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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.
A fellow bar patron put it best:
"BLUE TEAM WINS"
Rev. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream".
The right to offend is far more important than the right not to be offended. (Rowan Atkinson)
Let's hope
I think Washington D.C. will become a radioactive wasteland and the survivors will spend their waking hours hunting mutant ants in collapsed subways.
Oh, wait. My copy of Fallout 3 arrived yesterday and that's all I can think about.
Thoroughly, and decisively, re-arranged.
Why? Did he vote?
The whole world agrees with those sentiments.
MABASPLOOM!
http://i33.tinypic.com/zx6yi8.jpg
Oh, there was an election?
I firmly believe that Barack Obama is going to bring the change we need to alter the way the world see us. We need to earn back a little of our reputation that the eight previous years have lost us. We need to talk, discuss, and use diplomacy instead of force. I'm very glad that Obama won. I sincerely hope that he can keep all his promises he made to the American people, and with control of the house and senate, it looks likely that he won't have any trouble passing bills.
--"Forget the nectar of the Gods, just give me some Mountain Dew."
This Scot, for one, welcomes our Democraticly elected African-American overlord :D
Laters Sol "Have you found the secrets of the universe? Asked Zebade "I'm sure I left them here somewhere"
The party of big government soundly defeated the other party of big government.
Too bad for those of us who think the government is getting dangerously big.
15 million people are employed by, and have a vested interest in an the size and power of, the federal government, let alone state and local.
Everything is already screwed up about as bad as it can get. There is some serious "left" listing that needs to happen to put us back on course.
I can't tell if this is a joke or not, but people all over the world are laughing at the notion of Obama being a socialist. As in the 90s, at least we can rejoice over the lesser of two evils winning.
Well done, America. You've taken your first step toward re-establishing your international credibility by voting out the Republicans, who have played a large part in engineering the current state of international affairs. We recognize that your country is in a pretty deep hole left by the last administration, but we trust you'll do your best.
Yup! he voted for his son, Obama... :D
Laters Sol "Have you found the secrets of the universe? Asked Zebade "I'm sure I left them here somewhere"
Under Bush we all got "Stimulus checks" redistribution of wealth, we "nationalized banks", we "nationalized insurance companies", we "nationalized brokerage houses", and we gave trillions in welfare to Iraq...
And now you're worried about socialism? Welcome to last year.
Thanks to eating disorders most chicks are reasonably good looking these days.
I'm sure I'll be modded out, but as an Australian... can I just say, THANK YOU America for making the right decision.
Your country has a huge influence on us and I am so glad you are taking a positive step forward into what I hope will be a new era for us all.
Watching on CNN the sea of people in Chicago cheering for President Elect Obama and his victory speech convinced me that this was one of those unique moments, the kind that people decades from now will remember and ask each other "Do you remember where you were when Obama was elected?" Truly a great moment.
Hope because the idiots that have been running the country for nearly a decade are gone, fear that the new bunch of idiots aren't any better.
Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
This was easily the best election I ever participated in. Mostly because of Ron Paul. He opened my eyes to real liberty and true freedoms, and I've been a changed person man ever since. I'm not going to take crap from the two parties sitting down anymore, and I have real hope for this country, that someday we all might really be free from the federal government. I was also exposed to Ayn Rand and read her fiction, and really enjoyed it.
I wrote Ron Paul in, and I was beyond happy the rest of the day. It honestly felt awesome to vote for someone that I honestly believe in, an opportunity I've never taken before.
Reviewing just the first hour of video games.
Where have you been the past 8 years?
Anyway, I can't say Obama would be significantly better (or worse) than McCain, McCain just too much risk of Palin becoming president. I think she would have made us look back on the "golden years of Bush"
Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
all of the campaign ads so I can slowly wean myself off instead of going cold turkey.
I have never seen such hysteria for a candidate in my life. With the type of overwrought messianic expectations that he faces, there is no way to go for Obama but down.
I'm not saying that he deserves it, but when these pie-in-the-sky types realize that he is human like the rest, and that he won't be able to wipe the tear from every eye, his approval rating will take a serious hit.
I was writing joystick handling code on a Ubuntu install running under VMware. Truly, a momentous occasion.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
I wish I could mod that up, because that's exactly why I voted the way I did this election. I voted D straight down the list for the first time ever. No mix and match, no attempt at balance. Straight Democrat. I feel a little dirty, but it needed to be done, and for the first time since I've been able to vote, I actually have hope that maybe this time it will be different. I was well on my way to becoming disillusioned and apathetic, but this time I care, and I'm hopeful.
I don't know about you, but my servers run on the power of cotton candy and happy thoughts. -Anonymous Coward
Obama's win was widely predicted, although most people underestimated his support (right now, it looks like he will take 364 electoral votes).
The biggest surprise of the night is in Alaska, where against all odds, they elected a convicted criminal to the US senate.
I came here for a good argument
Well honestly what can you expect, when the last band of idiots was allowed to run up a 7 trillion dollar deficit? SOMEONE is going to have to pay that off.
What's his name again? Sadam Hussain Obama Bin Laden or something. Now if that ain't a Muslim name I don't know what is. America is meant to be a Christian country. It says so right there in the First Amendment, and it was that way back when we were founded by Jey-sus in 0AD. And now he's goin' to make an Oath on the Koran, change us all into Muslims and move the US to the middle east and we'll all have to join Al Quaeda and blow ourselves up. I don't know what I'm gonna do.
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."
Kent Brockman: I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply doesn't work.
Summation 2
I have never seen such hysteria for a candidate in my life. With the type of overwrought messianic expectations that he faces, there is no way to go for Obama but down.
I'm not saying that he deserves it, but when these pie-in-the-sky types realize that he is human like the rest, and that he won't be able to wipe the tear from every eye, his approval rating will take a serious hit.
As far as a good part of the rest of the world...we don't think you elected a messiah. We're just glad you didn't elect the 3rd incarnation of the fucking antichrist.
People replying to my sig annoy me. That's why I change it all the time.
A person who lived through the collapse of the soviet union once pointed out that in America, the only relevant political parties are the Capitalist party and the Capitalist party. Democrats and Republicans disagree on a handful of very minor issues, despite all the media trumpeting about one being "left" and one being "right." The Democrats will still pass legislation that favours big businesses, just a different group of businesses. No president since the 1950s has served an entire term without engaging America in some foreign conflict. The use of signals intelligence operations to spy on foreign businesses and pass along their trade secrets to US businesses has occurred during both the Clinton and Bush administrations, and during both Democrat and Republican control of Congress.
If America wanted serious change, change that was not just superficial, then one of the third party candidates would have one.
At the very least, it is a good thing that the neoconservative movement appears to have weakened a bit in this election. Do not confuse neoconservative and Republican -- while most neocons are Republicans, most Republicans are not neoconservative and many Republicans found the neoconservatives to be embarrassing.
Palm trees and 8
Yeah, you're absolutely right. It's going to take a lot of hard work to undo the backward progress and bad decisions that the Bush gov't lied and cheated the American people into. But it's a serious job for grown-ups who are not afraid let reason and long-term strategy prevail, instead of fighting fire with fire 'til the house is burnt down. Luckily, there will soon be a responsible adult in the White House.
Oh, I can't help quoting you because everything that you said rings true
No, however you would have had to put up with a lot of the status quo since even the most honest of Republicans would find it difficult to remove the most corrupt or incompetant entrenched in various nooks and crannies. The same could apply if there had been a corrupt Democrat administration but it would take a few years with nobody really watching before that could happen while some of the current crooks have should have rap sheets dating back to Nixon's administration.
One thing I've noticed from being in a place that had a far more corrupt government is that the replacements make an effort to try to be squeaky clean even if is against their nature. Also the Republicans now have a chance to purge criminal elements which they would not have if they had won, so I think it's better for them and the USA than if they had won. The bizzare shift to Monarchy within the Republican party and the rest of the odd neocon agenda has hopefully been laid to rest with this election if it wasn't already.
Not insane or clueless, just dont read neo-con trash mags like Drudge, Fox News, and the National Journal. You hardly prove your point by posting links to known ultra-conservative sites. You could have posted a link to Stormfront for all that matters to try to prove your point.
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
Lagom? lol, first time ever I've seen the word spread outside of Sweden :D
It's finally happening! After hundreds of years borrowing english, latin, german and french words our time has come! If only we built some new castles to! (On that topic, how nice to know we are shutting down all our military really fast nowadays while the russians are mobilising (though probably not to invade us :D))
Somewhat off-topic I know, but I can handle the negative moderation for spreading this awesome news about how we'll take over the world thru lagom!
McCain isn't the antichrist. Not by a long shot. And I said this as an Obama supporter. He's served this country (more honorably than many senators) for a long time.
When will you get it into your head that your your political opponent isn't automatically evil incarnate? That may work for vi-vs-emacs and Apple-vs-MS wars on /., but it's just juvenile in the real world.
Go somewhere random
As a male white Italian with no involvement into USA elections, I have to admit that this morning I cried and laughed hearing what just happened in a big nation far far away. This changes everything. The politics of fear will end. Black people won't be seen "out of place" in any place from now on. Things won't go worse all the time, like last years made us think! A big thank you to the US people. This affects us all.
Nuffsaid
________
Don't know about his cat, but Schroedinger is definitely dead.
What's with the obsession with taxes? The difference in taxation of the last 30 years worth of budgets with their tax breaks and tax hikes are comparatively small with regards to your consuming power as it relates to other economic effects and measures.
Take the last 8 years for instance, GW Bush has effectively wiped out any tax-break by a) running up the deficit b) running up the inflation c) spending trillions of your tax money on a phony war and d) financial crisis.
So a 3-5% tax break on a $100,000 income is pointless with a 4-5% inflation and mortgage rates almost doubling the last few years.
Looking strictly at what ends up in your pocket after the taxes are paid and not what you get for your taxes or the overall economic situation is a simple reaction to a simplified issue from a simple person.
Oh, I can't help quoting you because everything that you said rings true
Comment removed based on user account deletion
...is the international reaction to Obama's win. I knew that the reputation of America and Americans had been battered over the past few years, but I never suspected that it was as bad as it was. I watched the results last night, said a little "huzzah!" when Obama was declared, listened as McCain gave a warm, dignified, and gentlemanly concession speech, and then went to bed thinking I'd seen it all. I woke up at about 4:45 this morning and I've been flipping between news stations ever since. I got a little emotional last night during the speeches, but I'm absolutely devastated by the number of non-Americans who are dancing in the streets over Obama's win. I never thought I'd see video of a few hundred Chinese people jumping around and chanting "Obama! Obama!" A reporter in France walked up to a woman and simply said "Obama?" Her face lit up and she simply said "C'est formidable!" Kenyans are throwing feasts in his honor. Arab and Persian states are happy. Israel is happy. Pakistan is happy. Australians are losing their damned minds over it. Russia is... well, they're kinda grumpy, but they're not having a good year. And all morning I've been hitting my usual haunts (/., Fark, CNN, BBC, & more) and I keep seeing messages posted by people from a zillion different countries congratulating us and thanking us for "making the right choice." Before you ask, yes I voted for him, no, I don't think he's the messiah, and yes, I'm still pissed at him for breaking his promise over campaign financing. But even with all that, I still can't shake the feeling that something *seriously* important happened last night. I'm almost 40, so I've seen a few elections, but never in my life have I seen or felt the kind of excitement that's in the air right now. It seems like all sorts of barriers have just... vanished. Racial, political, international, interpersonal, it just all seems different now. I know that part of it is just the morning-after buzz of having your candidate win, but there's something special about having a friend email you and tell you how they got hugged twice in Germany while wearing an Obama t-shirt and walking to the bakery on the corner, then reading a post that says "The Netherlands are happy for you!" The world stood up and took notice of us this morning. I hope he doesn't let us down.
Thus endeth my waxing philosophical.
"We're just glad you didn't elect the 3rd incarnation of the fucking antichrist."
Even though I voted Obama and am VERY glad he won, I think that's overly harsh on McCain. Every impression I got was that he was more intelligent and sane than the Texas Village Idiot.
The problem is that McCain and Palin ran on a platform that catered to the same uneducated religious nutjobs that Bush appealed to. That platform backfired on them, when their "This is Real America" small-town speeches pissed off the (according to them) educated "Fake Americans" living in suburbs and cities. I may live in a small town now, but I grew up in the suburbs and many of their speeches implied that I was not a "Real American", which I found quite insulting.
Signed,
"Fake American" (aka educated ex-suburban-resident)
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
...welcome our new black, arab, muslim, atheist, socialist, communist, not-born-in-america, terrorist, redistributionist-in-chief overlord.
LOL!
Seriously, from all of us in fake America to all of you in real America, thanks for the laughs...and the winks. Let's not forget the winks.
Go Obama!
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"
Yes, it does.
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.
My favorite thing to hear on Fox was a discussion going on to do with the state of the economy, and how "we are only now seeing the full effects of the Clinton presidency". I about fell out of my chair.
I do realize that change cannot be immediate, but there are limits. Considering how long we've had a Bush for president, continuing to blame the past just flies in the face of all reason.
Now it still concerns me to stand by and watch just how much more damage the Lame Duck can do before the clean-up crew moves in.
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
With the world in financial crisis, two wars, and our civil liberties gone down the tubes, isn't it time for a charismatic leader with dreams rather than Joe from accounting?
When did we become so cynical that we believed nothing would change? I suppose there were people said the same thing when FDR was elected.
When did we become a nation of "that's too hard" instead of "yes we can"?
-- Political fascism requires a Fuhrer.
As long as the senate can still filibuster, nothing too crazy will get through. If a party ever got 60 senators though, God help us!
Normally, I might agree with you, but a lot of those Republicans are coming up for election in 2010, and most of them are actually smart enough to read the writing on the wall. Filibustering every issue will not bode well for their chances for re-election, and they know it. I think Obama is going to be able to get a lot more done than some people think.
Blaming Bush will only work for so long. If Voters took account of who was responsible for problems they would of tossed out Dems and Republicans in congress since the Democratic congress does hold some responsibility for their actions over the last two years, but the fact of the matter is that whomever is in the White house defines which party is responsible regardless of who is REALLY responsible.
Complaining about trains not running on time and management is FAR different than making the trains run on time and BEING management.
I would have hoped that the American people would be smart enough to know that the crisis was a bi-partisan failure. From Credit Default Swaps passing the Senate as a rider 98-0, to the Bush Administration sounding the alarm in 2003 but being ignored, to Barney Frank famously telling the House Republicans that there is nothing wrong with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (and getting the backing of House Democrats), to the Republicans blocking the Fannie/Freddie bill once it reached the Senate, there is plenty of blame to spread around.
The truth is that the economic crisis happened because the financial markets found new ways to be greedy that no one understood. When the powers that be looked at the balance sheets, they'd see these odd financial instruments and mortgage-backed securities and just shrug and say, "We trust that you guys are educated and know what you're doing. Besides, it seems to be working." Only now that they're falling apart is it clear to everyone how underhanded and vile these various financial instruments were. It's all crystal clear in 20/20 hindsight.
That being said, McCain didn't help himself any by appointing Grahm and Fiorna as his advisors. Having the guy responsible for CDSes and the most hated CEO in history (at least, that hasn't been prosecuted) didn't exactly endear him to the American public.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
> It is juvenile to think someone is evil because they use a
> different text editor.
Most folk on /. know it's juvenile. Those who accuse their political opponents of being evil usually don't. Hint: if your political opponent was truly evil, you probably wouldn't be around. Just ask some Zimbabweans who dared oppose Mugabe and were found in a ditch with their limbs torn off.
> It is just clarity to see evil in someone who will bring
> suffering to millions of people.
By that measure FDR would qualify as "evil" - his policies (including the US' insistence on the gold standard long after other nations abandoned it) extended the Depression for the US for at least 6 years and caused suffering to millions of people.
"Evil" is a loaded word. Sending people to Siberia to starve and die is evil. Sending jews and gays to bake in Polish camp ovens is evil.
If you think McCain is evil, you're deluded _and_ are cheapening the meaning of the word.
Go somewhere random
A coworker of mine described his vote very simply: "My fear with McCain is that he will do as he says. My fear with Obama is that he won't."
My response to those concerns is very simple: if he does half of what he says he'll do, that's still a big win.
I am officially gone from
What's so bad about socialism?
Do you honestly think that voting in Obama is going to turn the states into some sort of Soviet Russia just because SOME of his plans are similar to those in Western Europe?
Wake up and realise that it doesn't matter what the idealogical principle is. All that matters is that you do the correct action for the situation. Sometimes that action is one that reflects libertarianism, sometimes conservatism, sometimes socialism, sometimes environmentalism, sometimes etc.
Your healthcare system NEEDS drastic change, perhaps socialism. No one is suggesting a British style NHS (certainly not the British). But quite simply, whether you are proud of you country or not (and when did that matter to anything) you should be ashamed of your healthcare system.
Regards
Person-bored-with-meaningless-election-fearmongering-but-honestly-impressed-with-the-US-people.
If this were really happening, what would you think?
>Quit being so damned bitter and actually start helping your fellow countrymen instead of being an asshole because your guy didn't win
You mean like the Democrats did in 2000 and 2004?
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
just because you heard it on fox news doesn't mean it's incorrect.
I just want to say again, Yes it does!
"Fox News" is not news. It is a commentator show. It is hard to even find a "news" show any longer. Everyone has to inject their opinions and interpretations of the carefully selected facts presented. That's commentating and editorializing -- not reporting and not news.
We need truth in labelling in everything, it seems, and not just on foods and drugs.
Thank you for your thoughtful, and non-insulting reply. I agree that the blame mostly lies with Bush, but McCain's campaign clearly illustrated to me that the neocons who brought us Bush were still in charge of the Republican party. Until those idiots are no longer running that party, I will not vote for them. That sucks for the good Republicans, but they've got a lot of cleaning up to do. I wish them well.
I have hope that McCain will leave that crowd behind and do some good for what remains of his political career. His concession speech was nothing short of beautiful. His audience's reaction was atrocious, but I don't fault McCain for that.
I don't know about you, but my servers run on the power of cotton candy and happy thoughts. -Anonymous Coward
I am sure people will point out that McCain!= Bush, and I will admit that McCain himself seems to be a man of integrity. However, much of the republican leadership is not. Palin serves as a perfect example.
As a European who has paid an interested attention to this election, it seems to me that the McCain who gave the concession speech and sat 'debating' next to John Stewart (essentially the enemy) was a man of integrity and I was impressed that he was willing to give his views to an audience that disagreed. Unfortunately the McCain on the campaign trail, the stupid negative namecalling (when Obama wasn't there), putting a 'below-Bush-intellect' Palin on the ticket, the whole 'small-towns' thing was not a man of integrity, it was a man who let too many Bush advisors on his team.
A shame because he would have had better chance without them.
If this were really happening, what would you think?
For me, as a person born in the Southern US in the 1960s, this event is a very, very big deal. I've seen people do things that should never be done, and get away with it, and I never though that a black man could ever be president.
I'm very cynical about politics, but not about people. And for the first time in my life, I am truly proud to be an American.
No one expects miracles, but it feels good to put that chapter in our history at least partially to rest.
It's funny, though... Obama is quite possibly the biggest con man I've ever seen. I have great admiration for his skills at deceiving people, even as I'm disgusted with my fellow countrymen for being taken in by a swindler so easily. Truly an exemplary politician, even if he is a bad statesman.
Why would you be surprised? Weren't we taken by Clinton just as easily in the 90's?
Yeah, and look how bad the Clinton years were for this country...
Oh, wait...
wants to be the first monkey to touch the monolith
Yeah, the "Bush is not my president" and "Somewhere in Texas a village lost its idiot" T-shirts and all of the /. posts about "KKKarl Rove stole the election" and "the chimp" things the Democrats did after 2000 and 2004 absolutely helped their fellow countrymen and weren't asshole things to do.
Just "gittin-r-done," day after day.
Blaming Bush will only work for so long.
Want to bet?
Blaming Hoover worked for FDR's entire reign.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
You guys are missing one of the biggest things this election means. He may not be able to fix the economy, the war, the erosion of our rights, but it is a great first step to fixing something that has plagued our country since its inception. Him being elected will not fix racism but it is a big step in the right direction. I just hope it continues and we as Americans can come together and be just that. Americans, and not white or black America. If we can solve that large issue and move forward, then I believe all the other problems can be fixed in time as well.
Also, :
- They were there for less than two years
- They are not in charge of the executive; by definition the legislative's impact is less imediate than the executive's
- Repugs fillibustered (or threatened to) almost everything the democrats tried to pass in the Senate
- Bush vetoed almost anything the democrats passed
Level Headed,
Does every wrong need to be met with another wrong?
Or can we draw a line, and say "enough - time to fix the problems and reclaim the American Dream for our children and ourselves"?
"For every right, an equal responsibility..."
How about the collective interests of the entire world, not just the interests of any one single country?
Why doesn't Slashdot ever get slashdotted?
Actually what alienated him from the american public was choosing an undeducated-appearing woman with no experience for a vice president. You have no idea how many times I heard "I'd vote for McCain, but he might die, and I do NOT want Palin as president."
If we don't care who runs other countries, then why do we keep invading them?
He's black. He's President. He's already changed everything.
Wow. Way to get the ball rolling. I'm sure your comment assuages all kinds of stereotypes about American arrogance.
As an internationalist, socially leftist Obama supporter who believes it is vital to repair our reputation overseas,and is beyond thrilled that Obama won, let me just say: Back off. We are still the most powerful country in the world, and we chose Obama because he was the best choice for us, not for you. We are not coming to you hat in hand asking for your forgiveness, and you have no ability to put us on "notice."
As someone from the rest of the world who has seen the consequences of you bunch electing a bad president. Yeah, you elected Obama for you. However think about someone else for a change.
Not all conservatives are stupid,
but it is true that most stupid people are conservative.
- Hume
I used to think that way, and helped with the Nader campaign in 2000. When Bush won, my thought was "This guy is going to be just like Clinton, or pretty close anyway."
Damn was I wrong. Apparently the Republican administration viewed every international issue as a problem to be solved by bomb-bomb-bombing. Clinton generally avoided international confligrations. I was furious when Clinton compromised down to Don't Ask - Don't Tell, but Bush's push for a homophobic constitution has that beat. Don't get me started on relative deficit levels, the Axis-of-evil and amazing bungling of international relations, and two major crisis which he had been warned about and failed to act upon. Also, having to jam shampoo into 3oz containers to get onto a plane is weak and pointless.
To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure any 3rd party candidate is right for now. A Libertarian "hands off" approach would simply facilitate the economy imploding further. A Green Party candidate would never be able to stomach the smoke stacks required to get us moving again. And things aren't yet bad enough to start setting fire to buildings.
The ______ Agenda
BBC?
(This is where someone says they don't like the BBC because they have a British slant.)
Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
Not just that, but look at the international effect it has had already?
People are positive about the US again, that can only help you guys over there.
(Dutchman here)
This is the sig that says NI (again)
He ran his campaign based on a large part by individual donations over the Internet. It's a remarkable thing -- Obama doesn't owe any favors to companies or even to his own party.
He knows he can simply raise any money he needs on his own. That's why all of his speeches are "we", "our" and he's talking about "you" all the time. He owes the people, not the interests.
Of all of our modern presidents, he does have the best hope of actually accomplishing change.
Wow. Racism, sexism, class warfare, and teen parenthood. All in two and a half paragraphs.
You are some kind of trolling GOD.
-
Yeah, but you are also forgetting one thing? How much HIGHER would Obama's percentages be among white voters had he not been black, or supposedly muslim? Tons of white folks voted AGAINST him for no reason but skin color or perceived religion
Furthermore, you can't necessarily say it's racism. Maybe black people just really felt that Obama identified with their needs? You can find that type of pattern in many other things. For instance, look how much higher Obama's support was in major urban/suburban areas? In Florida, he barely took the vote, but in Miami, Tampa and Orlando he dominated, . North Carolina is essentially a tie, but in Raleigh, Winston-Salem, and Charlotte he dominated. Does that mean that city folk are reverse racists against white? Or that country folk are racist against blacks?
Until Obama won the Iowa caucus, all the black people were backing Hillary Clinton anyway. They're not racists, they're just Democrats.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Yeah years from now someone needs to ask Obama what he was doing when Rogerborg was writing joystick handling code on a Ubuntu install running under VMware.
Try crunching those numbers by income instead of skin color and see what comes out.
The determined Real Programmer can write Fortran programs in any language.
Daily Show
"Common sense will be the death of us all"
Well then for the sake of ending racism, I hope you will all join me in not giving a shit what colour he is. The rhetoric that's been spewing out of some people's mouths when they can't talk for more than a minute about his actual stated policies is really starting to get nauseating. Some people are going to get one Hell of a shock from this.
Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
How about the collective interests of the entire world, not just the interests of any one single country?
That's all well and good, but the job of the US president is to be the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, not the world. If you want a world president, have your country's leader propose the idea to the UN or whoever. But for now, the POTUS's primary concern should be the well being of the USA. The rest of the world is important, but not first.
There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
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
Indeed, while remarks about villages missing their idiot may have been partisan, the civilised world was horrified with the re-election of Bush, and with the (in my opinion foolish) exception of Britain you lost all international co-operation.
May I be among the first to welcome you back from the neo-con wasteland and hope that we can all proceed from where Clinton left off, in a spirit of international co-operation
(Irishman here)
"Linux is for noobs"-The new MS fud strategy
Now...honestly, what do you think is really going to change?
1. For the first time in 8 years, we have a president who can speak publicly. McCain would have done a fine job, too - but Barack is really a terrific speaker.
2. We've managed to go from segregation to president in about 40 years. More white people voted for Obama than Kerry. That is monumental. The best part is that since Obama is both black and white, he really can see and convey both perspectives of America. We're all going to talk about race a lot more than we used to, and that's a good thing.
3. We don't have to hear nonsense about the government banning stem cell research, blatantly muzzling dissenting scientists, and other such shenanigans that should have any self-respecting geek up in arms.
4. We'll gain some respect back from our allies. This is more than just a point of pride... we're going to need their help. Our army is exhausted and we all need to work together on the financial situation.
5. While I think all of the "Yes, we can," stuff is corny as hell, he does seem to be a pretty good leader. And a leader is what people are looking for right now. People were willing to put up with partisan hacks and leave Washington to fester when times were good, but now people want Washington to be a help and not a hindrance. The first step is to get them to stop acting like spoiled 2-year-olds. Barack is one of those politicians that does not sound like a spoiled 2-year-old.
Personally, I think John McCain could have done a pretty good job on that list as well, but the way his campaign was run in the last 2 or 3 months worried me greatly.
It didn't really hit me that things had changed until I saw the first family up there after the victory speech, and damn if it wasn't a black family. Cue "white house" jokes. :)
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
I think you over-estimate the naivity of the banks and mortgage salesmen in relation to the credit crisis. It was nothing but greedy profiteering and has very little to do with encouragement from any recent adminsistration.
Here are some of the key points to remember:
1) Mortgage salesmen got a commision for each mortgage sold, regardless of whether it was stable or would be paid to completion.
2) Alarm bells should have been ringing down at the local bank branch but they weren't. Why? Because they were selling the loans (and inherent risk) on to larger invesment banks who repacked them.
3) The investment banks repackaged these loans together with the flawed reasoning that only a certain percentage would default based on projected market conditions. Those conditions turned out to be wrong.
4) The producers and packagers of asset backed swaps were further laying off and reselling the risk to hedge funds and banks that didn't necessarily have the capital behind them to pay up in the event of a default. It's illegal for insurance companies to take on obligations that they can't pay for but not for banks to jiggle risk around like this. This is criminal negligence in my view and people should have been in court by now.
5) No one really knows who is exposed to what risk because these leveraged products have been resold and unwound between multiple counterparties. The banks don't know how badly affected their peers are so they've stopped lending to others in case they disappear (like Lehman) or they need the cash themselves for their own write-downs which they don't really know the scale of for the reasons mentioned. This is the real credit crisis, not the mortgages themselves. That was just the catalyst.
Put it this way, you won't find anyone in the finance industry saying that they sold all those dodgy mortgages "because the government made us do it". It was greed, pure and simple.
DISCLAIMER: I worked in credit derivitives many years ago.
This nation wasn't founded on partisanship at all. Everyone knows that out founding fathers didn't initially plan a partisan system, but partisanship is a result of how our government and our psychology works.
I think it would be much better to have a non-partisan system, where there aren't only two opinions to choose from. Wouldn't it make much more sense if one could select from, say, 10 candidates with different ideas on things, rather than choosing either Democrat or Republican?
If we have a more limited number of options, the race becomes much more about choosing "the lesser of two evils" than choosing the best person possible to become the president.
As an outside observer, I've believed from the beginning that simply having Barack Obama in the presidency would be good for America.
The problems with the markets right now stem in part from a lack of confidence in the US internationally.
Frankly, we think you're a bunch of ignorant, violent dicks who managed to actually try to argue that torture is a good thing.
By having someone who isn't saying these things as the ignorant violent dicks in power, I could see international investments slowly building back up, resulting in a more prosperous planet as a whole.
(Seriously. Did you guys really think that arguing about whether torture was really bad would end up well for you?)
It's been a long time.
To most black folks, he's black. His daddy was black. His wife is black. His kids are black. He's a Democrat. He attends a black church.
You are right that there is a big difference between being black or white and being mixed-race. A mixed-race guy like Obama truly understands the perspective of a black person and of a white person. He's heard it all from both sides and has had his whole life to think about these things. This is why he can talk to white people and address their concerns and also talk to black people and address their concerns.
A typical black person (or white person) will most likely not have this insight, and I hope that blacks don't get too attached to hopes that Obama will act strictly as a black advocate. This will lead to profound disappointment.
While he is the first black president, he's also the 44th white president.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
He or she is saying that people who don't succeed will find any loophole that enables them to blame their inability to succeed on others. He or she is absolutely correct.
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
Most people who think Fox News is an arm of the GOP, are comfortable getting their news from multiple sources, CNN, BBC, CBS, NBC, etcetera, EXCEPT for Fox News.
while most people who think Fox News is Fair and Balanced(tm) are of the opinion that all other mainstream media are "in the tank" for whomever they are hating that week, and are NOT to be trusted. this magnifies the echo chamber effect, since they are unable or unwilling to consider opposing viewpoints.
What's worse, is they incorrectly assume that everyone else must think like they do, and all other news outlets are as shrill and partisan as Fox is, because they have nothing to compare to.
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
Entire racial groups have a perspective now? When I lived in the USA, I met a Morrocan student who told me the most annoying thing in the USA were all the people who told him that they were "African." They all had more in common with their white countrymen than they did with him. There's no supportable reason a black person can't see things from a white person's perspective and vice versa. But the black person can't see things from white people's perspective and a white person can't see things from black people's perspective, because there is no such united view. There isn't even enough cultural unity to talk in generalities. If you were white, would it make sense for someone to ask you what white people thought of a particular topic. Outside of the most contrived examples, it would not.
What we should be discussing here is Obama's policies and intentions. Not pages and pages of discussion about his ethnicity. The fact that we are not is the clearest sign of a problem to me, although I think it is one that is being worked out.
Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
No thanks. I'll give a shit what color he is mainly because it's a pretty damn good gauge of how far America has come along in terms of overcoming some nasty racism.
We have come a long way in reducing racism. We've passed the hate to the next down the line.
Here's a vastly oversimplified view of the line:
1830: Americans hate and persecute the Irish immigrants.
1890: Americans (now including the Irish) persecute the Polish and other Eastern European immigrants.
All along: American whites (including Irish and Polish) persecute blacks.
20th century: American whites (and many blacks!) fear and persecute latino immigrants.
Yesterday, on the day the USA first elects a black president, three states passed constitutional amendments making gays second-class citizens with fewer rights. In California, nearly 70% of blacks and hispanics voted for Proposition 8.
Yes, we just pass the fear and hate on down the line. Human mass psychology seems incapable of producing happiness without having an "outsider" group to loathe and persecute.
Honestly, I'm fucking thrilled about Obama, but I'm starting to see the "moving past racism" thing as just another turn of the hate wheel.
Right now the arrow is pointing at Gays and Muslims and atheists. I wonder who will be the target(s) in 2030?
I stole this sig from someone cleverer than me.
...after reading through all three thousand plus posts on this topic, admittedly with a filter of +2, I feel compelled to come in and toss away all my mod points to say "thanks" to the /.'ers here and abroad for having actual, real, intelligent discourse about this. The signal to noise ratio was one of the best I've seen on a thread here in years.
I'd been firmly in the Obama camp since he came out against lobbyists in an incredibly direct zero-tolerance fashion (for Washington, at least). None in my ground crew, none in my cabinet, not a dime from them. So, that made the sale for me personally very early in the primary season. Voting for someone who's been a civil rights lawyer, and is incredibly well-spoken... well, that's just a bonus. How cool would it be to have a quotable president in your lifetime? All those speeches you memorize in school? What if you were there for a speech your kids memorize?
I'm not at all proud of what my government, and by association, my country has turned into in the last decade. And as cheesy as it might sound to some people, I really do think we need constructive, positive dialog to move forward. Race, international relations, financial markets... everything. We've gotten in the habit of painting the world in stark shades of idealogical black and white -- on both sides.
Growing up in the US, we're taught to believe in a very idealized, edited version of American history, and America as a symbol -- it's the history that we really wished could be. Down to the specifics of the Lincoln presidency and on, very complex issues are taught to us in a very binary, black and white fashion that loses nuance completely. But it's part of who we are. And for the most part, it's who we want to be. It might be borderline fiction, but it's a noble aspiration.
Something struck me during one of the debates. Obama said "We need to learn how to disagree without being disagreeable." -- which sounds juvenile on the surface, but is a consummate truth at its core and sums up a major issue with the "you're either with me or against me" macho cowboy politic crap we've had to endure.
We've been stuck in gridlock, incapable of positive change for so long that I think we've forgotten how to affect it.
I must say that if the John McCain who made the incredibly eloquent, heartfelt concession speech last night had been the same man who had been campaigning, I think things would have been a lot closer. Well, and ditched his trainwreck running mate, but I didn't log in to burn the neocons in effigy.
If Obama can achieve even a fraction of what he's set about, it'll be positive change for this country and world in my very honest opinion. It's arrogant as an American to believe that my vote affects the entire world, but looking over the last eight years in particular, it's incredibly naïve to believe it doesn't. We're a conflicted people.
McCain may very well have been capable of leading us out of this incredibly dark, deep hole that we're in, but the Republican party as a whole (down to my state and local levels -- I'm in North Florida) has lost any shred of credibility in regard to the term "conservative" where it applies to fiscal and legislative issues, and has taken the moral "conservative" tack -- ie, let's roll back the clock and stand in the way of social progress to regard to people who aren't just like us. You want polarization? Base your politics about making people scared of folks who aren't just like you, and spend your time telling other adults how to live their lives.
The world isn't like that, the country isn't like that... shit, my block isn't like that. So how did we get in this place?
The core of my personal moral compass is that there's nothing on this planet more offensive than a closed mind.
The more we talk, the more we begin to understand each other. And that's a start, isn't it?