Barack Obama: Confirmed to be 44th President of the United States

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]There are plenty of policy areas where I disagree with Obama, but also several where I agree.

That aside, Obama has achieved a historic victory today. No question there. Congratulations to him - he's an honorable man and he does deserve this victory. I'm sure Martin Lurther King would feel like his dream had been fulfilled, if he could see this election. That can't possibly be understated.

I think even if you disagree with Obama politically, you'd at least have to acknowledge the enormity of his victory and what it says about American society at this point in time.

As for McCain...he's also a highly honorable man. He's been terribly misrepresented by many on the left, but he's also made his own poor choices during the campaign. And I think the times just do not suit him at the moment. Still, he's been a strong candidate and a skilled politician.

As I said in another thread, America was very lucky this time. There were two great candidates. It was really about who was better, rather than who was the lesser of two evils. That's really a great thing. [/font]

[The Spectacular Professor]

[quote name='Europa'][COLOR="Blue"]Heh. I liketh your post, Anomaly. Heck yeah!!!!!!!!!! To Matt, why do you have to say that? I mean, seriously, don't spoil the joy yet. :animedepr I doubt he will screw up. He's the best man for the job. He's young, and that's good because he's going to be holding the world on his shoulders. As for McCain, again,[B] you're holding the weight of the world on your shoulders as president, so, at his age, he really shouldn't be a president,[/B] it's too much for his body, and when he dies, who's going to be in office? Palin.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Wait a sec....

Nope, does not compute.

WHAT?

In other news, most of the other 42 guys wish to speak to you. Also, I'm gonna go ahead and point out that if Obama expires before his term does, Biden, who is only 6 years younger than McCain, takes over. And considering some of Hilary Clinton's earlier predictions, I'd say he's about as likely to die as McCain would be.

As for the actual election, congrats Obama. I didn't really care for either candidate much anyway, but the majority has spoken and I suppose that's reason to celebrate.

Kamina/Boota '12.[/FONT]

[Lunar]

[quote name='Ace'][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Wait a sec....

Nope, does not compute.

WHAT?

In other news, most of the other 42 guys wish to speak to you. Also, I'm gonna go ahead and point out that if Obama expires before his term does, Biden, who is only 6 years younger than McCain, takes over.[/FONT][/QUOTE]


[COLOR="Blue"]Hopefully, Obama does not expire before his term does. There's alot of people who don't want him to be president.

A person 6 years younger than McCain is better than someone inexperienced.:p[/COLOR]

[Nathan]

[FONT="Arial"][quote name='Miss Anonymous'] let it be because you disagree with their policies, not because of their gender, age or race.[/quote]I can guarantee that for many of us who are Democrats, it was all about policy and not irrelevant details like gender, race or age.

Now even though Utah is a Red state and my vote for Obama didn't garner any electoral votes, I am very, very pleased to see that he has won. As someone who is voting for the third time since I was old enough. I'm glad to finally see a candidate I wanted to win, [I]actually[/I] win.

Enough to warrant using this: :catgirl:

And in closing... Anomaly, that image is totally awesome. [/FONT]

[The Spectacular Professor]

[quote name='Europa'][COLOR="Blue"] A person 6 years younger than McCain is better than someone inexperienced.:p[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Oh, jeez, I forgot.

[I]What was that complaint about Obama lacking something back during the primaries again?[/I][/FONT];)

[Nony]

[quote name='Nathan'][FONT="Arial"]I can guarantee that for many of us who are Democrats, it was all about policy and not irrelevant details like gender, race or age.[/FONT][/QUOTE]

And I thank you for that.
I certainly hope the same is true for all Americans; Republican, Democrat, and all the parties inbetween.

[Cat]

[quote name='James'][FONT=franklin gothic medium]There are plenty of policy areas where I disagree with Obama, but also several where I agree.

That aside, Obama has achieved a historic victory today. No question there. Congratulations to him - he's an honorable man and he does deserve this victory. I'm sure Martin Lurther King would feel like his dream had been fulfilled, if he could see this election. That can't possibly be understated.

I think even if you disagree with Obama politically, you'd at least have to acknowledge the enormity of his victory and what it says about American society at this point in time.

As for McCain...he's also a highly honorable man. He's been terribly misrepresented by many on the left, but he's also made his own poor choices during the campaign. And I think the times just do not suit him at the moment. Still, he's been a strong candidate and a skilled politician.

As I said in another thread, America was very lucky this time. There were two great candidates. It was really about who was better, rather than who was the lesser of two evils. That's really a great thing. [/FONT][/quote]

I agree whole heartily with James. It was not about which one is better but the lesser of two evils. There is no question in today being historic.

I voted based on the policies both men brought in their campaign. I also voted on based the running partners of McCain and Obama. During the end of the presidency race I didn't like either one. Each candidate had pros and cons and one candidate out weighed the other for me.

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]And I think the age thing just needs to stop. Judging based on age is often similar to judging based on race or other factors - there's no sudden expiry date for when someone can or can't have a certain job.

What matters is their ability to do that job and to take that responsibility. If they feel they have the stamina for it, good for them.

After all, a younger man could die tomorrow from a heart attack or god knows what else.

Ageism is not a nice thing and shouldn't play a part in this, I think (either saying someone is too old... or too young).[/font]

[SaiyanPrincessX]

[SIZE="1"][IMG]http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gawker/2008/11/obamacain700.jpg[/IMG]

Something my brother sent me. The issues and policies are what really matters.[/SIZE]

[Dagger]

"We are, and always will be, the United States of America."

I'm not gonna lie, I seriously teared up.

~Dagger~

[eleanor]

[font=trebuchet ms] McCain's speech was very dignified, I really loved how he handled it. A lot of people here applauded him when he was done, I think he was a good candidate, I just thought Obama was better.[/font]

[The Spectacular Professor]

[quote name='SaiyanPrincessX'][SIZE="1"][IMG]http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gawker/2008/11/obamacain700.jpg[/IMG]

Something my brother sent me. The issues and policies are what really matters.[/SIZE][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Oh, hell. he looks like Jim Carrey.[/FONT]

[SaiyanPrincessX]

[quote name='Ace'][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Oh, hell. he looks like Jim Carrey.[/FONT][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]Haha, wow he does kind of resemble Jim Carrey. McCain looks like a character from The Sims or something. o_o;

I actually haven't heard their speeches yet. I'll have to catch the re-runs.[/SIZE]

[Rachmaninoff]

Wow, I was worried he wouldn't win so it's nice to see that he actually [I]did[/I]. Utah is of course going Red like it always does so I'm really glad to see it going otherwise in other states. Since it certainly didn't here. Making my vote kind of useless, at least for here that is. XP

This is decidedly odd or rather it feels odd. It's only the third time that I've been able to vote, but it's the first time where the party I wanted to win, actually did win. It's rather ironic since there are a lot of really depressed people around here right now. o_O I kid you not. Some of the people in my apartment complex are carrying on like it's the end of the world.

[Drizzt Do'urden]

[quote name='Europa'][COLOR="Blue"]
A person 6 years younger than McCain is better than someone inexperienced.:p[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

I was reading this thread for the first time just now and had to post a reply even before finishing it. Obama was the most inexperienced choice, sure he has some time in the senate but no real leadership time. Palin at least is in a head office seat, though arguably on a much, much smaller scale.

I just hope he stands as strong as he did on the campaign trail when he is confronted by Iran and North Korea in a few years.

[Nony]

I have a liberal friend who said she would cry if McCain won. XP

Now, I think that's a little unfair, for whoever might've won in this case.
I won't go into despair over Obama's win unless he really starts to screw up the country. Honestly, I just hope he (not to mention Congress) does his job well and doesn't get too carried away.

[Sangome]

[SIZE="1"]The main thing I worry about is Obama's policy on the Iraq war. Is he pulling everyone out right away? Slowly? Looking over it first? Because if he does the first thing, I will be absolutely [i]terrified[/i], since that means all the bombers will have nothing to stop them from coming over here.

Other than that...crap, I might have voted for the guy.

...also, not to sound racist, but black!McCain scares me immensely.[/SIZE]

[Drizzt Do'urden]

[quote name='Sangome'][SIZE="1"]The main thing I worry about is Obama's policy on the Iraq war. Is he pulling everyone out right away? Slowly? Looking over it first? SIZE][/QUOTE]

I'm sure he'll look over it first, but his "plan" is to pull our troops out of Iraq and place them in Afghanistan which as a servicemen I absolutely disagree with, it honestly scares me as well. Not for fear of increased terrorist attempts, pulling out of Iraq won't really do that. If, however, we do pull out of Iraq quickly we're dooming many good people to die horribly. I know there are going to be people, I believe we've had a similar debate on here, who say "oh let them die, they're going to die anyways".

Just a scenario, we get tasked for jobs to the AEF (the middle east) every year. When jobs going to Iraq come up, the slots fill up immediateally with people from our unit. When they come up for Afghanistan, however, the tasking goes out to other units well over half the time due to people not volunteering.

[Darren]

[quote name='Miss Anonymous']This is something that has bothered me about people who are against McCain.
I hate the excuse that you shouldn't have voted for McCain because of his age. If you're going to vote against a candidate, let it be because you disagree with their policies, not because of their gender, age or race.[/QUOTE]
The same can be said for those who voted [I]for[/I] Obama just because of his race. I know a lot of people here who voted for him just because he's black and that really infuriates me! Seriously, learn the policies that a candidate has before you vote. I'm backing Obama 100%, though. I would have backed McCain too if he were elected. I think that's what Americans should do. At least until the president royally screws up. I preferred to vote independent, but Nader didn't make Oklahoma's ticket and there was no way I was going to vote for McCain. (And not because of his age) I do think Senator Obama's inexperienced and he's got a lot to prove what with his entire campaign slogan being about change. But I have faith.

Then again, I had faith in George W. way back when. Things can change so easily. We'll have to wait and see.

I think it's interesting to see how close the popular vote was as of 11:00 central time. it was 51/49 for Obama. (I don't know how it is now)

[Nony]

[quote name='Darren']The same can be said for those who voted [I]for[/I] Obama just because of his race. I know a lot of people here who voted for him just because he's black and that really infuriates me! Seriously, learn the policies that a candidate has before you vote.[/QUOTE]

Oh yeah, totally! I bet a lot of people did that too, which is unfortunate. I guess as long as they also agreed with his policies, it's not as bad, but honestly. :/
And I agree with you about backing up the President, whether or not you voted for 'em, until they royally screw up. I'm not gonna be a sore loser, just a slight skeptic for now. lol

[Drizzt Do'urden]

Now you can't really play the "People just voted for him because he's black" card, because there are many people heck who I even know, who didn't vote for him because he was black. Plus when you consider that over 60% of people in the U.S. are white, and only something like 12% in the last census were black there's no real logic in worrying about whether he won due to his race.

I applaud the fact that we have a black president, though I do wish it would have been a more satisfying victory. During a time when republicans are under so much fire for the current economy (which if you look to history, the first 2 years (on average) of a presidents term are almost always leftovers of the previous preident. The economy started to spiral down almost as soon as Bush was elected (so if you believe statistics it wasn't totally his fault).

Not making excuses, things haven't been the best with Bush. But because of that, more people (this is just based on the people I know) were likely to vote because they wanted a democrat in office no matter who it was, then because of race.

[Nony]

Oh no, I'm not claiming he got elected based off a certain population that may or may not have voted for him just because he's black. I'm saying such a thing is unfortunate; I would prefer they did so purely on policies alone.

And I agree with you; I think to a certain extent it didn't matter who the Democratic candidate was. People just didn't want anything that could be compared to Bush, which (unfortunately) means less popularity for the Republican side.

[Darren]

[quote name='Drizzt Do'urden']Now you can't really play the "People just voted for him because he's black" card, because there are many people heck who I even know, who didn't vote for him because he was black. Plus when you consider that over 60% of people in the U.S. are white, and only something like 12% in the last census were black there's no real logic in worrying about whether he won due to his race.[/QUOTE]
[SIZE="1"]Well, I don't know about that. This election was record breaking in the areas of young and black voters... And it's fine, as long as they voted on the issues, not his race. (Which I doubt)

And let's take your scenario Drizzt: Let's say 12% are black. (Which isn't correct, but I'm not gonna argue) Let's say 11% voted for Obama. (Because I know there are some black people out there who voted for McCain. It was probably less than 1% but oh well) Then let's combine that with muslim voters, latino voters, immigrants, (who have achieved residency) gays and lesbians, and all the other minorities which make up the remaining 40%. The demographics have shown that these minorities also voted for Obama, for the most part. Then, you've got 60% white. (And just for the sake of argument, let's say that the majority of white folk voted for McCain)

Obama still won the popular vote. Why? Well, I would like to think that it was because of his policies, (and I'm going to stick by that opinion) but I can't help but think that a large part of the popular vote went to Obama simply because of his race. Let's face it, minority groups relate to Obama far more than McCain. The same way, if you want to throw age in there since young voters really voiced their opinion this election, young voters relate more with a younger president.

And yes, coming for a very red state, (and a large portion of my family doesn't have a problem with saying they're racist) I know a lot of people who voted for McCain simply because Obama's black.

And actually, thinking about the current percentage rates on popular votes according to CNN, your scenario seems about right. It's almost split evenly. The only way to change it in favor of Obama would be to take some of those white folk and assume they voted for Obama. (which they did)

It's times like these I'm thankful for the Electoral process that we have because if it were all a popularity contest, I have no doubt that this country would be worse off.

As for the economy, You'll notice that it's gotten worse since Bush has been in office. I was a little too young to remember Clinton's administration, but I don't think the economy plummeted right after Bush went into office. It plummeted right after 9/11, which had absolutely nothing to do with either Clinton nor Bush. (It just so happened that it was right after Bush went into office) However, this current economic crisis is entirely on Bush's shoulders.[/SIZE]

[TheShinje]

This is awesome. Even over here in New Zealand you couldn't help but get swept away by the US election which dwarfed our own in many ways. I'm a center-right voter here who usually ends up supporting the Republicans, but I ended up supporting the Democrats and endorsing Barack Obama this time around because I believe his policies and his solution to the economic crisis are the best way forward for the USA, even if this all but scuttles NZ's free trade with the US hopes. :)

After everything, John McCain was a fine candidate and he would have made an excellent commander-in-chief himself. His folly was his inability to effectively separate himself from President Bush until late in the piece, and he really wasn't some sort of Bush clone. I hated it how his supporters booed him when he talked about his concession, he was statesmanlike and gracious while hsi rabid followers couldn't hold back their bile.

Barack Obama has earned his place in history. I now await January 20 when I can call him President Obama,

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR="Sienna"][FONT="Tahoma"]Well I didn't vote since I'm not old enough. But if I could have voted, it would have been for Obama, so to see that he had won when I got up this morning, was sweet. :catgirl:

Personally I think this is really nifty in so many ways. He's going to have his work cut out for him though. I'm going to have to read up on this when I get home from school, it's going to be interesting, since nearly everyone I know is Republican. o_O

I guess it comes from being in a red state and based on the information... the area I'm actually in... that percentage is 78% So win or not...

I'm [I]soooo[/I] in the minority here when it comes to being happy over the results. ^^[/FONT][/COLOR]