THE FIRST ONE HUNDRED DAYS

Okay, so he got the job. Hopes are running high. Most people (with the exception of tiresome gasbag Rush Limbaugh) wish him well. After all, his success is tied to the success of the nation. How long do we give him? A presidency is often judged by it's first one hundred days.

Bush entered the White House in a time of peace and prosperity, and soon wrapped himself in 9-11 like a magic cloak to ward off criticism. People gave him every opportunity to succeed. Remember? Before he squandered our trust, his popularity was sky high, and many felt it was unpatriotic to criticize the president. He encouraged the view.

Times have changed. Obama walks in alone, in the middle of a great national crisis. Let's give the new guy a chance. Good luck, Mr. President.

"One Hundred Days" by Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings

INAUGURATION DAY!

President Obama and first lady Michele Obama, Inauguration Day, 1/20/2009

Over two million people crowded the National Mall this morning to watch Obama get sworn in as our 44th president. A new era begins...finally. He gave a rousing inaugural address, and called for unity and responsibility.

"We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals," he said at one point, a jab at the last man to hold the job. "We've chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over discord." There were tough times ahead, but "we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work."

(Watch the complete speech above, or read the full text which is linked below.)


President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama leave the presidential limousine to walk in the inaugural parade.


Raw video: Obama parades to the White House.

"The sun's rising glow illuminated a mass of humanity gathering on the Mall this morning, a singing, celebrating and at times solemn sea of people wrapped in layers head to toe and determined to claim a piece of history by witnessing the inauguration of Barack Obama as the nation's 44th president." -Washington Post, 1/20/09

Read the full text of Obama's speech here.

YES! OBAMA WINS!

Barack Obama wins the presidential election with 349 electoral votes to John McCain's 147. Obama becomes the 44th president of the United States of America in the largest voter turnout in 90 years--since women got the vote.


Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert announce the historic news.


Juan Williams describes the road leading to the first black president in America's history, and gets a little choked up.


President-elect Obama's victory speech

ALASKAN PANEL FINDS PALIN ABUSED POWER

"A legislative investigation has concluded that Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power in pushing for the firing of an Alaska state trooper who was once married to her sister, or by failing to prevent her husband Todd from doing so." - Anchorage Daily News, 10/10/08

"Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin violated ethics laws and abused her power as governor in pressing to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, an independent legislative investigation concluded today." -- Los Angeles Times, 10/10/08

"No matter your partisan leanings, it's hard to see this as a good headline for Palin with less than a month to go before the election." - Washington Post, 10/10/08

REBEL MUSIC

Mexico

Believe it or not, there's a whole world out there. It exists beyond the Comfort Zone, beyond the Green Zone, beyond the reality TV and the mega-mall and the air-conditioned hotel lobby, beyond the walled cities and armed borders.

These rebel songs are a reminder that people everywhere want the same things. Starting in Mexico, and then Argentina, and finally on to Jamaica for a song from Bob Marley.

Argentina

Jamaica

McCAIN FINDS PERFECT RUNNING MATE

Rumors are circulating that John McCain has found the perfect running mate. We knew that. We expect an announcement soon. You can't hide a love so strong.

Some say he is trying to steal the thunder from the historic nomination of Barack Obama and his selection of Joe Biden. Some say he is a damaged and angry man who sold his soul for power. Some say he did it all for George, the love of his life, and George tossed him aside like a used Kleenex.

Not counting George W. Bush, possible McCain running mates being discussed have included Mitt Romney, Condoleeza Rice, and Republicrat Joe Lieberman, who will be speaking at the Republican National Convention to be held next week on the seventh level of Hell.

OBAMA PICKS BIDEN FOR VEEP

Barack Obama just picked Senator Joseph Biden to be his running mate. Joe Biden is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and brings a wealth of foreign policy expertise to the Obama campaign.

Meanwhile, across town, John McCain is losing track of how many houses he owns. So much for the common man angle. (By the way, the number is seven.) Is anybody in his right mind voting for this guy?

RANTING ABOUT RACE

With Barack Obama as the nominee, racism will undoubtedly be a factor in the upcoming Presidential election. Some people just won't vote for him because he's black, and it's a shame.

The elephant in the room isn't race, exactly, but the fact that racism is a sign of ignorance. Simply put, racists are stupid. No one wants to risk "alienating" these voters, but everyone knows racism is prevalent among less-educated, less knowledgeable people. All the politically correct commentators trip all over themselves to avoid saying "stupid," citing sociological factors, economic determinants, political differences, religious upbringing, psychology, xenophobia, but let's be honest. Racists are stupid. Everyone knows it. It's like believing the world is flat; racism is an outdated position that's not backed up by the facts. There aren't two sides to the issue. Instead of red and blue states, we should have smart and dumb states, then people might be embarrassed and try to grow up.

I know I sound elitist, but our country is in dire need of intelligent leadership -- especially after such a long stretch of stupidity. By now, even the slow learners are beginning to see that ignorance doesn't work. It's time to get over primitive fear-mongering based on race -- and gender, and class, as well. It's time to give up such antiquated superstitions. It's time to get smart.

SAY GOODNIGHT, HILLARY

I guess it wasn't Hillary's fault she made those ill-advised remarks about the RFK assassination as a reason for remaining in the race. It was Obama's fault. That's the spin from the Hillary camp, anyway.

From the Washington Post:

"Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign accused Sen. Barack Obama's campaign of fanning a controversy over her describing the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy late in the 1968 Democratic primary as one reason she is continuing to run for the presidency.

"The Obama campaign tried to take these words out of context," Clinton campaign chairman Terence R. McAuliffe said on "Fox News Sunday." "She was making a point merely about the time line."

Hillary, please. Mathematically, the game is nearly over. Try keeping a shred of dignity. Say goodnight, Hillary.

SAY GOODNIGHT, HILLARY

Hillary knocks back one for the road. After Tuesday, when she got trounced by Barrack Obama in North Carolina and had a slimmer than expected victory in Indiana, even some former supporters urged her to quit the race. Former Hillary supporter George McGovern switched his support to Obama, and called for her to quit the campaign trail for the good of the party and the country. Many fear the Democrats will destroy each other, and only strengthen the Republicans.

So far, Hillary has ignored calls to leave the race gracefully. She is demanding that the votes be counted in Florida and Michigan, where Obama wasn't even on the ballot. She is busy spinning recent events her way, and tossing a few questionable remarks at Obama:

" 'I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on,' she said in an interview with USA Today. As evidence, Clinton cited an Associated Press article 'that found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states (those voting in Tuesday's Indiana and North Carolina primaries) who had not completed college were supporting me.' " - quoted from the LA Times

For more on Hillary's dwindling options, click HERE. And HERE.

THE LOW ROAD TO VICTORY

On the heels of her Pennsylvania victory, Hillary Clinton is getting slapped by a New York Times editorial -- a paper that endorsed her presidential bid earlier this year.

The editorial board says the New York senator's "negativity" is doing "harm to her, her opponent, her party and the 2008 election."

"The Pennsylvania campaign, which produced yet another inconclusive result on Tuesday, was even meaner, more vacuous, more desperate, and more filled with pandering than the mean, vacuous, desperate, pander-filled contests that preceded it."

To read the editorial, "The Low Road to Victory" from Wednesday's New York Times, click here.

DANCE OF THE SUPERDELEGATES

Democracy, be damned! According the the Associated Press, one delegate, one vote doesn't apply to the superdelegates.

"These prominent Democrats can name additional superdelegates, giving them control over multiple convention votes, and that could be the difference in a race that may not be decided until the August convention."

While Barack Obama has been leading the popular vote, Hillary Clinton has more superdelegate committments -- though that lead is shrinking. Still, the race could be decided by "important party-members" rather than the public, which would not bode well for peace at the convention. Remember Chicago 1968?

Can superdelegates thwart the will of the majority? Evidently so, according to Democratic National Committee Chairman, and declawed firebrand, Howard Dean, who says superdelegates should not feel compelled to reflect the popular vote. He also said superdelegates were free to weigh the disputed primary results in Florida and Michigan, primaries where Obama didn't campaign, and in the case of Michigan wasn't even on the ballot.

That's good news for Hillary. With recent reports that the former First Lady was privately telling senior Democrats that rival Obama is unelectable, a new light is cast on the power of superdelegates and the way they are lobbied. Are these powerful citizens -- and they are still only citizens, after all -- really the equivalent of the House of Lords, a safeguard against commoners having too much decision-making power? Are they good for us?

The whole thing stinks, if you ask me. Why should we be stuck with the will of the people when it makes mistakes (i.e. sides with powerful interests) and denied that will when there is a progressive grassroots movement for change (i.e. a challenge to powerful interests). You know why, right?

One more thing. Superdelegates can spawn more superdelegates. From the AP: "The clout of the nearly 800 superdelegates is unprecedented in this year's race because neither Obama nor Clinton can clinch the nomination with only the delegates won in state primaries and caucuses. Largely overlooked in the arcane process, though, is the power of a select few to complete the superdelegate ranks by naming 76 newbies, and Clinton and Obama are fighting hard over every one of those from state conventions to back rooms."

BILL CLINTON: "SCREW IT, I'M RUNNING!"

CHARLESTON, SC—After spending two months accompanying his wife, Hillary, on the campaign trail, former president Bill Clinton announced Monday that he is joining the 2008 presidential race, saying he "could no longer resist the urge."

"My fellow Americans, I am sick and tired of not being president," said Clinton, introducing his wife at a "Hillary '08" rally.

For the rest of the article, visit the satirical newspaper, "The Onion." Click HERE.