Category — Barack Obama

Apologies for just now getting to everything.  Election day and night wiped me out, and I’ve been asleep most of the morning.

I had a pretty lousy night on the downticket.  My candidate lost in nearly every downticket race, from Lumon May to Claudia Brown-Curry to C. J. Lewis.  I did have a little luck in a few City Council races.

But the election of Barack Obama as the next president of the United States of America more than makes up for it.  I can’t explain how I feel about it.  It is so much work, and so much hope, finally realised.  I cried like a little girl more than once last night.  I’m not ashamed to admit it.  Even though I knew it was coming, when I saw the words on the screen, I was just overcome.

This is the America I want.

On a final note, I will note that in my final presidential predictions I predicted Obama would take 349 electoral votes, which is exactly the number he has at this hour, although he has done so by winning Indiana, which I thought would go to McCain.  At this hour, Missouri and North Carolina remain uncalled; I predict Missouri will go to McCain, and North Carolina (amazingly) will go to Obama, giving Obama a final tally of 364 to McCain’s 174.

P.S.  It’s so beautiful to see Florida blue.

P.P.S.  It was nice to see the old John McCain, the 2000 John McCain, when he conceded last night.  He was very gracious, very honourable.

Links

• Obama’s victory speech (video)
• Obama’s victory speech (transcript)
• McCain’s concession speech (video)

This is maybe my favourite political ad of the whole cycle:

It’s simple as can be, and to the point.  No audio, just music, and John McCain’s own words laid onto the screen.  Two quotes where he admits he simply doesn’t know that much about the economy, that he has a lot to learn, and then a quote from a Republican primary debate where he states he might have to rely on a Vice Presidential nominee for economic experience.  Then the ad asks, “His choice?” and flashes an clip of a winking Sarah Palin.  The ad closes off with a great line: “On November 4th, you get to make yours.”

Barack Obama is an amazing speaker.  His speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention floored me, almost singlehandedly revived in me the hope for a better future for our country.

Second in my heart to that speech is the speech that he gave after winning the South Carolina primary in late January of this year.  In it, Obama clearly and concisely frames this election:

The choice in this election is not between regions or religions or genders. It’s not about rich versus poor; young versus old; and it is not about black versus white.

It’s about the past versus the future.

Links

• Barack Obama: South Carolina Victory Speech

Barack Obama, from his speech accepting the Democratic nomination for President of the United States of America, in Denver, 28 August 2008:

Instead, it is that American spirit — that American promise — that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.

That promise is our greatest inheritance. It’s a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours — a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot.

And it is that promise that forty five years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln’s Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.

The men and women who gathered there could’ve heard many things. They could’ve heard words of anger and discord. They could’ve been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred.

But what the people heard instead — people of every creed and color, from every walk of life — is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one.

“We cannot walk alone,” the preacher cried. “And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.”

America, we cannot turn back, not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise — that American promise — and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.

Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America.

It seems like every poll that comes out is good news for Senator Obama or Democratic Senatorial candidates. Obama is shoring up leads all over the country. Respected projections like FiveThirtyEight’s have Obama taking in excess of 330 electoral votes. McCain is definitely on the defense, pulling out of states like Michigan to bolster resources in closer states.

Numerous outlets such as Politico are now seriously wondering if the Democrats could attain a filibuster-proof 60 seats in the Senate. This is due a recent upsurge by several Democratic candidates:

Democrat Kay Hagan is leading incumbent Republican Elizabeth Dole in North Carolina, and according to Politico, some high-level Republicans have given up on the race:

Top Republicans say they have no hope for Dole in North Carolina. “There’s no point in even counting the votes,” said a top McCain official.

In Kentucky, SUSA and Mason-Dixon polls put Democrat Bruce Lunsford within 1-3 points of incumbent (and Senate Minority Leader) Mitch McConnell.

In Minnesota, a Minneapolis Star-Tribune poll has Democrat Al Franken moving ahead of Republican incumbent Norm Coleman.

And best of all, even Georgia’s Senate race is now tight, with Democrat Jim Martin pulling to within a single point of Republican (and royal-class jerk) Saxby Chambliss.

I can hardly contain my gleeful self-satisfaction.

Every few years, our nation engages in a debate about energy. This is typically fueled (pun intended) by high gas prices as a result of dwindling supplies of oil.

To their credit, both McCain and Obama are talking about energy, but before I give you my take on their positions, let’s discuss some facts to put the issue in proper context.

The United States consumes nearly 21 million barrels of petroleum per day, making us the largest consumer of oil on the face of the Earth. We make up just 4% of the world’s population, yet we consume 25% of the world’s oil reserves. Today, the U.S. imports nearly 66% of our crude oil from volatile regions of the world. Oftentimes, from nations that use these oil proceeds to fund anti-American terrorist groups.

To put this in its proper context, the U.S. spends $500 billion on petroleum imports, annually. As a consequence, we then spend billions of dollars on health care as a direct result of the pollution associated with the extraction, refinement, transportation, and combustion of oil.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, we control approximately 3% of the world’s known oil reserves. (That’s not a typo). Drilling cannot make the U.S. energy independent because we don’t control enough of it to influence world oil prices. U.S. crude oil production has declined 47 percent since its peak in 1970. You don’t have to be an economist to understand that. It’s like playing poker with only two cards.

So where does our domestic oil come from? U.S. oil production currently occurs onshore in the lower 48 states (2.9 million barrels per day (mbd)), offshore (1.4 mbd, primarily in the Gulf of Mexico), and in Alaska (0.7 mbd). Government agencies estimates that 10.4 billion barrels of oil are “technically recoverable” in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The term “technically recoverable” is important because the deeper the oil reserves the more expensive it becomes to recover and transport back to shore. It doesn’t make economic sense to spend $8 to recover a gallon of gas that you will turn around and sell for $4.

Currently, the oil reserves in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) of the lower 48 states are off limits under the federal moratorium. Lifting the OCS moratorium would not increase production until 2017 and would only amount to 0.2 million barrels per day–less than 1 percent of current consumption.

During the Republican National Convention, the delegates broke into a chorus of “drill, baby, drill” to the delight of Saudi Arabia. However, the facts do not support this as a viable option to lead us on a path towards energy security. Once again, the Republicans are on the wrong side of the issue.

More drilling will not reduce gas prices. The U.S. Department of Energy projects that opening ANWR would lower gasoline prices at the pump by a mere 2 cents per gallon. Moreover, lifting the moratorium on drilling in the OCS would reduce the price of a gallon of gasoline by at most 6 cents. To make matters worse, it would take ten years to permit, drill, refine, and distribute these reserves. Inflation would quickly erode those 6 pennies.

Here is another fact that eludes John McCain. Oil is traded as a global commodity and its price is set on the world market. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could simply reduce exports to artificially increase the world-wide price of oil putting us right back where we were before, with the additional pollution. Thanks John.

The U.S. has, as a nation, decided to export dirty manufacturing and refining practices to other countries because we value things like clean air and water. Whether you call yourself an “environmentalist” or not, we don’t like it when our children suffer from respiratory diseases our neurological disorders. Being “pro-life” means caring for children beyond the embryonic stage.

While McCain promises more of the same “drill, baby, drill” policies of George Bush and Dick Cheney, Obama brings a series of fresh ideas to move us away from a depleting resource that has left our nation funding both sides of this war in Iraq.

The increase in U.S. automobile fuel economy standards to 35 miles per gallon of gasoline (mandated by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007) is projected to save more than 1.1 million barrels of oil per day in 2020. That is about half of current U.S. imports from the Persian Gulf.

Obama also calls for investing in America by focusing on energy conservation and renewable sources of clean energy that we can control. This puts Americans back at work and leading the world to solve this energy crisis.

Obama has the vision and courage to take on Big Oil and bring about the jobs of the future through innovation and technology. He is the only candidate with the independence as a Washington outside to bring about real change. Obama has earned my respect, and my vote!

From the Left is an area Democratic activist and a guest blogger at Progressive Pensacola.

During the Republican Convention, we heard one speaker after the next, slam the media with great fervor. It was almost like they were all singing off of the same sheet of music. And you know what, they were right!

I can barely stand to turn on the news today. Why? The only thing that any of these news networks are talking about is lipstick. CNN, MSNBC, and even the Fox “News” are all clamoring over the same thing. Lipstick. Are you freaking kidding me?

In case you’ve been hanging out in Bin Laden’s cave for the last few days, Obama was at a rally talking about McCain’s economic plan and making the point that McCain’s economic plan is the “same old, same old” and as Obama said “if you put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig.” The McCain camp quickly went on the offensive and suggested that Obama was taking a shot at Sarah Palin. Huh? Really? But the media took the bait; hook, line, and sinker. And it wasn’t just the usual Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh. This time, all the so called “journalists” jumped on board like the lemmings that they are.

Instead of debating the issues, the media has taken the “Jerry Springer” approach to politics and the McCain camp loves it. When the McCain camp throws out another distraction, like this latest “lipstick” charge, they don’t have to talk about this dreadful economy under eight long years of George Bush. They don’t have to talk about the lack of a comprehensive energy policy. They don’t have to talk about the broken borders where undocumented aliens, drugs, and weapons, cross at will. They don’t have to remind America that Osama Bin Laden is still on the run after seven years and putting out more videos than Brittany Spears. And they don’t have to talk about the $350,000,000 that we are throwing into this endless war each and every single day. No, that’s not what McCain wants to talk about because that would reveal that he has voted with George Bush 90% of the time. Maverick? I think not. Washington is fundamentally broken and this didn’t happen overnight. These issues have been growing for the last 30 years and McCain has been part of that problem for 26 of those 30 years.

We have real challenges in this country and we need our leaders to lead and we need a skeptical media that trusts no one and challenges everything. Wow, wouldn’t that be some real change?

From the Left is an area Democratic activist and a guest blogger at Progressive Pensacola.

The excellent Pensacola Beach Blog has pointed out that someone was kind enough to videotape Congressman John Lewis’ speech at the grand opening of the Obama campaign’s Pensacola headquarters this past Saturday.

The overwhelming turnout required the use of two buildings to hold everyone that showed up, and Congressman Lewis was kind enough to deliver his remarks twice.  The video, presented here in two parts, is of his second speech, which was the one I caught.

It was truly an honour to see and hear Lewis speak.  I especially enjoyed listening to him talk about the Civil Rights movement.  I can’t imagine the things he’s seen and been through.  But as terrific as it is that a black man stands poised to win the presidency, this election isn’t about race.  This election is about past versus future. This election is about progress versus the status quo.  I liked very much how Lewis finished his remarks:  ”It doesn’t matter whether we’re black or white or Hispanic or Asian American or Native American, we all live in the same house.  We’re one family, so stay together.  Work for Barack Obama!”

It reminded me of my favourite part of Barack Obama’s keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.  If you haven’t seen it before, please, see it.  Read it.

Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us — the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of “anything goes.” Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America — there’s the United States of America.

The pundits, the pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too. We worship an “awesome God” in the Blue States, and we don’t like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and yes, we’ve got some gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.

Turnout for yesterday’s grand opening of the Obama campaign’s Pensacola office was much greater than expected. Obama campaign staff reports 705 people in attendance. The crowd was so large that the headquarters building was filled, and then a second building across Belmont (Club Unity) was opened and filled also. Congressman John Lewis was kind enough to speak to both groups, and he was terrific, and inspiring, and energising. I wish I could sit and talk to the man for a minute. He’s put in so much hard work, so much blood and sweat, to craft a better America.

Fired up.

Ready to go.

Links

• PNJ: “Civil rights icon helps open Obama HQ”
• PNJ photo gallery

Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), a civil rights legend, will be on hand Saturday when the Obama campaign officially opens its Pensacola headquarters at in Belmont-DeVilliers.

Campaign staff has been on the ground since July, mainly working out of the offices of the Escambia County Democratic Party, but has established a separate headquarters to focus solely on the presidential campaign.

The headquarters grand opening will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, at 321 North de Villiers Street (corner Belmont & de Villers). The event is open to the public.

Yours truly, Derek Cosson, will host an Obama Unite for Change organizing meeting at 6:00 PM next Tuesday evening, July 22, at the Escambia County Democratic Party Headquarters, 2415 North Pace Boulevard.

Come join us. Staff from the Obama campaign will share their stories and help us organise. Don’t sit on the sidelines. Join the movement and help Barack Obama win Escambia County and the White House.

All are welcome regardless of party affiliation!

The Obama campaign has enlisted local supporters across the country to host “Unite for Change” events in their homes or other gathering places. The goal is to get friends involved and foster a sense of ownership of the campaign.

There’s a bunch of these events going on this Saturday. If you are an Obama supporter, or better yet, someone who’s undecided, attend one. Be a part of this.

• 2:00 PM — 300 Bayou Blvd./Ida Nissen
• 4:00 PM — 235 SE Baublits Dr./Deborah Breen
• 4:00 PM — 1925 Brenda Ave./Melissa Oliver
• 6:00 PM — TeamObama/Juanita Scott (RSVP req’d)
• 7:00 PM — 11585 Lou St./Pam Walker
  
• 7:00 PM — UWF, Building 82/Ayla Green