Yes We Did!!

When I created this site in the days following the Nomination of Barack Obama as the first African American candidate for the Presidency, and Sarah Palin as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate I was filled with a sense of fear, and urgency, at not letting the politics of fear and division continue. My family's support for Obama over the last several months has taken the form of several phone calls, dozens of email conversations, over 100 blog posts, more than $15,000 raised, and several thousand tears shed since the words "President-elect Barack Obama" flashed across my screen on Tuesday night.

I kept my four-year old son up to watch Obama's speech. Four years ago, as I bemoaned the fact that the Democrats' only argument for electing Kerry seemed to be "not Bush," I named my son Martin, in part in tribute to my mother's father, and in part in tribute to the many Martins who have stood up for what was right when it was not easy. I hoped that over the long haul, his name would remind him of a battle worth waging, and I never dreamed that one of the key battlegrounds of the fight for justice would be won so early in his young life. My six month-old daughter will never know a world in which women are not considered serious contenders for the highest offices.

This space has been a powerful cathartic for me, and has invited many of you into the conversation--more than 100 of you checked in on election day. The purpose of this site is now fulfilled, though.

Nevertheless, there is much work to be done, and a new conversation to be had about how to govern in a world mired in economic contraction and political confrontation. A few weeks ago I told you I was launching a sister site to keep the conversation going after the election. I hope you will join me there to explore how to forge a new kind of conversation about the issues that matter to us as we move ahead. While I have a progressive bent to my policy positions, I believe more strongly than ever that any future forged must be forged together.

Please join me to continue the conversation at middlegroundmatters.blogspot.com. May the conversation continue.

There Once Was a Man Named Obama...

The Washington Post ran a post-election Limerick contest yesterday. Here are some of the best:

pinkfire:
The Republican menu lacked drama,
So they served up a hot hockey mama.
But red meat on high heels
Is an unhealthy meal,
So, no thanks, I’ll be having Obama!

garyt23:
In the land of red, white and blue,
Rode a man who was black/white and new,
People questioned his range
When he named his horse "Change,"
But that steed drove him straight, drove him true.

Runner-Up

bgraham1:
This limerick is written by Palin,
And I'm just gonna ignore your liberal media "gotcha" rules and requirements
About rhyming, which is also
A socialist agenda
So too and also in my experience
As a mayor of the buckets of job creation
I can see Russia from my house

Winner

busstopboxer:
McCain's new best friend, Joe the Plumber
Is having his Indian Summer
He soon hopes to be
On a country CD
And probably driving a Hummer

Proud America

Bob Cesca writes about a moving episode from the recent biopic on John Adams and its' significance today:

...the Adamses, who were vocal opponents of slavery... walk below the familiar triangular peak of the north portico and through the front doors [of the White House under construction]-- the first presidential couple to occupy that historic building. As they step through the mud in what appears to be silent horror, they're taken aback by numerous slaves toiling all around. Painting and plastering the walls. Sweeping the floors. Moving furniture.

"The negroes will see to your trunks," a white foreman offers to "help" with the presidential luggage, and then barks at a slave, "Here! You boy!"

The scene culminates with Abigail Adams, played by Laura Linney, shouting with indignation, "Half-fed slaves building our nation's capital?!"

Not only was this scene a powerful cinematic illustration of the contradictions and ironies of America's founding liberties, but it also set the stage for an event you and I will be fortunate enough to witness just 76 days from right now.

Today, President Bush, of all people, described the forthcoming Inauguration Day and, perhaps inadvertently, presented the ultimate historical bookend to that scene from John Adams when he remarked, "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."

Indeed it will, sir. After eight years of awfulness, George W. Bush actually managed to say something that touched me in a way that didn't precipitate, you know, me breaking something. Damn you, Mr. President, you magnificent bastard...

The Whole Speech

For anyone who missed the whole thing live...

The Face of Change

Rice: Obama "Inspirational," His Election "An Extraordinary Step Forward"

In His Own Words

CNN has a nice slideshow recap of Obama's speech highlights

President-Elect Obama

Nate Calls it for President Obama

McCain's Camp says they need a miracle and fivethirtyeight calls it for Obama



There's a giddiness in the air. I'm going to take a while to savor it but as I told a conservative friend today:

You should know also that as hard as I have fought for whatever gains the Democrats may make today, I will fight equally hard tomorrow to hold them accountable. I will not abide reckless policies or revenge tactics. I hope that whomever is elected today is prepared for the hard work of governing that tomorrow will demand, and will work to make it so.

Here We Go.

First polls are now closed. The counting begins.

Here was the ground game in Boulder today:



A group of High School kids who looked too young to vote were passing their lunch hour getting out the vote today.

All over town Obama's offices are bustling, people are wearing every manner of Obama Flair and despite record high numbers of early votes, polling places are seeing steady streams...



Having already voted, I went over to the county building today trying to get to the DMV--I'll be on crutches for a few weeks and was trying to pick up a hang-tag for my car. No luck. The Motor Vehicle office was closed. The whole building had been converted to manage voting. So while there were lots of people in and out (including a guy in purple pants, pink converse and a giant sombrero I would have loved a picture of), there was no backlog. They even had a "drive up ballot box" on the curb for folks who had received early/mail-in ballots and not yet returned them. Everywhere, it was the picture of efficiency. Hopefully we'll do right by those High School kids and they'll remember today when they get to vote in 2012.

Landslide: 538's Final Prediction

Obama 349, McCain 189? That's What Nate Silver says:

Our model projects that Obama will win all states won by John Kerry in 2004, in addition to Iowa, New Mexico, Colorado, Ohio, Virginia, Nevada, Florida and North Carolina, while narrowly losing Missouri and Indiana. These states total 353 electoral votes. Our official projection, which looks at these outcomes probabilistically -- for instance, assigns North Carolina's 15 electoral votes to Obama 59 percent of the time -- comes up with an incrementally more conservative projection of 348.6 electoral votes.

Wow.

As of Monday night, over 70% of Boulder County has voted. In 2004 the county had a turnout of 91%. this year the goal was at least 95%. Even if we hit 100% long lines are unlikely. The just under 57,000 remaining voters are spread over almost 250 precincts. That averages out to about 20 voters an hour.

Nevertheless the GOTV effort is out in force.

Youth Vote At Dartmouth

Those who are wondering if the youth will turn out ought to see what I saw this morning.
One well-known government professor here told me that she has never seen so many students vote in the first hour of voting as she saw this morning. And I've never seen so many students up and alert at this hour. They're normally stumbling out of bed to make it to their 10 a.m. courses. Today, the campus has been buzzing for hours this morning. It appears that many of them decided to go to the polls as groups of twos, threes, fours and more when the polls opened at 7 a.m. The number of students I saw by 8 a.m. walking around with "I voted" stickers on is astonishing.
At breakfast, I sat next to a table of four black students, all of whom had voted. The three men were wearing ties. I asked them why. The answer: It was their first election, and they wanted to "mark the occasion.

One Last Rally

90,000 people turned out to see Obama in Virgina yesterday. He reminded them where this all started, with small crowds, and long-shot odds, and a few courageous people who were willing to get their friends and their communities fired up and ready to go...

The Dish

I'll be posting interesting things as I see them today, but will inevitably be behind the best... Andrew Sullivan is one of my staples--a self-described gay conservative, he's been smart and incisive about the things that matter this election season. Check out his blog today and read his endorsement of Obama. This paragraph sums it up, but the whole thing is worth the read:

If I were to give one reason why I believe electing Barack Obama is essential tomorrow, it would be an end to this dark, lawless period in American constitutional government. The domestic cultural and political reasons for an Obama presidency remain as strong as they were when I wrote "Goodbye To All That" over a year ago. His ability to get us past the culture war has been proven in this campaign, in the generation now coming of age that will elect him if they turn out, in Obama's staggering ability not to take the bait. His fiscal policies are too liberal for me - I don't believe in raising taxes, I believe in cutting entitlements for the middle classes as the way to fiscal balance. I don't believe in "progressive taxation", I support a flat tax. I don't want to give unions any more power. I'm sure there will be moments when a Democratic Congress will make me wince. But I also understand that money has to come from somewhere, and it will not come in any meaningful measure from freezing pork or the other transparent gimmicks advertized in advance by McCain. McCain is not serious on spending. But he is deadly serious in not touching taxes. So, on the core question of debt, on bringing America back to fiscal reason, Obama is still better than McCain. If I have to take an ideological hit to head toward fiscal solvency, I'll put country before ideology.

A Bit of Nostalgia

There are some things I'll miss when the election is over--it sure has been good fodder for humor...

It's Time

Obama's Grandmother Dies on Eve of Election

Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, died early Monday morning. What a bittersweet day this must be for Obama. Yesterday, he remembered her this way:



She did get to vote before she died, and because she was alive when she cast her vote and her ballot was received, her vote will count.

Obama Wins Dixville Notch in Landslide

Polls opened at midnight in Dixville Notch, NH where the small community all shows up together to vote as soon as they are able. 100% of their registered voters vote, and they have consistently leaned Republican, not having voted for a democrat since selecting Hubert Humphrey over Richard Nixon in 1968. This year, the vote went for Obama, 15-6.

So, today's the day. If you've voted, thank you. If you haven't, go out now and beat the lines. If you don't have to work, or don't have to work until later, or can take the day off, go volunteer.

As Campbell Brown reminds us, it isn't about luck, it's about us. We can do this. Yes we can.

Cheney Endorses McCain, and Praises Palin...

Quote of the Day

Thanks to Magda for forwarding...

“I look at these people and can't quite believe that they exist. Are they professional actors? I wonder. Or are they simply laymen who want a lot of attention? To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. 'Can I interest you in the chicken?' she asks. 'Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it? To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.'

- David Sedaris, on undecided voters