GA-Senate appears headed towards a runoff

Georgia Secretary of State:

Chambliss (R) 1,834,809 49.9%
Martin (D) 1,718,122 46.7%
Buckley (Lib) 125,768 3.4%
Totals 3,678,699 100%

Note than CNN has a good 90,000 less votes recorded.

Update: In Alaska, the 2004 Alaska Senate race had 290,000 votes.
Only 208,000 are in so far in the Stevens race, even though 99% precincts are in. There should be a lot more votes left to be counted. Stevens currently leads by 3300.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.demconwatchblog.com/2008/11/ga-senate-appears-headed-towards-runoff.ht
ml

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BREAKING: AP un-calls MN Senate race

Game on.

The Associated Press is uncalling the Minnesota Senate race.

Republican Sen. Norm Coleman finished ahead of Democrat Al Franken early Wednesday in the final vote count, but his 571-vote margin falls within the state's mandatory recount law. That law requires a recount any time the margin between the top two candidates is less than one-half of one percent.

The AP called the race prematurely.

Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said the recount won't begin until mid-November at the earliest and will probably stretch into December. It will involve local election officials from around the state.

That's ok. Liz the Donut pretty much called the race for McCain two days ago, so something must be going around.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Americablog/~3/443349154/breaking-ap-un-calls-mn-s
enate-race.html

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Bush congratulates President-elect Barack Obama

George Bush is on the t.v. right now. He just congratulated President-elect Barack Obama. It sounded so good to hear Bush say "President-elect Barack Obama." We've waited a long, long time for George Bush to send best wishes to his successor.

Truest words Bush ever spoke:

It will be a stirring sight to watch President Obama, his wife Michelle and their beautiful girls step through the doors of the White House. I know millions of Americans will be overcome with pride at this inspiring moment that so many people have waited so long.

It will be.

And, it will be a very gratifying sight to watch George Bush walk out the doors of the White House. He's left the country in a huge mess and it will take a long time to dig out of it. But, that all starts when President Obama steps through the doors of the White House.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Americablog/~3/443349155/bush-congratulates-presid
ent-elect.html

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Recount looms in MN between Coleman and Franken

From the Franken campaign:

The Secretary of State's office reports that all but nine of Minnesota's 4,130 precincts have reported in. And this race is too close to call, with a margin of just about 1100 votes out of 2.9 million cast. That's four one-hundredths of one percent of the vote. And we expect that when those final nine precincts are counted this morning, that 1100-vote margin will shrink into the hundreds.

Under Minnesota state law, we will now enter into an automatic statewide canvass and recount. It will be the first one since 1962, when I was 11 years old. I remember that year very clearly for two reasons. The recount between Elmer L. Anderson and Karl Rolvaag. And the Gophers were in the Rose Bowl that year.

And we have twice as many ballots to count this time.

Let me be clear: Our goal is to ensure that every vote is properly counted.

The process, dictated by our laws, will be orderly, fair, and will take place within a matter of days. We won't know for a little while who won this race, but at the end of the day, we will know that the voice of the electorate was clearly heard.

There is reason to believe that the recount could change the vote tallies significantly.

Our office and the Obama campaign have received reports of irregularities at various precincts around the state. For instance, some polling places in Minneapolis ran out of registration materials. Our team has been working on those issues for several hours already, and they will continue to do so this morning as the recount process begins.

Let me be clear: This race is too close to call, and we do not yet know who won. We are lucky enough to live in a state with built-in protections to ensure that in close elections like these, the will of the people is accurately reflected in the outcome.

This has been a long campaign, and it's going to be a little longer before we have a winner. Senator Coleman, Senator Barkley, and I have done a lot of talking. Minnesotans have waited a long time to have THEIR say. And thanks to our state's laws, we will eventually understand precisely what they have said.

More from the Star-Tribune.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Americablog/~3/443336829/recount-looms-in-mn-betwe
en-coleman-and.html

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Races waiting to be called

North Carolina appears to be stalled waiting on provisional ballots. Obama leads it by about 12,000 votes.

Georgia has about 600,000 early votes from Cobb, Fulton, DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties. DeKalb and Fulton are Atlanta-area counties and heavily Democratic. Cobb went 55-45 McCain at the ballot box.  Gwinnet went McCain 53-46. There may be enough votes there to swing the state for Georgia, but more likely is knocking Chambliss down below 50 percent and triggering a runoff election.

Missouri gave McCain a nearly 6,000 vote victory (out of 2.9 million cast), with 100 percent reporting. But since the race hasn't been called, we're likely waiting on provisional and/or absentee ballots.

I earlier called Nebraska's 2nd CD's single electoral vote for Obama based on a Secretary of State PDF of results. That PDF has now been updated, giving McCain a roughly 600-vote lead in the county. It's hard to tell whether the EV has been called or not, so I leave it as a suspense item.

Minnesota's Senate race sports a 690-vote Coleman lead with 99 percent reporting. That out of more than 2.7 million votes cast. Crazy.

Smith (R) has a 3,600-vote lead in Oregon's Senate race with 70 percent reporting. A big chunk of the missing vote is in Eugene's home county, but other Smith-friendly counties still have votes to count. And Portland is bagged and put to bed.

I hope I wake up to Senator Mark Begich in Alaska, because otherwise, that would say some crazy things about Alaska voters.

Oh, and several House races --AK-AL, CA-04 (where McClintock (R) defeated Brown (D) by just 456 votes and the race remains uncalled pending who knows what), CA-50 (doesn't look good), CO-02 (will be easy win), ID-01, MD-01, NJ-03, OH-15 (doesn't look good), VA-05, and WA-08. There may be others but I'm a little friend.

The current tally is 251-171, which is a gain of +17 seats. Not an epic blowout, but sheesh, I keep reminding myself not to be greedy. CO-02 will get us to +18, and then with some luck we'll get that to +20 seats.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/I33aSE1i5ww/653883

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a victory night for crying (this time the GOOD
kind of tears!) updated

I was lucky enough to see Dolores Hickambottom at the Obama party last night. Hickambotton, who has a well-earned "legend" for what she has given to the community and was very active in the local Obama campaign, shook her gentle head and said with characteristic modestly: "This is a great victory".

People all around me at the Hilton Hotel, were sobbing... finally, we will see an end to the great injustice of racial bias in America.

Maybe America can finally get past, the color of another person's skin. (finally!)

Its a historical fact that African-Americans have suffered massive injustice here in America. In Pasadena also. It wasn't until 1964 that they could even buy or live in a home in any neighborhood but a cordoned-off part of the West side. And then, it wasn't until 1970 when forced school busing chased so many whites away, that people of color were actually considered as prospective buyers of their homes (for the first time). 1970 is not all that long ago!

100 years of Jim Crow "laws" which "legalized" segregation, came on the back of 300 years of forced human bondage, which came with immeasurable cruelties and savagery, savagery that exhibited on a daily basis (for 300 years!), the worst in man's inhumanity to man.

Can any amount of tears comprehend this? (not likely.)

It is too easy for Whites to forget about these atrocities*, but it is impossible for African-Americans NOT to do so.

* sometimes they aren't even labeled as such

I have heard many wise political commentators, including Chris Hedges, say this election was not about Race - you idiot Chris! (just kidding), race had EVERYTHING to do with this election...

for African Americans that is! and for us all.

My daughter brought home a family history questionaire to use in a research project - and a question on that list was "have you ever been discriminated against?" and then the same question, directed at the family member "have you ever been discriminated against?". And I was embarassed to put, "No" for both me and my daughter. But not one child of color in that classroom, put "No" as an answer.

And these incidents, even if they are few, are painful, discrimination is painful! its important for those of us who have not experienced it, to understand it.

America still has so far to go, in the understanding of African-Americans (and importantly, understanding the history of slavery and segregation). In a sense, this victory is way ahead of its time - in terms of where we are with understanding each other - but that is going to be the beauty of it!!

Change, real change can and will happen.

And this change is exactly what we need, to move forward (Progress! that poster's still my favorite).

This victory is so important because (among other reasons) we (might) finally learn (a lesson that should be so simple!) that all people are the same inside, regardless of the color of their skin.

Read The Full Article:
http://pasadenanewprogressive.blogspot.com/2008/11/night-for-crying-this-time-goo
d-kind-of.html

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a night for crying (this time the GOOD kind of
tears!)

I was lucky enough to see Dolores Hickambottom at the Obama party last night. Hickambotton, who has a well-earned "legend" for what she has given to the community and was very active in the local Obama campaign, shook her gentle head and said with characteristic modestly: "This is a great victory".

People all around me at the Hilton Hotel, were sobbing... finally, we will see an end to the great injustice of racial bias in America.

Maybe America can finally get past, the color of another person's skin. (finally!)

Its a historical fact that African-Americans have suffered massive injustice here in America. In Pasadena also. It wasn't until 1964 that they could even buy or live in a home in any neighborhood but a cordoned-off part of the West side. And then, it wasn't until 1970 when forced school busing chased so many whites away, that people of color were actually considered as prospective buyers of their homes (for the first time). 1970 is not all that long ago!

100 years of Jim Crow "laws" which "legalized" segregation, came on the back of 300 years of forced human bondage, which came with immeasurable cruelties and savagery, savagery that exhibited on a daily basis (for 300 years!), the worst in man's inhumanity to man.

Can any amount of tears comprehend this?

Its too easy for Whites to forget about these atrocities*, but it is impossible for African-Americans NOT to do so.

* sometimes they aren't even labeled as such

I have heard many wise political commentators, including Chris Hedges, say this election was not about Race - you idiot Chris! race had EVERYTHING to do with this election...

for African Americans that is!

America still has so far to go, in the understanding of African-Americans (and importantly, understanding the history of slavery and segregation). In a sense, this victory is way ahead of its time - in terms of where we are with understanding each other - but that is going to be the beauty of it!!

Change, real change can and will happen.

And this change is exactly what we need, to move forward (Progress!).

This victory is so important because (among other reasons) we (might) finally learn, that all people are the same inside, regardless of the color of their skin.

Read The Full Article:
http://pasadenanewprogressive.blogspot.com/2008/11/night-for-crying-this-time-goo
d-kind-of.html

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Behold America's First Family, the Obamas

"At this defining moment", said Barack Obama in his victory speech, "change has come to America!" Image courtesy of the AfroSpear, via Anali's First Amendment afrosphere blog.Last night, I missed Obama's victory speech (the lights went out in my neighborhood), but here's a quote from the Washington Post:

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our
democracy, tonight is your answer," he said just before midnight Eastern time.
"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you: We as
a people will get there." After the speech he was joined on stage by vice
president-elect Sen. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (Del.) and his family. WaPost

And you can watch the entire speech at the Afrosphere Action Coalition's BlackPerspective.Net blog.

The election of President-elect Barack Obama has already changed color-aroused ideation in the media. The Washington Post acknowledged today,

In a sign that Obama's race did not hold him back, he won as large a share of the white vote as any Democrat in the past two decades, although he still fell short of a majority. Preliminary exit polls showed him winning among 43 percent of white voters, while Sen. John F. Kerry won 41 percent in 2004 and Vice President Al Gore won 42 percent in 2000. WaPost

This means that, unlike the perennial story that Blacks couldn't win, in fact this particular Black man was more successful at winning white votes than the last two white candidates.

This victory obviously didn't come easily, or because Obama is Black. The WaPost reports that Obama raised and "spent nearly $745 million on his primary and general-election campaigns."

At least the moment, the majority of American voters have rejected the "Super Human White Man Myth." (Essay posted at My Left Wing on May 6, 2007, before I was banned there. In retrospect, I think most reasonable people will agree that I had some important things to say about this election, where it was going, and why.) Crashing the White Male Supremacy Paradigm, DailyKos, December 13, 2006.

Read The Full Article:
http://francislholland.blogspot.com/2008/11/behold-americas-first-family-obamas.h
tml

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Change has come to America

President-Elect Barack Obama:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and hes fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nations promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the back yards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generations apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth.

This is your victory.

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctors bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way its been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if Americas beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we cant, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that We Shall Overcome. Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can.

Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

Read The Full Article:
http://hickwithmasters.blogspot.com/2008/11/change-has-come-to-america.html

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Jubilant Crowds Gather Outside White House.

video details and more



I've never seen this before. Crowds of people lining up outside the White House to express their joy at the end of an election.

Tags: Obama, US election 2008

Read The Full Article:
http://the-osterley-times.blogspot.com/2008/11/jubilant-crowds-gather-outside-whi
te.html

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