Obama Thank-Yous

President-elect Barack Obama officially became the "coolest" black man in the world this week. In reality, he'd probably already supplanted Dezel, but winning the presidency solidified his standing. Now black people will have the opportunity to view a true black role model of excellence every day and night on the net, television and in the print media.

Colbert I. King writes in the Washington Post about all the folks that Obama needs to thank for his election. Among the list are:

• Bill and Hillary Clinton
• Rev. Jeremiah Wright
• Virginia Gov. Tom Kaine
• U.S. Secret Service
• Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity
• Katie Couric

Obama didn't ascend to the presidency without assistance, but we owe him a debt of gratitude for risking his life, and time with his family to bless us with his presence as he's about to take on the toughest job in the world.

Is It Time For Al To Get Another Job

The Rev. Al Sharpton has made a career of fighting for the injustices of all people, but mainly black people. He's actually parlayed it into a nearly million dollar a year annual salary position. With the President-elect being a black man, Gary Bauer writes in HumanEvents.com that it's time for Sharpton to dust off his resume because of the election of Barack Obama, and the fact that 80% of the people who voted stated that "race" was not a factor in the election.

Bauer of course is writing from a conservative perspective in this article. His sentiment on the surface is very closed minded, when I hear reports of students going to school the day after the election with Obama shirts on and being heckled by white students. I think that black people are allowed to have this moment of celebration, and in the end look at the qualities that Obama exhibited to become president: brilliance; savvy; hard work; good decision making, incorporate them into our everyday lives and shoot for the stars, not worrying about what the rest of the world believes or thinks.

Hoping Barack Keeps His Word

Christine M. Flowers writes a pretty eloquent article in the Philadelphia Daily News from a conservative perspective. Flowers states openly that she voted for Sen John McCain, but is willing to give President-elect Barack Obama a fair chance hoping that he keeps his word of being a "change" agent. She calls Obama a brilliant man who has shown that he can win elections, organize communities and create alliances, but questions whether he can run a country.

Conservative pundits continue to label Obama as radical, and far left. With the conditions in our country, I don't envision Obama governing from a far left perspective. He's much too smart, and has to know that a far left governing style will doom his administration. He'll have to be a true "change" agent and build consensus among party lines to truly be successful.

Obama Election Night Photos

The The New York Post reports that Barack Obama's campaign has posted behind the scenes election night photographs on the website Flickr.com. The newspaper site posted these behind the scenes photographs on their site that captures the historic moment in vivid detail.

Music Executive Jheryl Busby Dead At 59

Famed music executive Jheryl Busby, who helped guide such career as Bobby Brown, New Edition and Boyz II Men died Tuesday according to the Los Angeles Times. Busby was 59.

How Obama Rewrote History

Time.com writes about how President-elect Barack Obama rewrote the book and became the first African American elected as President of the United States of America. Obama has indeed made history, and all of America is putting it's hope in the man who has beat the odds. I truly think that he's up to the challenge, and will be just fine.

Limbaugh Calls Obama "A Good Old-Fashioned Chicago Thug"

Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh made the following quote yesterday while describing President-elect Barack Obama's selection of Rahm Emanuel as his Chief of Staff:

Also, this notion of governing from the center? His first appointment, his chief of staff is Rahm Emanuel. Do we know if Emanuel has accepted? Rahm Emanuel wants to be Speaker of the House. Let me tell you a little bit about Rahm Emanuel. Hillary Clinton hates him. In the White House, Rahm Emanuel pushed NAFTA and made that go first instead of her health care baby, and her health care baby suffered. There’s no love lost between Rahm Emanuel and Hillary Clinton, and he is good a old-fashioned Chicago thug just like Obama is a good old-fashioned Chicago thug. On the night of the Clinton election, Rahm Emanuel was so angry at the president’s enemies that he stood up at a celebratory dinner with colleagues from the campaign; Rahm Emanuel grabbed a steak knife and he began rattling off a list of betrayers.
As he listed their names, he shouted, “Dead! Dead! Dead!” and he plunged the steak knife into the table after every name.

An interesting quote from Mr. Limbaugh. I guess he' still upset that "Operation Chaos" wasn't successful in derailing the Obama campaign.

Rev. Wright Is Back!

President-elect Barack Obama's former pastor has been in exile for the last few months, but now that the election is over, and Obama has won, is it just a coincidence that Rev. Wright resurfaced last night at a Milford, Conn. church.

Foxnews.com reports that Rev. Wright while speaking at a forum on race and religion criticized the media for taking his sermons out of context. Wright also made the following quotes regarding the media, and whether Obama agreed with his sermons:

"Their intention was to use me as a weapon of mass destruction, to tear down that man's integrity."

"Do you agree with everything your pastor says?" Wright asked. "Ninety percent of the people sitting in church don't agree with everything their pastor says. What I saw is not an index on what he did or does not believe."

It's good to see Rev. Jeremiah Wright returning from his sabbatical. The conservative pundits are sure to have a field day with his quotes, and will similarly link them with the President-elect.

Obama Prepares For The Transition

President-elect Barack Obama has begun the process of selecting his transition team and assembling his cabinet. He's made an offer to Rep. Rahm Emanuel to become his Chief of Staff. Emanuel is said to be weighing the offer according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Newsweek is running a Transition Toteboard handicapping the the top candidates for Obama's cabinet positions. The toteboard shows Sen. John Kerry as the front runner for Secretary of State stating that Obama owes Kerry for his early endorsement of the President-Elect over Hillary Clinton.

Now that the euphoria of the election is over, we'll know pretty quickly if Obama's is in payback mode as a president, or if he'll really be the "Change" President.

Kevin Johnson Becomes First Black Mayor of Sacramento

I'd been following the Kevin Johnson story since starting my blog, and in the euphoria of the moment forgot to confirm that he'd won the election to become the first black mayor of Sacramento, CA. Kevin Johnson, better known as "K.J." during his days as an NBA star is a native of Sacramento, and transformed his former high school into a charter school, raising academic requirements and expectations for the students.

The Sacramento Bee reports on Johnson's path to victory, and that his first item of business will be dealing with the city's budget crisis.

McCain/Palin Infighting Being Reported

In the aftermath of the Barack Obama presidential election victory, the John McCain camp is apparently trying to end Sarah Palin's national political career before it begins. The New York Times is reporting that top McCain advisers are openly criticizing Palin, calling her difficult and looking openly looking past 2008 towards her own long term ambitions.

An interesting story on how quickly political fortunes, and loyalties can change after a campaign loss. Perhaps if McCain had property vetted Gov. Palin, he would have chosen another running mate. All politicians have egos, and it had to be angering the McCain camp that Palin had become the media darling of the party.

He Closed The Deal!

Last night Sen. Barack Obama became President Elect Barack Obama at around 11 p.m. Eastern Time. The title change made him the first African American President of the United States and set off a worldwide celebration of historic proportions. The significance of Obama's accomplishment cannot really be explained in words, except to say that through all of the struggles of our ancestors, through the Civil Rights movement, the pain, humiliation and death that black people endured in the name of equality, the moment was euphoric.

When you consider that just 4 years ago Barack Obama was a Senator from Illinois, and in a very short period of time captivated a country and world, it has to show black people that anything is indeed possible. I often write, and look for stories that impact the urban areas of our major cities. I hope that black people who are living in poverty, struggling to make ends meet, and just raise children to be productive citizens will wake up today with a little bit more hope that "change" is indeed possible. Obama won this election because he had the requisite skills, and composure to "close the deal". He ran the best campaign in history, and overcame what appeared to be insurmountable odds to make history.

Hopefully, this generation of young people will understand the significance of this event, and look beyond trying to become the next Jay-Z, or Kobe Bryant, and not necessarily aspire to be Barack Obama, but productive individuals who are respectful of their ancestor's struggles and strive to be the best that they can be in our world of opportunity.

Can Obama Rout McCain?

Conventional wisdom says that Barack Obama will be elected the next President of the United States sometime this evening. David Gergen writes on CNN.com that a rout by Obama will give him the leverage that he needs to govern from a position of strength. Gergen states that there are 3 key things to watch as things unfold:

1. Percentage of the national vote. Right now, there is a solid prospect that Obama can rack up 51 percent or more of the total vote. If so, he would be the first Democrat since Jimmy Carter to win a majority of the national vote (Carter had 50.1 percent) and only the second Democrat since Franklin Roosevelt to claim a majority (Lyndon Johnson was the other). That historic standing would give Obama a fresh boost as the president-elect and would mean that he could run ahead of Members of Congress in their own states. In Washington, that gives a president extra power.

2. Number of red states won. In recent campaigns, Democratic presidential contenders have won mostly on the east and west coasts and the upper midwest. John Kerry only won 19 states plus the District of Columbia, and one could get on a plane at Dulles and fly to Los Angeles without flying over a state that the Democrats won.
Obama has had a vision since his convention speech in 2004 of Democrats becoming a national party, getting beyond the traditional red/blue divides. And he now has a good chance of doing it. If he can win a couple of southern states, plus two or three states from the Rocky Mountains, not to mention more Midwestern areas, he can claim a true national victory — and he would have the makings of a new, majority coalition for the Democrats, something they have lacked for decades.

3. The size of Democratic wins in the Senate and House. The Democrats were heading toward significant pick-ups with or without a presidential win, but if Obama racks up a convincing victory and is accompanied by nine or more new Democratic Senators and a couple of dozen new House members, that will give him muscle on Capitol Hill that few Presidents have enjoyed. I was working for Ronald Reagan in 1980 when he trounced Jimmy Carter and Republicans swept to 12 pick-ups in the Senate and 33 in the House. Reagan was much more respected — and effective — in working with Congress because of that thumping victory.

Obama's so close to a victory, he might as well go for the jugular and close the deal with a resounding thump.

Oprah Working Behind The Scenes For Obama

Talk Show Queen, Oprah Winfrey, has made a point not to have any of the presidential candidates on her show during the campaign season, but Rush & Molloy of the New York Daily News report that Winfrey has been working behind the scenes to assist Sen. Barack Obama, and even participated in a conference call yesterday with other prominent African Americans including, Sean Combs, Donna Brazile, Jim Clyburn and Rev. Joseph Lowery.

Winfrey will also devote he entire show on Wednesday to the election.

If The Dream Is Fullfilled What's Next

Barack Obama is poised to be the first African American President of the United States if the national polling is indeed correct. So what will happen tomorrow if this is indeed the case.

Will poverty all of a sudden cease to exist? Will our inner city schools suddenly be safe and secure for our children. Will drugs cease to exist in our neighborhoods? Will most black fathers begin to take responsibility for their children?

Well we know that the answer to the above questions is no, but perhaps if Obama is elected, although he will be the President of all the people, he will take a hard look at the issues that specifically plague the black community at at least show an interest in really making "change" as he has so eloquently professed. Only time will tell.

Barack Sheds A Tear For Grandmom

Sen. Barack Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Payne Dunham, died yesterday in Hawaii, she was 86 years old. Obama made the following statement last night while campaigning in Charlotte, N.C.:

“She’s gone home.” “And she died peacefully in her sleep with my sister at her side. And so there is great joy as well as tears. I’m not going to talk about it too long because it is hard for me to talk about.”

Obama's grandmother of course died one day before her grandson is poised to make history as the first African American President. Obama is clearly on a mission, and is grieving in his own way as millions of Americans pray for him and his family.

Is The Bradley Effect History?

With one day to go before the presidential election is decided, the New York Daily News reports on the potential impact of the Bradley Effect, hearkening back to 1982 when former Los Angeles Mayor, Tom Bradley, an African American lost to his white counterpart George Deukmejian in the California governor's race after leading narrowly in the polls.

Barack Obama's average polling margin is about 7 points right now. Even if we assume a 3-4 point swing for people who change their mind, Obama should have enough of a cushion to close the deal. Most Sunday pundits are predicting an Obama runaway with him securing upwards of 350 electoral votes. 270 electoral votes will be just fine for me.

Patty's 411 Report

The week, Patty writes about the Jennifer Hudson tragedy, actor Terrence Howard being sued, and singer El DeBarge being back in jail again for a parole violation amongst other tidbits in the entertainment industry.

Philly Mayhem Continues

The Philadelphia Daily News reports on the mayhem that plagued the city over a weekend in which 4 people were killed, 3 people hurt and 3 others were robbed. I guess the euphoria of the Phillies winning the championship couldn't dampen the reality of living in the City of Brotherly Love.

A Glimmer of Hope For McCain

I'm only posting this because it was the top story in the New York Post this morning. It's interesting that when I viewed the article this morning it reporting a Zogby poll showing Sen. John McCain with a slight lead over Sen. Barack Obama in national polling. This information is contrary to any polling data available, and the article has since removed the Zogby information. Interesting!

Def Jam Executive VP Dead At 34

Shakir Stewart, Executive V.P. of Def Jam Recordings, was found dead in his Marietta, GA home yesterday according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Shakir, who was 34, died of a self inflicted gunshot wound.

Stewart, who had succeeded Jay-Z as Executive V.P. at Def Jam, had A&R'd some of label's biggest artists, including Young Jeezy.