Slashdot Mirror


Barack Obama Wins US Presidency

Last night, around 11pm, all the major networks announced that Senator Barack Obama had won the election. Soon after, Senator McCain conceded. There were no crazy partisan court hearings, just a simple election. This is your chance to talk about it and what it means for the future of our nation.

26 of 3,709 comments (clear)

  1. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 4, Informative

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  2. Re:I'll Tell You What It Means by theM_xl · · Score: 4, Informative

    The Dems may actually get 60. They're at 56 now and there's still 4 seats in the "too close to tell right now" territory.

  3. Re:United States Socialist Republic by falcon5768 · · Score: 5, Informative

    They are laughing at the fact the republicans THOUGHT he was. There was nothing socialist he was proposing that we are not already doing, and nearly half our friends we terms a "democracy" are truthfully socialist democracies. The socialist claim was truly one of the STUPIDEST moves the neocons could have pulled, especially when their darling base polarizing vise prez nominee actually PRACTICED socialism by redirecting oil drilling profits to state residence.

    --

    "Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."

  4. Did you hear his speech? by spectrokid · · Score: 4, Informative

    Did you listen to the same speech as I did? Of course he thanked his campaign team, these people just busted their ass for the last 6 months. But he also clearly pointed out the problems lying ahead. What did you want him to say? Make a list of all his plans again? A majority of americans just APPROVED those plans! He clearly stated that this election by itself did not constitute change, that the promessed change was only now starting and would not be possible without the hard work of all americans.

    --

    10 ?"Hello World" life was simple then

  5. You just made his point by Quila · · Score: 4, Informative

    The Patriot Act was passed by a Republican Congress and signed by a Republican president.

    1. Re:You just made his point by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 5, Informative

      98 Senators voted for the Patriot Act. Only one voted against. The Republicans weren't alone in passing it.

      357 Representatives voted for the Patriot Act. Only 55 voted against. Again, the Republicans weren't alone in passing it.

      Note that the political climate of the time was such that if the Democrats had controlled both houses of Congress, odds are it would have been passed by similar majorities.

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
  6. Re:yeah by aaron+alderman · · Score: 3, Informative

    Yeah! Now we have lunatic left wing ideology running the country.

  7. Re:I'll Tell You What It Means by squiggleslash · · Score: 4, Informative

    I think falcon got it right to be honest.

    Both of the non-partisan links you point to show a senator who generally either votes with his party or doesn't bother to vote. The National Journal's claim that Obama is the "most liberal senator" follows a great tradition of claiming that every Democratic nominee is the most liberal, and was widely ridiculed when it came out, even in the MSM which was largely in the tank for McCain last year.

    Obama doesn't have much of a voting record. His expressed viewpoints seem fairly moderate to me, certainly in line with most of the country. And your ridiculous claims about "having seeked out marxists and leftists" make you look like a kook.

    --
    You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  8. Re:Anyone know about the rest of the US? by nycguy · · Score: 5, Informative

    Residents of Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Marshall Islands do not pay federal income tax. They do pay Social Security and Medicare taxes but they are also eligible for benefits from those programs. To have representation in Congress (relevant to "taxation without representation"), those territories would need to petition for statehood. Puerto Rico, in particular, has consistently voted not to do so.

  9. Re:The Real Surprise is in Alaska by maz2331 · · Score: 4, Informative

    They know he'll be expelled, but that the Governor (
    Palin) will appoint his successor to serve out the rest of the term.

    It was basically a choice of "yes" or "no" to giving a Republican seat to the Democrats.

    Everyone knows Stevens is going to prison. His reelection just serves as a placeholder for the person who's actually going to take the Senate seat in his stead.

    I don't believe that the Governor can appoint herself to the post, so at least the Democrats don't have to worry about hearing the words "Senator Palin".

  10. In short... by xstonedogx · · Score: 4, Informative
  11. Re:Two words by BluenoseJake · · Score: 3, Informative

    Being Canadian, We are too close, geographically and economically, to not want what is in your best interests, as they are generally intertwined and interdependent with our best interests. As our largest trading partner, if you are in economic trouble, the odds are, so are we. Now if we only had the balls and the foresight to know what is in OUR best interests, then we would be getting somewhere

  12. Re:The thing that absolutely amazes me... by Uberbah · · Score: 4, Informative

    and yes, I'm still pissed at him for breaking his promise over campaign financing.

    Then you're pissed over nothing, as he never promised to take public financing. He promised he'd be willing to work on it with the Republican candidate - big difference. If you need to hold something against him, there's always his FISA flip flop.

  13. Re:Two words by blamanj · · Score: 3, Informative

    1) Assembly of God fundamentalist. No separation of church and state for them, they'd like the biblical version of sharia law.

    2) Shows no sign of intellectual curiousity. Like Bush, she accused of being stupid, but isn't. Just ignorant. Ignorance can be cured, but I'd like a leader who curious enough to have looked into the kinds of questions she's been asked on her own.

  14. Re:Anti-White Racism in the Afro Community by bdonalds · · Score: 3, Informative

    Ummm....African-Americans have been voting Democrat at about a 90% clip in recent history. Kerry and Gore are fairly white, if I recall correctly.

    --
    The most important thing to do in your life is to not interfere with somebody else's life. -FZ
  15. Re:I'll Tell You What It Means by TheSpoom · · Score: 5, Informative

    Barack Obama's stance on just about everything. I hear this argument a lot that he's just saying "change" without any concrete ideas for how to do so, but it's simply incorrect. The campaign's series of YouTube videos starting with "Blueprint for Change" also details what he'll actually do as president: You can watch the Obama campaign's videos here.

    --
    It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
    - E. Debs
  16. Re:Two words by Curunir_wolf · · Score: 4, Informative

    That argument doesn't work anymore. Just because Fox News is a right wing tabloid doesn't mean they all have a bias. If the truth doesn't support your reality and the other news organizations won't bend their coverage to support your viewpoint, that doesn't make them biased.

    And yet... they ARE.

    --
    "Somebody has to do something. It's just incredibly pathetic it has to be us."
    --- Jerry Garcia
  17. Re:Two words by clary · · Score: 4, Informative

    Got a source on this? I just went to http://www.hrblock.com/taxes/tax_calculators/index.html and plugged in the poverty level for both a single taxpayer and married filing jointly with 2 kids, and in both cases the result was a refund via earned income tax credit.

    --

    "Rub her feet." -- L.L.

  18. Re:Two words by jedidiah · · Score: 4, Informative

    Fox news is the least serious of any of the major national news
    outlets or publications. They are the sort of people that make
    you wish old man Buckley was still around so that he could show
    them how it should be done.

    They have a tabloid style. They are more sensationalist and
    well for the lack of a better way of putting it... they
    elevate unqualified kook nobodies to the role of pundit.

    A genuine party rag from an earlier era was a more respectable news source.

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  19. Re:I think.... by StreetStealth · · Score: 5, Informative

    Obama doesn't owe any favors to companies or even to his own party.

    Let's not be too hasty here: It's not like Obama didn't also receive major support from industry donors. So while we shouldn't discount that part of this victory is owed to our corporate overlords, we still, as you say, shouldn't discount that part is due to the folks in your neighborhood.

    Money talks; let's hope the unprecedented small donations from individuals this time talked loudly enough.

    I'm cautiously optimistic.

    --
    Your mind is clear / The things that you fear / Will fade with how much you / Believe what you hear
  20. Re:Two words by tmosley · · Score: 3, Informative

    I would tend to agree with most of your statement, but I would say that the problem with the economy (not just the markets) is our hideously bloated credit-card culture, which was promoted so much by Bush and Co (remember him telling us to go out and spend so the "terrorists don't win"?).

    Both the government and individuals are up to their ears in debt, and the only way we can even continue to pay the interest is to borrow more. The government has really good credit, but that doesn't mean spit when there isn't enough money to pay the bills, and the only way out is to print more money (or default). One way leads to hyperinflation, Weimar style, and the other leads to nasty, mutually destructive trade wars, and a flight from dollars (which also causes hyperinflation as all the trillions of dollars sitting in government reserves flood the market, bidding up prices on EVERYTHING priced in dollars).

  21. Re:I'll Tell You What It Means by illumin8 · · Score: 5, Informative

    The problem is that we don't really know what Obama thinks. He's avoided most of the tough issues and done his best to not take any firm stances on anything.

    I don't think that's accurate at all. Obama has had clear and easy to read information on his website for months now stating his policy on the Iraq war, the Economy, Healthcare, and other major issues. He came right out and had the most no-nonsense tax policy ever, and he clearly beat McCain on taxes.

    At least with Obama, he was up front and said "if you make more than $250,000 you might see a tax increase." McCain doesn't even tell you that the $5,000 tax credit you get back for medical insurance probably won't cover the average family of 4's insurance premiums, costing the middle class more. McCain hid a middle class tax hike by not being truthful with the American people. Obama was up front that we'd all have to make sacrifices, and you know what? It paid off. Obama got a higher percentage of the voters that even make $200,000 or more! It goes to show that even affluent, educated Americans in the higher tax brackets don't mind making a few sacrifices instead of borrowing against our children's future.

    As soon as the Republicans move away from the slash-and-burn, anything for a quick buck, overspend and hope our kids will bail us out economic policies of the neocons, then they can finally start rebuilding their party.

    Where are all the so-called "conservative" Republicans, and what did the religious wackos and crazy spending neocons do with them?

    --
    "When the president does it, that means it's not illegal." - Richard M. Nixon
  22. Re:Two words by Lemmy+Caution · · Score: 3, Informative

    He's not white. He's not really "half-white." He's black. He's also half of African descent and half of European descent.

    Being black is like being red-haired or left-handed. It's a constellation of physical characteristics that have been lumped into the idea of a "race" by a few hundred years of domination. The same is true of being white. These races are historical inventions which used certain physical features for their rationale. Now these inventions have a certain cultural reality to them, which is why we talk about "African Americans," as a shorthand for describing the communities of people whose ancestors were brought into the US by slavery and who share a cluster of cultural experiences. Obama, of course, was not born into that community - he was raised by a white grandmother, his father came from Kenya. etc. - but by virtue of being black, he was associated with that community.

    Yes, it's complicated. But you can work it out. It is important to not think of being white as the same as being Irish, and more like being red-haired.

  23. Re:Two words by ByOhTek · · Score: 3, Informative

    And your use of "latte belt" shows you have no clue of the large portion of the countries population in urban areas.

    Both groups have very strong opinions and ideas. Both groups have their histories and values. And both groups have a vast majority of people who CANNOT see the world from the point of view of the other side, or even grant that point of view validity, which it does have. I've been around both sides, and they aren't nearly as different as they'd like to think, it's typical 'us against them' that people do to make themselves feel more unified as a group.

    Palin would have increased that schism and animosity. Obama won't help, but he won't do as much to hurt it either. McCain probably would have been the best middle ground in that respect, of the for P/VP options.

    --
    Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
  24. Re:Two words by CorporateSuit · · Score: 3, Informative

    You can't take a cell sample from somebody and pop it in an analyzer and come back and say "this person is 93% black and 7% white".

    Not in those certain terms, no, but close.

    --
    I am the richest astronaut ever to win the superbowl.
  25. Re:Anti-White Racism in the Afro Community by MrMarket · · Score: 4, Informative

    Guess what? Whites are no longer a majority in this country. (IE: Less than 50% of the population).

    Whites make up 74% of the US population according to the Census Bureau .