Yes We Can

[orikes]

I know I'm a little late on the posting, but I was at work all night. Still, I wanted to do my own little post to say how happy I am.

I got up around 1pm like I usually do. Showered and headed around the corner to the church where my polling place is. There were no lines and the longest I had to wait was about five minutes as the guy in charge of the voting booth explained how it all worked to a new voter ahead of me. I did my civic duty and then went out to peruse the bakesale the church ladies put on every election day. (I bought a brownie.)

From then on, I avoided the news until I got to work. I was almost afraid to see what was going to happen. The last time, I was so sure that there was no way Bush could win and I was very, very wrong. When the results first started coming in, it felt like there was a pit in the bottom of my stomach. Then it started swinging our way.

I know there's still a lot of work ahead to fix the things we need to fix. Electing Obama is not a magic wand that will fix everything with some fairy dust and some clapping. But it sure is a good start.

Comments

[profbutters.livejournal.com]

I'll tell you the truth: I cried. Because I remember 1980 and I couldn't do a thing about that election. I remember the smug jerk who told me (in 1988!) that no Democratic would be elected President in our lifetimes. And oh do I ever remember 2000. Dear Lord, do I remember that. That was the scenario I dreaded most.

There are already indignant cries of "He's not *my* President!" to which I want to say, "yeah, he is, you dinks. I gave Bush a fair shake at first and I don't even think he won." I've even had a few Cartman-esque moment when I think of the people at Fox News: "let me taste your tears, Scott, the tears of ultimate sadness. Mmm!" Luckily Barack Obama is a lot more decent and conciliatory than I am.

I'm hoping for some FDR-style reform. I think it can be done. I'd like to see some people who lost their jobs get some work fixing roads and building new bridges, like the smart bridge in Minneapolis/Saint Paul. I'm really looking forward to the optional national service that will offer a chance to get money for college, and some better health care. We'll see if it happens. I think if those things were taken off the average person's worry list, it would be amazing how much better people would do.

Still, Americans have gotten into some very bad habits. Most of us spend money we don't have and borrow to pay it, and then our whole economy is founded on that. I think we'll have to change focus to living lives more like the frugal, careful, sensible lives our grandparents lived, and in exchange, more of us will find we can afford decent, modest homes and decent education at a public university. I think we'll (eventually) lead happier, healthier, more productive lives as a result, but the adjustment is going to be something fierce.

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

I cried when I watched his acceptance speech this afternoon. I didn't think it would get me as much as it did, but by the end, I was sniffling.

[ndainye.livejournal.com]

I'm not nearly as thrilled about Obama as I'd like to be. I'm happy to be done with the Bush years. I'm elated that the election of a Democrat will allow some of the current sitting members of the Supreme Court to step down without conservative repercussions. I'm happy to have a 'minority' elected, as it opens doors for the future.

Obama with the perceived backing of a Democratic majority will attempt to make some sweeping changes early. His political inexperience will cause problems and the next election may very well bring in a conservative counterbalance. If that happens we'll have a deadlocked system yet again.

[wtsims.livejournal.com]

You know, I keep seeing people talk about Obama's political inexperience, and I keep thinking, in what other job is 12 years of experience considered entry level?

[avidreader7.livejournal.com]

I didn't stay up last night to see who was declared the winner, but I heard the news as soon as I got up this morning, and I am feeling so hopeful and happy right now. It's true that we have a lot of work to do and a long road to travel, but it feels like we might finally be able to get started on making things better. It's a great feeling.

[traciandrus.livejournal.com]

I stayed up to watch. I did vote for Obama. So I'm glad everything turned out A-ok for me. Hopefully things will work out this way. I think we needed this change.

[rosefyre.livejournal.com]

God, it was nice to watch.

Though it was interesting - I was watching MSNBC, and we were seeing the first results come in, and then Pennsylvania hit, and it was like YES! And then there were a couple of hours with no new results (or at least not anything unexpected), and the newspeople were all saying how it might be 2004 again, because no states had switched - but the states that had come in weren't expected to switch! I mean, no one expects Kentucky or Alabama to vote Democrat. And then there was Ohio, and Ohio was enough, as long as Obama got everything Kerry did.

And he did.

Yeah, it's not a magic wand, but it's a lot better than McCain would have been.

[docnerd.livejournal.com]

The conservatives I know are already running around screaming
"The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" After W, I think the only way a Republican could have won this election is if he had very few ties to the current administration. Rudy Giuliani might have had a better shot, because he wasn't a member of the Senate or House. Still, Obama's inheriting a pile of crap, and I'm interested to see what he does with it.

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

The problem with Giuliani was that he was even more anathema to the conservative Republican 'base' than McCain was. He was another godless Yankee regardless of what his party was. If he'd been smarter about his campaign, he might have stood a better chance, but I still think the 'base' was having fits about him.

[docnerd.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but the fact that he WASN'T a conservative Republican in the Bush/McCain vein might have gotten some of the more moderate, undecided voters to vote Republican instead of Democrat. The choice sort of boiled down to "business as usual" and "something different" and that wasn't as difficult a choice as "something different" and "something different, but also different from the other something different." I knew Giuliani would never win the Republican nomination, but I sure as hell wish he had; it'd have made the whole process way more entertaining.

[profbutters.livejournal.com]

Giuliani might have done better if he hadn't run such a lousy campaign. There was a reason Joe Biden said his statements all amounted to "a noun, a verb, and 9/11"; because it was true. Fair or not, most Americans have short memories. They wanted to know what he did in the meantime and what he could do if he became President, and he never articulated a clear vision of that.

Many candidates, Republican as well as Democrat, ran their campaigns as though this election was going to be about national security.

[snootcb.livejournal.com]

LOL at Chicken Little attitude. I sort of got into it with a few people before one of my classes today. Keep in mind, I live in a county that was about 80% for McCain, so I rarely discuss political views with acquaintances. Here's a sampling of what was being said:

"Now the Muslims will take over our country."
"No [racial epithet] is MY president."
"I hope he gets assasinated and goes to hell."
"Obama is probably the antichrist."

My mixed-race buddy got up and left class before it even started. That sent me off the deep end. I did not make any friends today, but seriously, how can people be THAT insensitive? Sorry I'm ranting a bit, I should just let it go, but am still really mad about it. I was nearly crying last night from happiness, and now I am nearly crying with frustration.

ANYWAY, on a happier note, the Obamas have pledged to adopt a rescued dog. I bet those two little girls are on cloud nine right now.

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

I'm very careful about discussing my political leanings. While most of my friends think the same way I do, many of our parents don't. I have two married friends where both sets of parents are religious conseratives. They've been getting an earful about it all.

I found out my dad was voting for McCain too. That hurt and it was a conversation we quickly veered away from. I get to spend too little time with him to let something like that make things sour between us.

Sorry to hear about the idjits in your class. That is awesome about the rescued dog, though. :)

[lauriempress.livejournal.com]

Well, actually, if I had been able to vote, (I moved in the middle of the year and wasn't able to get everything settled to get my registration in on time) I would have voted for McCain. That said, I have and never have had ill will for Barak Obama. He is my president (elect) now, and I will pray for him and this country as I have always done. My family is part democrat part republican, so we talk about the issues some and then agree on what we agree about, and agree to disagree on what we don't. And I like to use that philosophy with my friends too. I'm happy for all my friends that voted for Obama. To me the beauty of our election system, is that I can choose who I think is best for the job, and so can everyone else, and the next morning we go on, win or lose, and do our best to make this the best place we can for us and our children. (That was a terrible sentence but my grammer just failed me) I'm sorry I'm rambling on and on. I guess I just wanted to say, my man didn't win, and I'm a little sad about that, but the democratic/republican process won, and I'm very happy about that, and congratulations on the win to all the Obama supporters.

Lauri

[lauriempress.livejournal.com]

Gah that was quite a ramble. Sorry Orikes.

Lauri

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

NO worries about rambling. :) We all do it from time to time and I think you had a couple of interesting points embedded in there.

[snootcb.livejournal.com]

THIS is what we need: bipartisan goodwill. I have nothing against McCain himself, it's only his policies that I don't agree with, and even then I know that Obama is not a magician that can magically fix things without the help of people on BOTH sides of the aisle. Yay for cooperative democracy!