I just came across an interesting, albeit unsurprising, article on press bias during our crazy election cycle. It’s by Mark Halperin, of Time Magazine, and the basic premise is alluded to in the title: ‘extreme pro-Obama’ press bias. Read it and say “No kidding, Sherlock!” The unfortunate thing is that this type of bias will never stop; in fact, if you look at Huffington Post’s coverage of the potential nomination of Senator Clinton for Secretary of State, you see a similar bias, with a not-so-subtle attempt to derail this possibility from becoming reality. Interesting while being simultaneously disgusting.

Seven years ago, the media was pushing war. This year, they were pushing a Presidential candidate. When it’s an issue you agree with, or can’t do anything about anyway, it might not matter so much; but, when it’s about an issue or person (in the case of elections, it happens to be about both issues and people) you are still trying to get a grasp on, that haze of propaganda can be downright lethal. I guess that is why Thomas Jefferson said:

“The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.”

This is my favorite picture of Election night ‘08. The coordination of colors, keeping it all black and red, was beautiful, and the impact of seeing a First Family that is “different” from everything we’ve ever been represented by…well, that just made me smile.

I did not vote for Barack Obama, largely because I live in a state where a third-party candidate could use my vote more than Mr. Obama could…but it was difficult to not vote for him. I hope that his legacy is filled with progress, and that I might be thoroughly convinced to vote for him come 2012, regardless of my propensity to vote third-party.

May Allah bless this country for taking a surprising step forward, and may He steer us to a better future. Ameen!

And, hey, the Democrats have swept the White House, Senate, and Congress! It truly is the beginning of a new era, and while I remain skeptically optimistic, I am glad to feel this optimism. Our President-Elect Obama has got a lot of work ahead of him; it’s going to be a series of thankless tasks, but if he handles it all the way he handled his campaign and last night’s victory speech, then we just might make it.

And of course, not to forget, Senator McCain’s concessionary speech:

Senator McCain’s speech was beautifully gracious, and really rose to the history of the moment. Which is much more than I can say for the decidedly ungracious booing of Sen. McCain’s “supporters.”

Today was such a beautiful day, that we were compelled to go out to vote. Well, we had decided that there were too many important issues at stake to stay home, so even if it had been hailing ice cubes, we would have ventured forth. Living in a relatively conservative part of California, there was hardly any waiting around. We just went in, did our thing, and came back out. They didn’t give us our “I Voted!” stickers…must be the rotten economy causing them to be so stingy lol.

I debated long and hard with myself over voting for Barack Obama, if for no other reason but that the economy seems to thrive when a Democrat is in office. In the end, I couldn’t get over his FISA vote. I think, however, that if I were in a battleground state like Ohio, I probably would have voted for him. The clear choice, with the issues I care about, turned out to be Cynthia McKinney…so that’s who I voted for. The old folks, though, were more pragmatic and went for Senator Obama, and I am happy they did.

Now, here we are…after a long and eventful 2 years, waiting to see who the winner will be. Two years of campaigning are being decided in a handful of hours. Last night, I thoroughly enjoyed (re)watching the SNL skits of the past year. And now, I’m refreshing about a million times the news web sites that are delivering every minute iota of election results, and seeing that Senator Obama just might seize Pennsylvania.

May the best man win, and may he do what is best for America and the world.

The Katie Couric interview. It was a disaster. I was shocked by how the SNL skit of that interview was so faithful to the interview itself.

Frankly, I am dissappointed that Gov. Palin turned out to be so absolutely confused and uninformed. And I feel horribly for Sen. McCain that he chose so badly.

I can’t stop shaking my head in amusement/fear. The amusement is for the fact that Senator McCain did the unthinkable, the unimaginable, and the absolutely unknowable. He selected a woman, and not just any woman, as his VP; but this is a woman who the media was scrambling to look for details on. That was entertaining. Also entertaining was watching New Politics Obama’s campaign manager come up with this as a first response:

Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency. Governor Palin shares John McCain’s commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush’s failed economic policies — that’s not the change we need, it’s just more of the same,” said Bill Burton, Obama Campaign Spokesman.

Haha…she ain’t just a former mayor, she’s a Governor. If you’ve governed anything in your life, like just even your own kids, you know that it’s a constant battle of your apparent power vs. your charge’s definite wit and strength. Poking fun at the job she has to do was a sad indication of how audacious an Obama change will be. Last time I checked, Alaska was still a state worth holding on to; if it was that irrelevant, why the hell is it part of the Union?! And how many cities were Senators Obama and Biden mayors of; and when were they ever governors of anything, to be knocking her experience? A more classy first reaction was definitely called for.

It struck a bit of fear in me, because it seems like a wild card like a McCain/Palin ticket just might be something many disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters would go for, just for the hell of it. I wonder if the country should go Republican for a third term. I kind of like it when we have a Republican-Democrat seesaw. In addition, the idea of Roe v. Wade being threatened, if that’s even realistically possible, is disturbing to me. Fundamentally, I am a pro-life person, of course. But, there are situations when a woman would realistically, seriously, and necessarily may need to pursue the horrible option of abortion, such as in instances of rape, incest, or a pregnancy that poses a threat to her own life. I don’t think that government should be legislating our moral positions in situations such as these. Also, after I watched NOW last night, and saw how Republicans are going after affirmative action, it really disturbed me to consider our country going more deeply conservative.

Soooo tonight was the night with the speech America was waiting on the edge of it’s collective seat for, with all of us (even me–booo me) waiting for at least a few substantive soundbites to pop out of Senator Obama’s speech. I had seen ABC News hyping the fact that today was the anniversary of Reverend King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and I thought, “Wow, Sen. Obama is accepting the nomination on such a cosmically coincidental day, I’m sure it’ll be a speech that will fire me up with enthusiasm for him.” I also saw a clip on ABC with Charlie Gibson interviewing Michelle Obama, and in it they were saying to listen for the last paragraph of the speech, because it will be killer-good.

I listened. I even was listening for MLK references. I was listening for a gratification for MLK’s Dream coming to reality. I was listening, and I was trying to fall in love. I did fall in love with the part about 95% Americans getting a tax-cut. But, I could not fall in love with the overall tone. I didn’t feel my heart explode. I didn’t feel the ground shake. I can’t even remember anything he said, and it’s not like there was a whole of technical mumbo-jumbo. And I was relieved to hear that I was not the only one who was not wowed.

David Brooks was on PBS, and was underwhelmed. Tavis Smiley had on Drs. Cornell West (whose thoughts I love to hear) and Julianne Malveaux, and they were downright shocked. I thank them for either being as insanely out of touch as me, or for simply being let down by the terribly high expectations and telling it like it is.

You know what I like love about Bill Clinton? He is a rock star with class. Tonight, he delivered a ringing endorsement for Barack Obama that was more gracious and sincere than anybody on the losing side of any game should be expected to deliver. But, he is Bill Clinton, and he did what only he can do. Whenever I lose, I can only dream of losing with such class, such grace, and such magnanimity.

President Clinton had to plead (while clearly loving the adoration!) with the crowd to stop cheering for him, which had me amazed and made me laugh. And his speech moved me, and made me actually want to vote for Senator Obama. That is shocking, to say the least. The thing that made me think of the brighter Clinton years, and really made me yearn for those years, was when he said:

People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.

That is a line that should go down in the quotation books of the ages. I sincerely hope that a President Obama will help our nation lead by the power of example. Can Barack Obama give us a third Clintonian term, in terms of prosperity, peace, and security? That is a question that only time can answer. Go forth, Obamatrons, and get over the Clinton machine. The Clinton machine certainly did it’s job with a rousing one-two punch!

Bravo, President Clinton.

My God, if I didn’t know better, and if she had been the last Democrat standing, I think I would have actually voted for Senator Clinton. That lady rocked the rafters of the Convention Center, and if anybody has any criticism of that speech, I will be shocked. I know she did not retract her 3 am ad, but it’s ridiculous to demand that of her. Why on earth should a former candidate go back on her beliefs about herself, or her former opponent, just because she’s no longer in the running? Wouldn’t that be a very old politics thing to do, would it not be somewhat disingenuous? If she said it once tonight how proud she is to support Barack Obama, then frankly that would be one time for him and his campaign and supporters to be grateful for. But no, she said it several times. If there was any woman in the non-Muslim world whose grace, charisma, and dedication that I would want to emulate in my professional life, that woman would be Hillary Clinton. She inspired me, and although I voted for Kucinich in the primaries, I was choked up to see her go tonight. Bill Clinton, you chose an amazing woman, and I thank you for giving us her as a former First Lady to be proud of.

That speech needed help. I’ll give it to you bluntly: there was no introduction, no plot, and no conclusion. (Much like my blog posts, but I’m not in a bid for First Lady, so nobody really cares.) First of all, you did not thank the crowd for being there; of course, every other speaker already thanked them, but so what? They clapped for you, you thank them too. Basic courtesy MIA; an innocent oversight, but you’re at the DNC, not a campaign stop in a small town. Secondly, I’m glad that your brother and you have an awesome relationship, with all the ups and downs that come with it…but your bro isn’t running for Prez. Really, I needed to know why you love Mr. Obama, not that you love him and believe he will be an extraordinary president. I know you believe that…but I still don’t know why (beyond the fact that he has a funny name, which if I hear one more time…). I got it when you repeatedly pointed out that America made you into who you are today, how you are where and what you are because of America…and I know you had to stress that point due to that unfortunately misinterpreted remark many moons ago. Really, over-apologizing for other people’s manipulations of your words is a sign of insecurity. I want a secure and strong First Lady. Stop apologizing for that, even in a round-about way. Thirdly, if you’re going to hand your kids the microphone while the Presidential Candidate is on a live video feed, then warn him a couple of hours in advance. The man looked totally flustered when the little girl popped in with her sweet “What city are you in, Daddy?” It was cute, and funny, but then became kind of cringe-inducing upon seeing our future possible Commander in Chief flummoxed at being interrupted.

And finally…What were you wearing?! Was that a cocktail dress?! Why was that dress so freaking skin-tight? I know you’re hip and cool and edgy, but really…invest in a few professional outfits for these kinds of occasions. My God, that was a nightmare to behold. I know, I know, that is not a politically correct thing to say; after all in this day and age, should we still be commenting on a woman’s attire? Of course, I would contend, we should…especially when the attire is all wrong for the situation. You’re going to be First Lady, not First Supermodel!