Are you saying it's from the future?

Sometimes my dreams aren't very exciting. For instance last night I dreamed that I was reading a newspaper. Only thing interesting was that the paper was from the future. November 5th to be exact.

OBAMA WINS!

Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois was elected the 44th President of the United States yesterday in an historic election marking the first time an African-American will assume the nation's highest office.

A state-by-state breakdown of those returns gave the President-elect more than 345 electoral votes, a commanding victory in the Electoral College, which requires 270 for election. His victory included states such as North Carolina and Virginia given to choosing Republican candidates in the last several Presidential elections.

Mr. Obama's victory speech in Springfield before a raucous crowd of thousands was frequently interrupted by chants of "yes we can!" Mr. Obama roused the crowd with a speech that included the promise that "yes we will."

In a break with tradition there apparently was no concession phone call from Mr. Obama's rival John McCain, nor any formal announcement of concession from his camp. Long time associates of Mr. McCain said this wasn't surprising given Mr. McCain's strongly competitive nature.

WORLD REACTION POSITIVE

Much of the world reacted positively to the news that Barack Obama had won the Presidential election. In Europe, where President George W. Bush enjoyed a contentious relationship with leaders, spontaneous celebrations of thousands of citizens broke out in the streets of Paris, Berlin and other European capitols.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a statement saying "the German government values it's relationship with the United States under President Bush is looking forward to working with President Obama on the many joint challenges facing our two nations."

Average Europeans were less circumspect in their reaction to Mr. Obama's victory. On the Champs-Elysées Charles Faure was part of a group of several thousand French youth waving American flags at passing cars. "It's like you haven't seen an old friend in a long time," Mr. Faure said. "Suddenly he is back at your door and it's wonderful."

KENYA CELEBRATES IT'S 'FAVORITE SON.'

Throughout the nation of Kenya celebrations broke out in cities and villages. In the small village of Alego, from which Barack Obama's father hails, the town square was crowded with dancing and singing villagers. 70-year old Robert Akello took a break from dancing to proclaim "this is big miracle."

RELIEF AT BAHRAIN AIR FORCE BASE

At an "election party" at the Bahrain Air force Base in the Kingdom of Bahrain most of the soldiers interviewed would not state whether they'd voted for Mr. Obama or his rival John McCain. Nevertheless the spontaneous cheering that erupted in the room as the networks declared Mr. Obama the winner provided strong evidence of the preference of these troops.

One soldier who was willing to go on record admitted he had cast his vote for John McCain. "I didn't vote for Barack because I think McCain had more experience," said Corporal Steven Kelly. "But I can live with this."

CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS JOYOUS

Reached by phone at his Rainbow Coalition headquarters Civil Rights leader Jesse Jackson said "I never thought we'd reach the top of the mountain," he said. "Words can't express how I feel right now but I wish Martin and Coretta and Rosa were here to see this."

MARKETS RISE ON NEWS

World markets which had lost 54% in the last few months reacted strongly to the news of Mr. Obama's victory. The Dow Jones Industrial gained 1256 points on closing with the NSDQ rising over 400 points. "Normally the markets don't like political change," said one Wall Street Analyst. "But in this case a little shakeup is just what the doctor ordered."

DEMOCRATIC SUPER-MAJORITY PLANS QUICK ACTION

On capitol hill Democratic House and Senate Leaders were quickly coming to terms that the election of Obama along with the now 60 vote majority in the Senate meant that they were able to force legislative action with any Republican support.

In Washington D.C. Senator Hillary Clinton made a statement in front of supporters that at times sounded like a victory speech of her own. "Now that we made sure we have a Democratic President I'm going to make sure we have a Democratic agenda," she said. "That means fixing the economy but it also means we do something about health care."

REPUBLICAN MOOD SOMBER

The mood among Republicans at the news that they were completely shut-out of federal government power for the first time in 25 years was somber. One elected official who declined to be named for this article said "you'd like to try and put a happy face on this but it's pretty clear voters don't like us."

Republican appointees in Federal agencies who would soon be without jobs were even more apocalyptic. "In the past this wouldn't be a problem because we would be able to find a job in the private sector easily after working for Bush," said Interior Department Manager Gramm Wellington III. "With the economy the way it is I'm actually having to send out resumes. If things stay they way they are I might have to move back in with my parents."


What say we make these headlines a reality?

I think I must have one of those faces you can't help believing.

My thoughts on last night's debate-

At times McCain came across like some sort of manic, egomaniacal, beardless garden gnome.

If there was one thing we all could agree on after the last debate that would improve McCain's performance it would be body language. I haven't the slightest doubt that McCain recieved tons of advice to not let his disdain for Obama show on camera. McCain ignored that advice (or couldn't control himself) as he was a full on dick once again.

When the original Star Trek was on the air William Shatner used to get jealous of all the fan mail Leonard Nimoy was recieving. He devised little things to draw attention to himself while the camera was rolling. His strange, stilted speech pattern was one of those things. Another was to have his back turned to the camera when they materialized on the transporter and then spin around quickly. That's what John McCain's weird behavior reminded me of.

McCain was even working the refs during the debate. When Obama was speaking you could see McCain gesturing to Brokaw in the background trying to get Brokaw to cut Obama off. Keep it classy, John.

One of the commentators on CBS after the debate said McCain "moved stiffly" around the stage. I believe the correct word is "doddered."

We often posit that people who are still undecided at this stage of the game are dumbasses. After listening to the comments of of the panel of regular undecided voters on CBS I would have to say we're underestimating their dumbassery. Morons, the lot of 'em.

Obama looked, acted and felt like the President of the United States.

Prepare to die!

I'm too old to be a slacker but Michael Moore's free internet movie "Slacker Uprising" is amazing.

The young people are going to have to be the ones that save us.

Alright, Leroy, who is the one and only master?

I haven't much if anything about race in this election even though the issue's been hanging out that, surfacing occasionally in the primary and threaded subtextually through much of McCain's "celebrity" attacks on Obama.

I certainly think that race and racism, just like the sexism Hillary Clinton's faced, are important. It's just that as important as those issues are to me the more immediate issues for me in this election are ending the war in Iraq and restoring the constitution to this country.

In those moments where I step back and consider what the Clinton and Obama candidacies have represented for the Democratic party and the country as a whole, I'm a more than a little bit stunned at the implications. I get the same sort of feeling of awe that I got when I watched those Berliners partying on top of that giant spray-painted cement wall twenty years ago. We are watching history unfold in real time.

Last night the Democratic party nominated an African-American guy to be the President of the United States. I could sit here and complain that it took far too long (it surely did) and that the Democratic party regularly lets us down on every issue from privacy to national security (it sure does) but, for now, I'm going to bask in the fact that we got something really, really right.

I've read a number of people over the last year express similar sentiments; that they'd never expected to see this in their lifetimes. Put me in that category. I've never been so happy to be so wrong.

Don't even get me started as to what would happen if Obama actually wins the Presidency. I'm fairly certain my head would explode.


(On the Last Dragon quote - R.I.P. Sho'Nuff who died last week. I chose that quote because of the line directly after it in which our hero Leroy answers "I am." He then proceeds to kick Sho'Nuff's ass.)

You know, there's only been one man in my whole life who's ever made me happy. Do you know that?

Just a quick observation on the state of the presidential race even though I'm trying hard to avoid political news.

I did see some of the coverage of Obama's trip overseas, McCain's sniping at same and the media's reaction to all of that and all I can say is that I am now convinced that Barack Obama should not under any circumstances debate John McCain.

Don't get me wrong. Barack Obama is light years more intelligent than John McCain. He understands the issues backwards and forwards. If it was just you, I and these guys sitting down at a kitchen table and discussing issues Barack would wipe the table the geezer.

No, the problem isn't Barack Obama. The problem is the media. Specifically the media's interest in changing the narrative of the presidential race as it's developed to this point. A narrative that favors Obama, despite their best efforts to keep the race close.

The media is looking for any opening to roll out the "McCain is the Comeback Kid" stories they've had saved on their laptops since the general election began. The conventions and debates are going to provide opportunities for that. The actual results of both won't be important. What's important is that the media will be able to seize on any small circumstance of either, magnify it and twist it into something greater and push hard to put John McCain back in this race.

It's not like anything substantive is discussed in the debates anymore anyway. Obama should just say no.

Crucio!

Forget the three nominees for President. I've found a candidate I can really believe in.

Hail to the King, baby.

OBAMA!

The doors opened at 7:30 a.m. with seating first come/ first serve in a venue that holds between 12-13k people. The last political rally I'd been to in this city - Kerry in 04 - had about 20,000 people in attendance, so I was a little nervous about getting into the event because this city is pretty enthusiastic for Democrats.

We got there about 6:30 a.m. and were probably about half-way in the line when all was said and done.

(Sorry this pic is blurry, it was dawn.)

(This line snaked clear around the Rose Garden for about four blocks.)

(This guy was shouting at everybody even though most of us probably agreed with him.)

I was pretty happy that there seemed to be good security with everybody who entered the Coliseum having to do so through metal detectors. I also saw bomb sniffing dogs check the floor before the event.

Once we got inside we found pretty good seats above and behind the stage. It had taken so long to get inside that we didn't have to wait too long for the event to start.

(There is nobody on the stage so don't bother squinting.)

Congressman Earl Blumenauer gave a pretty good introductory speech that started to get the crowd going and then, after a short wait, they dimmed the house lights and showed the "Yes We Can" video on the jumbitron. As you might imagine; the crowd started chanting along with the video which was pretty cool.

Then the secret service guys came out and Obama and surprise guest Bill Richardson quickly jumped up on the stage. As the announcer asked us to welcome Richardson the crowd went absolutely nuts. I assume it's because he just came out for Obama today.

(That empty section of seats in front of them is the press section.)

(Richardson and Obama seemed to genuinely like each other. They hugged at least twice.)

Richardson gave a great, somewhat low-key speech which was basically a description of why he decided to endorse Obama. My favorite part was a little anecdotal story he told at the end of the speech where Obama had a chance to throw Richardson under a bus during one of the Democratic debates when Richardson hadn't heard a question, but instead helped him out.

Then the Man himself started talking and it was tough to hear the first part because the crowd was so loud and excited and responsive.

I'm not going to go through all the details of Obama's speech except to say this: I was wrong about Obama. My biggest concerns about him before this election sound very much like the criticisms thrown at him by the Clinton campaign; that he's a lightweight and he's too much of a moderate/ conservative for my tastes.

The guy gave a boilerplate, fire and brimstone democratic speech. He promised to end the war, support labor, support science, find a health care solution, close Guantanamo and help the poor. There was absolutely nothing in his speech that could have been confused with the words and promises of George W Bush, John McCain or Ronald Reagan. The closest he came to mentioning Hillary Clinton was an allusion to the 3 a.m. phone call commercial and how he would respond. I'm convinced he's a democrat, but more importantly he's a progressive.

I left the coliseum convinced that he's the right person for the job and this point in history. My daughter wants to volunteer for the campaign. I think I just may join her.