jack should enjoy the election-night celebrations because the NDP has hit its zenith and will never reach such a high-water mark in a national election again; but that, of course, remains to be seen, depending on what Layton and Co. do with their newfound popularity and power.

But the story with the biggest and most immediate effect on Canadians is that after years of minority governments, they finally elected an unbeatable majority to power.  Conservative leader Stephen Harper was swept back to Ottawa with a resounding 167-seat majority by Canadian voters, so that his party now not only has more than a majority (155 votes) but outnumbers all other parties combined - which, in a Westminster-style parliament, means that his Government is now unstoppable in practical terms:  They can win any vote, so they can exert their will howsoever they please for the next four years, until constitutionally required to hold another election.  In his victory speech to the party faithful, Harper spoke graciously of his defeated opponents and pledged to govern on behalf of all Canadians, even those who did not vote Conservative.

Which was a nice thing to say, since his Government was brought down five weeks ago in a vote of no-confidence following its being the first and only Government ever found in Contempt of Parliament in any Commonwealth country.  Some Canadian observers have characterized Harper as being petty, vindictive, secretive, ruthless, and thoroughly undemocratic in the way he has rammed through whatever legislation he wanted, or even called upon the Governor-General to simply dissolve Parliament not once, but twice - in order to avoid critical votes.  A great trick, better than a filibuster, even.

Of course, I've never been to Canada - all I know is what I read in the papers.  But your Head Trucker notes that critics of the Harper regime have said that what the Prime Minister wants for kinder, gentler Canada is to become more like the United States, with Big Business given free rein, low taxes on corporations and the wealthy, fewer and smaller social programs, big, big spending on military equipment, and the introduction of socially conservative Bible-Belt policies on issues like abortion, gay rights, minorities, immigration, and women's issues.   In the last five years, his Conservatives have blown a budget surplus accumulated by the previous Liberal Government, and racked up an enormous multi-billion-dollar deficit - which somehow reminds me of another political party south of the border.  I'm just sayin'.

But as someone wiser than me observed long ago, people generally get the government they deserve.  So it will be very interesting to see what happens now with an unbridled majority Conservative Government tromping on the accelerator and the soft-shoe socialist New Democrats trying to apply the brakes from the Opposition benches.  Whatever happens, with Quebec back at the family dinner table, so to speak, and the centrist Liberals stuck way to hell out in the political wilderness, it's sure to be a fascinating new page in Canadian history, if I'm understanding all the news correctly.


Read all about it:

CTV

CBC

The Globe and Mail

"Orange Crush" Making Big Waves in Canada

Today's latest chart of election polling, from CTV.com

Your Head Trucker admires a great many things about Canada, not the least of which is their public healthcare system, as well as their legalization of same-sex marriage back in 2005.  So I take a friendly interest in the political happenings of our neighbor to the north; and this week, the rather placid (by American standards) political waters are rising fast in what might turn out to be an unexpected tsunami that will reshape the landscape for some time to come. 

It appears that the New Democratic Party (softcore Socialists, shhhh!), led by Jack Layton, hitherto always in third place, is riding a wave of disgust with politics-as-usual that might put them into office as the official Opposition for the first time ever at the national level.  Experienced pundits say there's slim-to-no chance of Layton becoming Prime Minister - but there is a chance that Conservative leader Stephen Harper might lose his grip on the office somehow, and the Liberals could be reduced to third-party status for the first time since Confederation in 1867, a major upset - all depending on just how the election returns shape up on Monday, May 2.

Speaking of which, they've only been campaigning since the end of March up there:  Canadian elections last only about 5 or 6 weeks.  OMG, isn't that a blessed thought?

Anyway, here's a clip of the Canadian leader's debate that was held a couple of weeks ago.  Your Head Trucker watched the whole thing on youtube, and this short video montage is a fair representation of the tone of the whole.  One Canadian journalist described it as something like "Jack Layton, a smiling, postive guy surrounded by three angry men," which is about right. 



Harper, as you'll see, tries to smile angelically and play the abused-but-saintly leader, but don't be fooled:  he came into office five years ago pledging to revoke the marriage-equality law.  Some people up there call him the George W. Bush of Canada, for that and other reasons.  But fortunately, when he tried to reopen the issue, Parliament voted down his nasty plan, 175-123, a moment your Head Trucker watched on live television and will never forget:  imagine a nation's elected representatives resoundingly approving, for the third time in three years, under three different prime ministers, equality and justice for all.

What a concept.  Imagine!

The NDP was solidly in favor of gay rights on that and all other occasions.  I like Jack; he's a politician, but he seems very sincere, very down to earth, and clear on what's the right thing to do.  Give him a try, google up the NDP platform, see what you think. 

Below, Layton in an iconic picture saluting his supporters at a rally in Winnipeg yesterday, brandishing his cane.  He's recovering from both prostate surgery as a well as a busted leg, but he's a scappy guy.  Good luck to him.  Maybe Canada, at least, will find some Change they can believe in.

Success! But What about Maine?

I am out of my mind happy to report that your Head Trucker has his broadband connection back.  All praise to geekmeister Albert in tech support at AT&T who walked this old man through the setup of the new modem, plus about a million passwords, code numbers, and other necessary mumbo-jumbo.

And glancing over the election night returns, it appears we have cause to celebrate in most of the nation:  the Washington State referendum on domestic partnerships passed with 51.1% of the vote - just barely passed, but we'll take it; the gay and transgender non-discrimination ordinance in Kalamazoo, Mich., passed with 60-something percent.  Down here in Texas, openly lesbian Annise Parker got the most votes in the Houston mayoral race, which will go to a runoff.

Oh but then there's Maine:  as of 1:04 a.m. in Maine, the Bangor Daily News election site reports our side losing 52.75 to 47.25 percent, with 87 percent of counties reporting.  But apparently our guys and gals up there are refusing to concede, hoping to pull a miracle out of the yet-to-be counted absentee ballots and counties not yet tallied.

Doesn't look good, though:  about the same percentage as defeated marriage equality in California last year.  Still, as Andrew Sullivan says in a late-night post, he's heartbroken over the Maine results, but the fact that the vote is so very close is a huge encouragement when you consider what it would have been just 10 years ago - when no state offered even civil unions, much less marriage for their gay citizens.

We've come a long way, brother.  Whatever the final result in Maine, Onward! must be our motto until the last vestiges of discrimination and inequality are wiped out of the law books and into the dusty pages of history, as they were for all the other groups who had to fight for their civil rights.

We have to work for our liberty and justice.  Nobody's going to hand it to us - and as is all too clear by now, certainly not the President who promised to be our fierce advocate.  It's not him, boys - We are the ones we've been waiting for.  Remember?

But that's okay.  It makes us better people to suffer injustice and struggle for what is right, like so many others have done before us, showing us the way.  For the same reason it makes you a better person to pay your dues and earn your own living, instead of living off somebody else's toil.  And the victory, when it dawns all across this land, will be that much sweeter when we finally taste it. 

So let's get on with it.

Wockner on Maine

Veteran reporter Rex Wockner is on the scene as the Pine Tree State goes to the polls today, and offers these observations.

The bottom-bottom line, of course, is that this really is not about marriage. If they thought they could get away with it, the folks who funded this "people's veto" campaign in Maine would take much more away from gays than just marriage. In Washington state on Tuesday, they'll try to take away domestic-partnership rights. In California, they're all freaked out that the Governator signed the Harvey Milk Day bill into law. It's not just that they don't want us to get married. If they could completely invisiblize us and take away all our rights, some of them would do it.

So, we have to keep fighting. If we lose in Maine on Tuesday, the Legislature will just pass the law again and the governor will sign it again. We're not talking about a constitutional amendment here, as was the case with Prop 8 in California. In reality, gays are going to be able to get married in all 50 states, perhaps even very soon if the Olson/Boies Prop 8 case succeeds at the U.S. Supreme Court. And if it doesn't, next up -- very, very soon -- are New Jersey and New York, which will be added to Iowa, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and, starting in January, New Hampshire. Where all this is headed could not be clearer. But until then, there will be days like this Tuesday when bigots might force a backward step in the inevitable, unstoppable march to equal treatment under the law for GLBT Americans. The next generation will remember "Yes on 1" voters the way we remember people who believed black folks should drink from separate water fountains. I absolutely guarantee you that.

From the depths of Texas I can tell you there are still quite a few people around who would indeed vote to restore segregation right now, today, if given the opportunity.  And I grew up in the segregated South - it was not something that only happened in history books, kids:  it was real.  I was there. 

And you know what else, young fellers?  For a quarter of a century, every time I was with another man - and I've had two husbands, we won't talk about scratched starts just now - I was breaking the law:  technically a felon, until the Supreme Court ruled otherwise in 2003.  All my generation were love criminals, a stigma not easy to forget.  So I hope Rex is right about the future for gay rights, but I have to say it still seems like a far-away dream here in the land of cotton, where those laws are still on the books in Texas and other states, invalid and unenforceable as they may be.

The Maine Secretary of State says there's a surprisingly "heavy and very steady turnout" at the polls - but which side is getting more supporters to show up?  Wockner will be live-blogging the returns tonight starting about 8 p.m. EST, and you can hear him on the web at POTUS and OutQ.

Equality: How You Can Help, Today

It's coming down to the wire now in Washington state, Maine, and Kalamazoo, Michigan.  The outcome of these contests will undoubtedly influence voters and legislators in future elections elsewhere.  Here's what you can do right now, today, wherever you live, to help preserve the equal protection of the laws for your fellow Americans - and ultimately, for yourself. 

Please do what you can.  Remember, marriage equality in California was stripped out of the law with a margin of only 52 to 48 percent.  So every vote counts.

Wanda Sykes: Out, Proud, and Pissed Off

Actress Wanda Sykes just became your Head Trucker's favorite comedienne. She came out last Saturday at the Prop 8 protest rally in Las Vegas with this up-front, in-your-face speech to the 1,000+ crowd:

You go, girl! "They pissed off the wrong group." You got that right. "We shouldn't have to stand here and demand the rights we should automatically have as American citizens." Amen, sister.

Local journalist Steve Friess caught an audio interview with Sykes immediately after her speech, which you can hear on his blog, Vegas Happens Here. In the interview,

Sykes also disputed the much-reported claim that 70 percent of black voters in California voted to ban gay marriage. Several prominent writers, including Dan Savage here, have railed against homophobic blacks. Wanda said the exit polls were wrong and admonished me, "Please stop spreading that 70 percent of African-Americans voted Yes on Prop 8 because it’s just not true."

What I say: Ms. Sykes is right. The infamous 70% figure is, as far as I can tell, based on one and only one exit poll done by CNN; one poll does not establish an absolute fact (you remember all the thousands of polls done during the presidential campaign?), and even more importantly, this one exit poll does not include the record turnout of early voters before November 4. So it is not, cannot be an accurate picture of all voters.

By comparison, the same CNN poll also purports that 82 percent of Republicans voted Yes on 8; so did 81 percent of white evangelicals; 64 percent of Catholics; 61 percent of mothers with children at home; 59 percent of suburban residents; and 54 percent of heterosexuals.

And of course, nobody is required to answer an exit poll; so even though I'm not a statistician, I realize these numbers reflect voters who selected themselves for the exit poll to some degree.

So does it make any sense to single out one particular group as the scapegoat for Prop 8's passage? Should we villify all Republicans, Catholics, mothers, and burb dwellers? Hell no, of course not. To do so would be to estrange the many people in those groups who did vote for equal marriage. Veteran gay-rights activist David Mixner has this to say about the subject:

Now in relationship to the African-American community, much has been made of a CNN exit poll that show 70% of that community voting "Yes On Eight". Dr. Fernando Guerra of Loyola's Levy Center for the Study of Los Angeles did a far more extensive poll than CNN and found that the 70% figure was way too high. The figure is closer to 57% (still not acceptable) but a long way from the 70%. Other models that I have been running in an attempt to get the facts and not the emotions show the latter a more likely figure.

The other data that appears to be emerging (BUT yet to be totally verified) is that African-Americans who early voted (which was a huge number) voted YES while those on election day voted NO. Remember we did not do extensive campaigning in many of the African-American precincts until the final week or so which was long after tens of thousands had already voted. Our campaign was slow to use Obama's opposition to Proposition Eight which he gave the day after the initiative qualified five months before the election.

So let's move on here, folks, and cut out the mudslinging and racism. Our job is clear: we have to meet, talk, educate, and campaign even harder now, and follow the example Obama has set of effective grassroots organizing. And now the queer community is fired up, ready to go! Next time it comes to a vote, we will win.

Yes. We. Will.

P.S. - California is still counting absentee and provisional ballots; final results will be released on December 9.

WTF: 27% of Gay Votes Went to McCain & Palin

From a Log Cabin Republicans email quoted on conservative website Gay Patriot:

Exit polls show Sen. John McCain received at least 1.3 million votes from gay and lesbian Americans—more than any other Republican Presidential candidate has ever received. He garnered 27% of the LGBT vote, an increase from 19% support for President Bush four years ago.

Gay Patriot goes on to say, all snarky (bad cess to them):

According to the CNN exit polls, 4% of the American electorate self-identified as gay or lesbian. That means about 4.8 million gays and lesbians voted on Tuesday. That seems rather low and pathetic to me from a community that is so self-politicized. Oh well.

And so McCain got 27% of the gay vote, or 1,310,893. Up nearly 20% over 2004. I like to think there are a lot of GayPatriot readers in that bunch.

We Gay Conservatives did our part on the Stop the Obama Express! It was all of the other demographic groups that crapped out, apparently.

What I say: Your Head Trucker's jaw just hit the floor. In this particular election, when the issues were so amazingly clear, I can scarcely believe that more than one out of four queers voted for McLame and Miss Wasilla. And that twenty percent more queers voted Republican than did for Bush in '04!

What. The. Fuck. Goes. On. Here.

Something is bad, bad wrong with this picture. Recount, please.

UPDATE. It's occurred to me that exit polling on Election Day did not reflect the early voters. And haven't we just seen the biggest early voting ever in this country? So naw, these numbers are AFU. I'm not a math guy at all, but I can't believe they represent the real gay vote - or any other group's, for that matter.

How Texas Celebrated

Victory night, November 4, 2008, Fort Worth:



Austin:

Bush Congratulates Obama

Bush pledges "my complete cooperation" to Senator Obama . . . whose election is "a dream fulfilled - we move forward as one nation":

Nothing in his presidency became him like the leaving it--Macbeth, Act I, Scene IV (with apologies to Shakespeare).

I did not expect to ever say this, but for the first time in seven years I am proud of Mr. Bush: his remarks are those of a gentleman and a patriot.

As were those of Mr. McCain, whose gracious concession speech the other night was perfection: calm, respectful, and conciliatory.

Neither man expressed the slightest qualm about the ascension of the first African-American president; nor the slightest fear about the safety and welfare of the nation.

Instead, both looked forward to a bright and happy future for this republic under Mr. Obama's leadership.

I am SO PROUD of my country. We all belong now. Let freedom ring. God bless America!

Victory Night Toast

Last night, my roommate and I shared the tears, smiles, and laughter of our country's momentous election: the victory of the bright and hopeful future over a dark and dismal past.

As we raised our glasses in celebration, he made an impromptu toast, so simple, so eloquent, so fitting on that night of change. Time and the effects of a bottle of champagne do not allow me now to quote it verbatim; but here is the gist of it:

To all the people who ever felt not good enough - not wanted - not needed - not welcome. To all the ugly ducklings of the world who did not fit in and never thought they would - we raise our glasses now.

Why I Wept Last Night

I.

II.
The Advocate: Obama Makes History in Shout Out to Gays

President-Elect Barack Obama became the first to mention gays in his acceptance speech last night, . . .

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled – Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America," he said Tuesday night before a crowd of more than 100,000 at Chicago's Grant Park.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America. . . .

[This victory] proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. . . .

. . . tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope. . . .

This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can.

Watch CBS Videos Online

OBAMA WINS!!!

The dream lives on, the nation is renewed, a new birth of freedom, equality, unity. Joy.

I am prouder than ever of my country now - land of the brave, home of the free, the last, best hope of the long Western heritage of democracy. Now I see her shining bravely, a beacon to all the world.

I'm also bawling like a kid, I'm not ashamed to say. Change is here. Hope has arrived. At last.

God bless America.

Now let's party! All over the world . . . they'll be dancing in the street.

Fired Up! Ready to Go!

Last speech of the campaign:

(Honk to Andrew Sullivan)

Andrew Sullivan at His Best

Andrew Sullivan, author, journalist, and blogger for the Atlantic, has just published two brilliant essays that beautifully delineate where we have been, where we are, and where we may go as a nation, with a President Obama. These are classics that will be cited often in years to come, I believe: go give them a try.

"A President, not a Messiah" - excerpt:

Obama – for extra historic piquancy – is from Illinois and began his campaign in Springfield, where Abraham Lincoln started his. Like Lincoln, Obama is trained in the law, came from a humble background, and is aiming for the presidency with almost no executive experience.

People forget how inexperienced Lincoln was when he took office after one of the worst presidencies in American history – James Buchanan’s. Lincoln had held no legislative or executive office and had been a congressman for only two years previously. He became a national star primarily because of his oratory. Sound familiar?

Lincoln’s task is Obama’s: to unite a deeply fractured country. Lincoln’s challenges were far greater, but if Obama wins on Tuesday he will still face an immense set of challenges.

Among the most enthusiastic Obama supporters, there are tinges of hero worship and aspirations beyond anything any human being can deliver. And the hostility born of dashed expectations is always the worst. People expecting a messiah will at some point be forced to realise they have merely elected a president.

"Barack Obama for President" - excerpt:

It is now indisputable that the president and vice-president of the United States engineered a de facto coup against the constitution after 9/11, declaring themselves above any law, any treaty, and any basic moral norm in their misguided mission to rid the world of evil. Cheney and Bush, unlike any presidency in American history, have dangerously pushed constitutional government to the brink of collapse. . . .

I fear and believe we have given away far too much - and that, while this loss is permanent, it can nonetheless be mitigated by a new start, a new direction, a new statement that the America the world once knew and loved is back.

It will not be easy. The world will soon remember why it resents America as well as loves it. But until this unlikely fellow with the funny ears and strange name and exotic biography emerged on the scene, I had begun to wonder if it was possible at all. I had almost given up hope, and he helped restore it. That is what is stirring out there; and although you are welcome to mock me for it, I remain unashamed. As someone once said, in the unlikely story of America, there is never anything false about hope. Obama, moreover, seems to bring out the best in people, and the calmest, and the sanest. He seems to me to have a blend of Midwestern good sense, an intuitive understanding of the developing world that is as much our future now as theirs, an analyst's mind and a poet's tongue. He is human. He is flawed. He will make mistakes. His passivity and ambiguity are sometimes weaknesses as well as strengths.

But there is something about his rise that is also supremely American, a reminder of why so many of us love this country so passionately and are filled with such grief at what has been done to it and in its name. I endorse Barack Obama because I will not give up on America, because I believe in America, and in her constitution and decency and character and strength.

And the world needs that America now as much as it ever has. Can we start that healing, that rebirth, tomorrow?

Yes. We. Can.

Just Imagine

In some alternate universe, perhaps there's another election going on right now . . . .

(Honk to Queerty)