Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

…and a burning sense of injustice to juice the soul.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

This fight is for everything.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

I’m more Christian than these people and I’m an atheist.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

An unpunished coup is a training exercise.

“Joe Biden deserved better than he got from some folks in his own party.”

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Biden: Oh no. We’ve upset Big Pharma again.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

If marriage is the equivalent of selling yourself into slavery, women with self respect should reject the offer.

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2008 / Yes, We Fucking Did

Yes, We Fucking Did

by | 308 Comments

This post is in: 

CNN is projecting Obama is the next President.

President-Elect Barack Obama.

*** Update **

I am still in shock. This was a damned landslide. It seems so long ago that I was the skeptical one, mocking Obama as the Magical Unity Pony- I think people forget that I was one of the folks who was simply going to support Hillary as the alternative to the GOP disaster.

This is just stunning. This changes everything. He treated us like adults, he converted the skeptics, and now he has a chance to make his mark. I was an Obama skeptic, and mocked him as the Magical Unity Pony, and mocked him “transcending” things. People forget that, I guess.

But now, no more fake nicknames- this is President-Elect Barack Obama. And I am so very, very proud.

The fierce urgency of now. Your next President, Barack Obama:

You ain’t the only one, kid.

We did it.

Reader Interactions

308Comments

  10. 10.

    MMM

    GWB is still in office for a couple of months

    ITMFA

    ITMFA

    (of course his sidekick/puppetmaster goes with him)

  15. 15.

    ellis

    Okay, I finally pulled myself together and then read this post title and started crying again.

    So proud of America.

  18. 18.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    All those naive people of color on my teevee making speeches about a new multiracial America need to listen to those McCain deadenders booing Obama and understand exactly what it portends.

  21. 21.

    ninerdave

    I am so fucking proud of Obama and the country. In fact I can’t think of a time I’ve been more proud to be an American.

    I’m not given to crying, but damn it, I’m choking back the tears.

  23. 23.

    Billy K (D-TX)

    Yes we did. Now let’ fix this thing.

    P.S. The McCain that’s making the concession speech might’ve actually had a chance in this election. Too bad he hadn’t shown up til tonight.

  24. 24.

    Luke

    Can anyone explain to an ignorant Canadian why the race was even this close? I mean, seriously, almost half the country still voted McCain after he ran that campaign? Fail.

  26. 26.

    Jon H

    OMG! Palin just gave "the signal" and some thugs threw a bag over McCain and dragged him away under a hail of blows!

    No, not really. Only in her dreams.

  27. 27.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Can anyone explain to an ignorant Canadian why the race was even this close? I mean, seriously, almost half the country still voted McCain after he ran that campaign? Fail.

    America is exceptional that way.

  28. 28.

    gwangung

    The McCain that’s making the concession speech might’ve actually had a chance in this election. Too bad he hadn’t shown up til tonight.

    No kidding. What the heck happens to candidates when their campaign handlers get their hands on them?

  29. 29.

    Bootlegger

    McCain’s crowd is un-American. I wish the mainstream media would take a good, hard look at them.

  33. 33.

    gbear

    So I wonder where Sarah Palin sees the real Americans now? Listening to Palin and Hannity over the next few days should be entertaining.

    Joe the Plumber can go back to snaking shit.

  35. 35.

    Will Hunting

    Right after mcccain said he is sure he made some mistakes, my wife, without missing a beat, said the biggest one is standing right next to you…

  38. 38.

    Louise

    That is a fucking fantastic blog title.

    Any minute now I’m going to start crying again, and it’s not the +8. As Jon Stewart said last night, it’s finally "show" and not "tell."

    I was in a car with two black teenage girls when the news came over the radio of Martin Luther King’s assassination. I will never forget their screams and sobs. I hope they are alive and celebrating in this moment. I can’t believe this has finally happened.

    And that’s not even mentioning that HE’S A DEMOCRAT, BITCHES! He won the two cursed states: Florida and Ohio. He had a superior campaign, organization and advising team. THE DEMS WERE BETTER.

    God, this rocks.

  41. 41.

    yet another jeff

    "McCain said all the right words"

    Classy speech from McCain…he looks oddly relieved…hope it’s not too little, too late to call down the dogs he’s taunted.

  42. 42.

    Genine

    Okay, I finally pulled myself together and then read this post title and started crying again.

    So proud of America.

    Same here. I’ve been blubbing for half hour.

    As for McCain’s supports: fuck them! This is a great night. A historical night. Not only the first AA president, but it renews my faith in people.

    There really is hope.

    **sobs**

  43. 43.

    Tsulagi

    McCain gave a gracious concession speech. Good on him.

    A few in his audience at the beginning and near the end gave up some less than classy boos. Just a couple of words for them: Fuck off, tards.

  46. 46.

    Martin

    Woooooooo!!!

    My kids are so happy and I couldn’t be happier for them.

    AP calls NV and CO for Obama. I’m headed for +8. If IN, NC, and MO come in, I’ll be lucky to make it upstairs.

  47. 47.

    Grumpy Code Monkey

    I promise that this is as much as I’ll do, but I get to do at least this much:

    SAVOR, BITCHES!

  53. 53.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    I was in a car with two black teenage girls when the news came over the radio of Martin Luther King’s assassination. I will never forget their screams and sobs. I hope they are alive and celebrating in this moment. I can’t believe this has finally happened.

    Yeah, gonna be tough tomorrow at work. I work in a very large office that is majority African-American. To a person everyone was Hillary supporters when this started. I worked and worked and worked to bring everyone along, introduced ’em to Obama, showed ’em his Youtube speeches, talked him up all the time, fucking swore to my friends he could win and told them how, told ’em this was it, we could do it.

    Tonight, when it looked like he was going to win, my phone started ringing. Tomorrow is gonna be tough.

  56. 56.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    Can anyone explain to an ignorant Canadian why the race was even this close? I mean, seriously, almost half the country still voted McCain after he ran that campaign?

    Start by Googling "crazy factor".

  62. 62.

    A.Political

    Congrats America!!

    Now if only Canada would boot this 36% of the vote Conservative minority poser government.

  63. 63.

    Comrade Stuck

    I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

    I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

    I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

    I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

    I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

    I have a dream today.

    Excerpt of Dr. Martin Luther Kings "I have a Dream Speech"

    RIP Dr King,

  65. 65.

    Conservatively Liberal

    YES!! We can and we did. Congratulations to President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama!

    This fucking ROCKS!

    Take a cruise of the usual haunts for the wingnuts and racists, they are stunned and reeling. RedState is basically speechless other than the Neil Stevens screaming MORE COWBELL!!

    Our long national nightmare is over. Thank FSM!

  66. 66.

    Svensker

    Palin was actually misty-eyed during McCain’s speech. She’s not used to losing.

    I started to cry when I saw Jesse Jackson with big old tears just rolling down his face. I never liked Jesse, but this must be a moment he never really believed he’d live to see.

    When the heck is ***President**** Obama going to come out and give his speech? I’ll be blubbing all through that one.

    Dang. We did it. W00t!

  67. 67.

    RoonieRoo

    Grumpy Code Monkey had two glasses out of the champagne bottle and I had the rest of the bottle. I am still absorbing this win. It’s a good thing he let me have the rest of the bottle or I might not have made it through this night.

    I am beyond happy right now.

  69. 69.

    Martin

    Can anyone explain to an ignorant Canadian why the race was even this close? I mean, seriously, almost half the country still voted McCain after he ran that campaign? Fail.

    They haven’t even counted CA in and Obama will win by 20+ points here. We’re 1/9th of the nation.

    And let’s not forget that a year ago, almost everyone was still saying we weren’t ready for a black president. That the first black president would win with over 50% is fucking huge all by itself.

  72. 72.

    Doug H. (Fausto no more)

    I need a beer and a cigar. … After Obama’s speech.

    "Whatever our differences, we are all Americans."

  74. 74.

    Genine

    What really gets to me is the rejection of the divisiveness, the pettiness, the ugliness that has won elections for decades. Things that worked in the 90’s, 2000 and 2004 don’t work anymore

    People coming together, thinking about common causes, even some bigots putting their bigotry aside for a greater good. Its truly beautiful and it makes me cry tears of happiness.

    I am so happy to see this.

  75. 75.

    Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist

    @Svensker: Palin was actually misty-eyed during McCain’s speech. She’s not used to losing.

    I betcha she can’t handle it, anyway. I’m guessing she’s still steamed about coming in second for Miss Alaska.

  76. 76.

    Limniade

    Not only a black president, but a black president whose middle name was HUSSEIN. Of all the names that could possibly have the most political baggage, that one is about half a point behind "Bin Laden".

    I think it says something not only about the quality of Obama as a candidate, but America’s ability to FINALLY see past the BS and remember the principles on which this country was based.

  78. 78.

    Atanarjuat

    Congratulations, Democrats, progressives, all liberals here on BJ. Your candidate, despite all the issues that threatened to sink him, overcame the odds and emerged as the victor in the 2008 Presidential Election. Despite my own ideological differences with Obama, I can only respect how he was able to pull off the impressive feat of being an unknown only several years to becoming a recognized brand name in every American household. Barack Obama is to be commended for his achievement, and his supporters deserve equal credit for sticking to their guns and never losing faith.

    All that being said, I just hope that after you’re all done passing the Courvoisier to each other and you wake up with happy hangovers the next day, remember well that Obama made many promises of how he intended to govern, and what he would do for America if elected. Now that he has been duly elected (barring a last-minute discovery of massive voter fraud, of course), remember to hold Obama’s feet to the fire. He may be President-elect, but Obama is still a servant to the American people, and you have every right to demand honesty and accountability from him.

    Personally, I’m still aghast at the tragic turn of events, but that’s just the conservative partisan in me talking, not the American who is still your neighbor and an ally. Please remember this before you wield Obama’s victory like a vengeful cudgel to smite your opponents; we’ve been smitten enough in the past hour, and the cudgeling of our world will only continue for the rest of the year. There’s no need to compound our misery.

    I hope you all agree.

    Again, congratulations to all of you and especially Barack Obama for this historic victory.

    Country (always) First.

  80. 80.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    I am still in shock. This was a damned landslide. It seems so long ago that I was the skeptical one, mocking Obama as the Magical Unity Pony- I think people forget that I was one of the folks who was simply going to support Hillary as the alternative to the GOP disaster.

    I think a landslide is 375 or greater. With Nevada and Indiana, he winds up with 349. (I erred earlier and left out Nevada.) If he can somehow win Missouri and NC, that’s 26 more to take him to 375, and that will be a landslide.

    All math subject to BAC errors.

  84. 84.

    Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse

    I slept through it (hey, 750 ml of Unibroue? You fuckin’ betcha!). But it’s so sweet to wake up to.

    They’re all on stage. Black and red. Just seeing those little girls has me crying.

  85. 85.

    yet another jeff

    I’m loving this…but I can hear the wingnuts freaking out about Michelle’s "Black Widow" pattern on her dress.

    Fucking fuckety fuck. Fuck yeah!

  86. 86.

    dww4

    Can anyone explain to an ignorant Canadian why the race was even this close? I mean, seriously, almost half the country still voted McCain after he ran that campaign? Fail.

    Yes, Luke, I have been thinking the same thing down here in my red red state. Particularly so since I placed my ONE and ONLY Obama-Biden sign in a place that I thought might make it through election day. That was last night at 7:45p.m. and this morning @ 7:45 a.m. it was gone. The fact that I placed it along side a sign for the white Democratic Senatorial candidate, which was and is still standing tells me all I need to know. Plus I worked my bunnies off all day gotv efforts in some inner city poor AA neighborhoods and I am exhausted. But we turned out 77% of registered AA voters in the county and carried the county, but not the state. Yeah, my call is that there is a hell of a lot of racial prejudice left. I want to live long enough to see another election of a NON-WHITE person to the highest office in the land in which the color of his or her skin will not be an issue at all. Then we will have truly won.

  87. 87.

    gbear

    Please remember this before you wield Obama’s victory like a vengeful cudgel to smite your opponents; we’ve been smitten enough in the past hour, and the cudgeling of our world will only continue for the rest of the year. There’s no need to compound our misery.

    stuff it, puddinhead.

    (it felt so good to say that)

  89. 89.

    NonWonderDog (НеинтереснаяСобака)

    @Comrade Jake:

    This election was on style, not substance. No faction’s to blame, and no policy is at fault. We know this because Obama won. He ran on no ideas at all.

    Believe me, I’m surprised by this, too.

    One of the most unambiguous conclusions from Obama’s victory? Karl Rove was right.
    …
    Karl Rove’s theory – … you start with the base, you expand it as much as possible by increasing turnout, and then you work outward until you get past 50%….
    …
    The Beltway Pundit theory was, in essence, that America has a great untapped middle … [that] would respond to a candidate who could present himself as having a base in the middle of the electorate.
    …
    Barack Obama is nothing if not the pure incarnation on the left of the Rovian theory. He ran in the Democratic primaries as the candidate of the ‘Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.’ His record was pure left-wing all the way.

    Wow. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen RedState be this fucking stupid. Detached from reality, oblivious to facts, evil and pernicious; sure. But this is just fucking stupid.

  91. 91.

    Pastafarian

    At this moment, I just want to commemorate John’s greatest post ever:

    I am pissed. I want the frothing nutters, the fraudulent hucksters, the race-baiters, the anti-science frauds, the anti-intellectuals, the gay-bashers, the big-money cheats, the torture fetishists, the religious nuts, the tax and spenders, the xenophobes, and the phonies to pay. I want payback. I want the people who ruined my former party relegated to permanent minority status. I know I am a newly minted Democrat, and, as such, it is ballsy for me to start telling you what I want from the party, but this is my website and you are just going to have to deal with my opinion.

    I am under no illusion I will buy into everything Barack Obama puts forward, but I am damned sure convinced he is a decent man who, at the very least, will restore a sense of competence to the national stage. I am willing to meet most Democrats half-way, and I am already doing everything I can to get this man elected. I think Obama will act in good faith for this nation, and I am responding in kind. His policies are not outlandish or crazy or uber-left- they reflect a rational, and I would argue, a decent and progressive way forward out of the mess I helped to create. I won’t like all of them, and I will not agree with all of them, but there is no chance that I will ever be President, so perfect agreement is never a possibility.

    And don’t get me wrong- I am not for Obama because of what I am against. I am for Obama because he is a decent man, a break from the past, and really a once in a lifetime opportunity. He has treated us like adults throughout this primary, and it is time to act like adults. There will be times we feel he lets us all down, but we are not electing a diety. We are electing a leader, and Obama is that leader. It is time to get past the bullshit of the last 20 years, the battles I am really tired of fighting, and time to turn our attention to the really important issues of the day- the economy, the budget, our international presence, our crumbling infrastructure, our military, medicare and medicaid and social security, and on and on and on.

    We win. As a former John Cole type Republican, this is the sweetest feeling ever. I truly have hope for this country for the first time in a long, long time.

  92. 92.

    Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist

    @gbear: we’ve been smitten enough in the past hour…

    We’ve taken the odd lump ever since 2000. Be patient with us.

  94. 94.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    That was good of you to say Atanarjuat. Thank you.

    And if you think having a safer, cleaner country with a reduced national debt, affordable health care, and better energy is being smited, then prepare for a smiting.

  96. 96.

    LanceThruster

    "You were sick, but now you’re well, and there’s work to do." -Kilgore Trout – Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut.

  100. 100.

    Jon H

    Bush is sitting at home listening to Obama, feeling very small and inadequate and thinking "I could have given a speech like that".

  102. 102.

    Alan

    I think of his grandmother….

    God probably took her so she can watch all this take place unencumbered by her faulty body. Free to enjoy the unfolding of this moment with her grandson. This is a great day.

    Time for another White Russian. :)

  104. 104.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    Bush is sitting at home listening to Obama, feeling very small and inadequate and thinking "I could have given a speech like that".

    Also "it must be nice to actually be elected, rather than installed by the Supreme Court or some half-assed election official who scammed thousands of people out of their votes."

  105. 105.

    yet another jeff

    I just hope that after you’re all done passing the Courvoisier to each other

    You had to Google the spelling on that, didn’t you?

  106. 106.

    DecidedFenceSitter

    Didn’t cry when it was official. Got in my car with my wife and drove home. Didn’t cry when I heard the concession speech.

    Took till getting home and reading this.

  107. 107.

    Will Hunting

    I am listening to this and remembering some idiot last month telling me that Obama can’t speak without a teleprompter. Jeesh….

  108. 108.

    Punchy

    I think people forget that I was one of the folks who was simply going to support Hillary

    No we dont. Mocked as "Obama fanbois", if I remember correctly.

  109. 109.

    Gus

    The McCain that’s making the concession speech might’ve actually had a chance in this election

    In a down year for Republicans, he went for it probably the only way he thought he could win. He was willing to do anything for it. He was never going to win, he should have just gone down with some semblance of honor.

  110. 110.

    p.a.

    How can you all celebrate when ‘real’ America is shrinking like a snocone in the August sun?

    Who will protect godless liberals from the next wave of as-yet-unspecified foreign and/or domestic threats??!!!?? Repent! Repent! The end is near!!

    Friends,enjoy the moment, then get ready for 4 years of insanity that will make the anti-Clinton dementia look like a MENSA meeting.

    p.s. if you really want an eye-opener, go to theoildrum.com. Makes Kunstler look like an optimist.

  112. 112.

    wilfred

    Yes, it’s a good thing to win. It’s also good to remember right now that the people who got Obama started on this path were the anti-war, anti-imperialist left. His position at the outset against the criminal war on Iraq is what separated him from the rest of the candidates and we need hold fast to what we believed in, not be warm and fuzzy to the Republican scumbags who have destroyed hudnreds of thousands of lives and the dignity of our country. I hope Obama’s ‘hand across the aisle’ is just long enough to bitch slap however many of these cocksuckers who are still standing when all the votes are counted.

    Square one is remembering where Obama came from and what the original promise of his campaign was all about.

  113. 113.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    I was an Obama skeptic, and mocked him as the Magical Unity Pony, and mocked him “transcending” things.

    That was YOU?!? You bastard. Enjoy the rest of your life at Camp Ayers, tovarisch.

  115. 115.

    mikefromtexas

    That’s about the best speech I’ve heard since Martin Luther King. That was just amazing.

  119. 119.

    Pastafarian

    Biden looks like he just won the fucking lottery.

    OK, snark mode now fully operational again.

  125. 125.

    Bob Barbaque

    Bob Barbaque comes now from the mobile newsroom to offer his Congratulations to the next President and staff of The United States of America!
    Congratulations also go out to all the newly minted Democrats
    at Balloon Juice and the perennial favorites who in a small way
    helped make this historic election possible.

    Bob would also like to give an absentia shoutout to Jay severin
    has a small pen1s and his ilk:
    Suck it up, Bitches!

  128. 128.

    Gus

    We have 76 more days until the inauguration. Let’s just savor this night for a little bit.

    Sorry, I’m used to disappointment in politicians.

  130. 130.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    Maybe I need psychiatric help but I couldn’t watch that speech. I was halfway convinced someone was going to take a shot at him.

  132. 132.

    Comrade Stuck

    Bush is sitting at home listening to Obama, feeling very small and inadequate and thinking "I could have given a speech like that".

    And wondering how poisonous the snakes are in Paraguay.

  133. 133.

    Steve The Other Plumber

    The Vietnam generation is DONE!

    This is incredible. The politics of the 60’s and 70’s… the dirty fucking hippies, the draft dodgers, the anarchists… whatever. It’s done. That generation is never going to run for office again!

  135. 135.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    Jesse Jackson is breaking my fucking heart.

    He was freaking standing next to Martin Luther King when he was murdered, and now he’s watching a black man accept the presidency.

  136. 136.

    Brian J

    Wow. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen RedState be this fucking stupid. Detached from reality, oblivious to facts, evil and pernicious; sure. But this is just fucking stupid.

    I’m sure I’ll repeat this statement and relay the story in detail over the next day or two, but let me say that the conservative coworker who is a friend of mine I mentioned today was acting pretty damn nuts and, well, a little stupid. Sadly, I don’t think it’s hit them yet, so I think this is only the beginning.

  140. 140.

    Grumpy Code Monkey

    God damn.

    "Yes we can."

    God damn. I am honestly scared of how fucking awesome his inaugural address will be. I mean, that was just his "yay, we won" speech. Think about what he’s going to say in front of the Capitol in January.

    I think Tweety is genuinely giddy.

  141. 141.

    robertdsc

    It’s like winning the Stanley Cup, the Super Bowl, and the World Series rolled into one. I’m so happy right now.

  142. 142.

    Annette

    I’ll second (or third) those saying what a great speech that was. I was just telling my little brother – who voted in his very first Presidential election today – that looking at that 125K strong crowd there in Chicago was just like looking at America: a huge mix of everybody, instead of a slice of one strata from the populace.

    Sysadmin note: y’all did really well. A couple of sluggish points, but overall only one issue that we had to step into to keep the server from falling over. Well done. A couple more hours, and I’ll finaly be able to get some sleep.

  143. 143.

    liberatemeiexinfernis

    the only one thing that is so far ruining this great party for me is that fetid scab Bachmann leading the house election in MN…fuck.

  144. 144.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    I know.. I know. I was wishing Obama had called him up on stage. Jesse Jackson laid the groundwork for Obama’s run.

  145. 145.

    kommrade jakevich

    Wow.

    A president who speaks English. After eight years I’d forgotten such a thing was possible.

    I will confess to getting something in my eye during the crowd shots from across the country.

  146. 146.

    Comrade Kevin

    The one thing that is bothering me is that Proposition 8 is currently winning in California.

  147. 147.

    cgp

    Notorious: You weren’t the only one.

    Also, I’m ready to move on the news coverage already. They covered the "historic" nature of his election, lets talk about the fun we get to have driving this new hotrod.

  148. 148.

    p.a.

    May I suggest we all raise a glass for a toast to Howard Dean? He didn’t create the wave, but he saw it and recognized its potential (or did the wave recognize his potential?), and DID SOMETHING WITH IT. 50 states, 50 ways to test tactics, 50 places to discover new talent, 50 places to put pressure on the opposition.

    He shook up the hidebound Washington clique and re-energized state Dem. organizations coast-to-coast. I may be overstating to say this may be his victory as much as Obama’s, but not by much. YeeaaarrRRRGH!

  152. 152.

    Steve The Other Plumber

    I’m so incredibly relieved. It’s no happiness so much, but just relief.

    I was so afraid Palin was going to get in there. So afraid.

  153. 153.

    Will Hunting

    JSF – how about those Cavaliers?!!? so proud of my home state! NC may go that way too. Hard to believe…

  154. 154.

    Sloegin

    Cracked open the bottle of bubbly. The bottle I put in the fridge the better part of 3 years ago to celebrate a frog march, or perhaps an indictment, or hope beyond hope, an impeachment or war crimes tribunal.
    This works too.
    BTW, stay away from warcraft chat channels. Bunch of freakin tards venting about Barry O getting elected. Thankfully that crap gets recorded, and maybe instead of getting forwarded to GMs, it gets sent to the Secret Service.

  155. 155.

    Comrade Stuck

    the dirty fucking hippies

    Au Contraire. The DFH’s now rule the world. We are everywhere/

  158. 158.

    Gravenstone

    Gotta ask, did anyone else break out in giggles when Obama bent down to whisper something to his daughter before the speech, and she just started bouncing up and down in glee?

    And kudos to McCain for a very gracious and adult concession speech. His followers in the audience, not so much.

  160. 160.

    Will Hunting

    Utah went 61 pct – guess they did not get the memo. According to CNN, oklahoma and alabama were the reddest states. Godspeed charles barkley.

  161. 161.

    Will Hunting

    Utah went 61 pct – guess they did not get the memo. According to CNN, oklahoma and alabama were the reddest states. Godspeed charles barkley.

  162. 162.

    Jon H

    " Obama bent down to whisper something to his daughter before the speech, and she just started bouncing up and down in glee?"

    Must have been the puppy he mentioned.

  163. 163.

    Steve The Other Plumber

    Jesse Jackson laid the groundwork for Obama’s run.

    No.

    It was Harold Washington.

    Never forget that.

  164. 164.

    ninerdave

    I am still in shock. This was a damned landslide. It seems so long ago that I was the skeptical one, mocking Obama as the Magical Unity Pony-

    And he beat the old political machines, Rove, Clinton, GOP.

    This is the first day of the rest of America’s life.

  165. 165.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    Gotta ask, did anyone else break out in giggles when Obama bent down to whisper something to his daughter before the speech

    Cutest first kids ever.

    BTW, stay away from warcraft chat channels.

    Yeah. When I started playing, I thought a world of imagination would attract mostly liberal-minded people. Unfortunately many if not most people who play in pretend worlds do so because they don’t like actual people.

  168. 168.

    Comrade Stuck

    Damn, NM has gone deep blue. Both Senators and all three House seats. I now have a democrat House Rep. . Never would have predicted that. Happy Happy Happy!!!

  169. 169.

    bfredson

    I guarantee you that Americans everywhere are clinging to their guns and their religion really tight right now–especially the guns. This is exactly the moment that the 2nd Amendment was written for.

  172. 172.

    Alan

    So who’s going to go "John Galt?" Or what the fuck does a college professor do to claim they’ve gone "John Galt." Does Instaputz know who the fuck John Galt is?!!

  173. 173.

    Will Hunting

    prop 8 vote not looking good right now. I dont get that. How can CA go this much Dem and still vote for that crap?

  174. 174.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    JSF – how about those Cavaliers?!!? so proud of my home state! NC may go that way too. Hard to believe…

    How ’bout that? I woulda never thought it possible. But really, Virginia ain’t nothing compared to Florida. Florida just seems astounding to me.

  176. 176.

    Josh Hueco

    @Will Hunting:

    I also see the abortion ban in SD is winning too. If both 8 and the ban pass the so-cons will feel somewhat reenergized. Should be interesting to see how much effect that would have the upcoming GOP civil war.

    EDIT: Whoops, I take that bit about SD back. Sorry.

  177. 177.

    demimondian

    I want to thank John, here. Yes, it’s deep in the thread, but I was really impressed by how well he turned us out to donate, and to get involved.

    Good job, man.

  179. 179.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Congratulations to all of us. Truly a remarkable day in many ways. This afternoon at around five o’clock I found out that about a hundred people had been laid off at my company, including my boss and a couple of very close friends.

    And then this. Going to bed, gotta get up in 5 hours.

  181. 181.

    ninerdave

    One of Sully’s readers sums tonite up better than I’ve seen anyone try:

    Nothing in my life has actually changed in the 30 minutes since it was announced Obama will be our next president. I have the same bills, the same amount of money in the bank, my dishwasher is still broken, and my 5 month old beagle won’t stop peeing on my carpet. Everything in my life is exactly the same as it was 30 minutes ago; and yet I feel as though everything is different.

    I feel so much hope. I feel so much pride. I feel like my one vote was a single drop of water in a great Tsunami of change. I feel like I was one of a million voices screaming in the night, " I love my country and I’m taking it back!" I’m so proud of the country that I love and have so much hope in my heart that we can together heal the wounds that have been such a source of pain and anger to us all.

    I know Obama isn’t going to fix the economy overnight, I know he won’t be able to provide healthcare to all Americans by February ’09. I know Obama isn’t a Messiah who four years from now will have turned this country into a fabled utopia. But I also know Obama will make moral decisions. I know Obama will try to unite where others try to divide. I know Obama will help to make America the beacon of hope it once was to others. I know that at 27 years of age, I witnessed one of the most important and hopefully glorious chapters in American history.

    I know hope.

    Yes, we can.

  182. 182.

    Beej

    It was the faces in the crowd that got to me. When was the last time you saw that kind of hope?

  183. 183.

    dww4

    May I suggest we all raise a glass for a toast to Howard Dean? He didn’t create the wave, but he saw it and recognized its potential (or did the wave recognize his potential?), and DID SOMETHING WITH IT. 50 states, 50 ways to test tactics, 50 places to discover new talent, 50 places to put pressure on the opposition.

    Yes, triple endorsed. This is the first campaign I have ever worked in because it is the first time Democrats have had a ground level one in my red state. My husband always sorta thought Dean deserved the nomination in 04 and that he got a bum rap with that yelling thing which was way over blown.

  184. 184.

    Andre

    Interestingly, the only MMO I play with a liberal majority is LOTRO. Every other one (WAR, WOW, TR, COX, AOC, etc) is apparently populated with people who think the solution to all problems, real or imagined, is MOAR DPS.

    EVE’s a bit of an exception, too many foreign players (like myself) to really go anti-Barrack, but not that politically concerned.

  185. 185.

    Pastafarian

    If I’m having trouble focusing on the tv I think that means I’m Pastafarian +way too many to keep commenting.

    See you tomorrow. Congratulations, Barack and Michelle.

  186. 186.

    Gemina13

    Watching MSNBC call Ohio for Obama. *nervous*

    Watching MSNBC call 284 safe electoral votes for Obama. *nervous*

    Watching McCain give a gracious concession speech to fuckheads I wish didn’t share my city, let alone my state. *irritated*

    Watching Obama stride out on stage and give a historic speech to thousands of weeping, blissful supporters. *nervous, and checking for snipers*

    Watching Michelle and Barack embrace as the weariness finally shows on his face. *tears*

    Knowing that I and millions of others will never forget this night: *Priceless.*

  187. 187.

    eyeball

    There is NOTHING classy about Jonah Goldberg. Ever. John, you are drunk-blogging. He is a fat vapid opportunist. He would swerve over to liberalism in a heartbeat if he saw a buck in it. Don’t get all gooey. These fuckers need to be called out nonstop and to be pilloried in the public square for their share in the Great Fuckup of the last 8 years.

  190. 190.

    ninerdave

    May I suggest we all raise a glass for a toast to Howard Dean?

    Absolutely, but let’s also not forget David Plouffe ran a picture perfect campaign. I have a feeling that when people study campaigns in the future, they’ll compare Plouffe vs Rove and Plouffe will be the example of how to run a successful campaign.

  193. 193.

    Tattoosydney

    It’s 5pm in Sydney and everyone I know is heading off to the bar to drink! There’s a bottle of Moet on ice, and it’s going to be an entertaining night.

    Thanks guys… for being the sane, funny and slightly annoying people I got to chat with for the last 9 months… and for voting the right way…

    Yes. We. DID.

  194. 194.

    Jim

    My fondest hope is that the discipline, competence and pragmatism that was shown in winning the election is employed in running the country. I also want to see some understanding that even if we have become a center-left country, he needs to listen to the center. I hope he fights off any temptation to bring back the fairness doctrine – MSNBC and to a lesser extent Ed Shultz and Randi Rhodes shows liberal talk can hold its own. Keep as many people as possible vested in the outcome. It’s time to be the Magical Unity Pony.

  195. 195.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    I agree with the observation about David Plouffe. Now *that’s* a campaign strategist.

  196. 196.

    Alan

    @eyeball:

    This is a clear mandate for the Rove-Limbaugh-Neocon-Palin wing of the GOP.

    God damn right. But the Rove-Limbaugh-Neocon-Palin wing of the GOP will think they didn’t go far enough. That’s why they’ll be out of power until the names Rove, Limbaugh, and Palin are completely forgotten. At least that’s my opinion–speaking as a 25 year voting Republican.

    Today is a great day. :)

  198. 198.

    Brian J

    Yes, triple endorsed. This is the first campaign I have ever worked in because it is the first time Democrats have had a ground level one in my red state. My husband always sorta thought Dean deserved the nomination in 04 and that he got a bum rap with that yelling thing which was way over blown.

    There are many things I don’t understand about the way people look at events in recent political history. At the very top of the list is the reaction most people have to the Dean Scream of 2004. Why in the world people act as if he passed out drunk and then pissed himself is beyond me. He acted a little rowdy at a rally to connect with his supporters. Unless there’s some other big piece of the puzzle that I am forgetting, that’s all that happened. And yet, any time anybody who is remotely political mentions his name, they bring this up. I just do not get it.

  199. 199.

    Comrade Kevin

    @Radon Chong:

    ?

    myiq:

    It may look like I talk about pies a lot, but I’m actually restraining myself from bringing them up more often. They’re that good!

  200. 200.

    Douglas Watts

    Thanks, Mr. Cole.

    Your self-deprecating humor and perspective is valuable. I have enjoyed it during this campaign.

    Cheers.

  201. 201.

    The Thinking Man's Mel Torme

    My father, a second world war veteran, was deeply saddened by the 2004 election. He told me, "I wanted to live long enough to see George Bush out of office, and now I don’t think I’ll be able to." He didn’t. He died of complications from a stroke in February, 2006. So, tonight, I hoisted one in a toast for him, for President (Elect) Obama, and having my country back.

  203. 203.

    Steve the Electrician

    Good job, Barak.

    The next four years won’t be easy,but we’ll be pulling for you.

    Cheers!

  205. 205.

    iluvsummr

    Still trying not break down blubbering; I’m so happy. Got turned away from the Hyatt Regency in L.A. because hundreds more people showed up for the victory party than they’d planned. Huddled with a bunch of people in a restaurant with a big screen TV across the street and watched Obama’s acceptance speech from there. People were cheering at the top of their voices and clapping during the speech and it just felt amazing.

    Thanks to everyone who phonebanked, canvassed, and concern trolled (takes everyone to win) :). Thanks to Nate at 538.com for keeping me sane up until today…

  207. 207.

    robertdsc

    For all the RedState/Palinite morons and haters, there’s three words for them:

    Suck. On. This.

  208. 208.

    Brian J

    Absolutely, but let’s also not forget David Plouffe ran a picture perfect campaign. I have a feeling that when people study campaigns in the future, they’ll compare Plouffe vs Rove and Plouffe will be the example of how to run a successful campaign.

    This could easily be proven wrong in a few years, but assuming Obama has a successful first term, keeps his incredible level of core supporters, and is favored to win in 2012, I think several red states, like Texas and Georgia, could be up for grabs, or at least take a few steps in that direction. If they are, I imagine a lot of the credit to the Obama campaign’s strategy will be because it didn’t demonize the other side. (I think the campaign can be called many things, but divisive isn’t one of them.) We’ll never get the hardcore base of the Republican party, but by not acting as if those who lean towards the other side aren’t our fellow citizens, I think we have a greater opportunity of these people voting for us. I

  209. 209.

    Rommie

    I’m just thrilled too – I started back to school in the Fall of 2000, so I’ve spent most of the past few years wondering if I was wasting my time. Now, when I’m done in April, I feel like I have a real chance of success. It might sound dumb, I know, but it is what it is.

    I’ve been doling around the depths of Red Indiana forums (Indycar racing is one of my favorite things to watch) and it’s mostly declarations of non-cooperation, being ashamed of America, and a comment "The nation hasn’t been this divided since 1861" and I can finally laugh at them. Just like the Confederates, they’d rather lose everything than admit to a mistake. HA HA

  211. 211.

    Fulcanelli

    Saw this somewhere, maybe here…

    Rosa sat, so Martin could walk, so Barack could run, so our children could fly…

    Amazing on so many levels. And It’s only just begun… I’m just glad I could help. The misty-eyed Palin was the ‘happy ending’.

    It will be so awesome to watch a real, loving family of actual human beings live in the White House. With a puppy to boot! Cats are cool, but dawgs rock!

    I really needed this to happen. For my sanity.
    African-Americans really, really needed this to happen. They’ve put up with so much horrible shit.
    America really, really, really needed this to happen. For our own good.

    Now can we go fucking medieval on Bush, Cheney and Rove? I’m up for it.
    /+6

  212. 212.

    Steve The Other Plumber

    Where’s myiqis2xu?

    What happened to the Clinton supporters who said Obama can’t win? He ended up with a much larger win then Hillary ever could have pulled off, just like I said.

  215. 215.

    Doug H. (Fausto no more)

    Obama’s first move: Rahm Emmanuel accepted his offer to become Chief of Staff.

  216. 216.

    Steve The Other Plumber

    Weird. Msnbc.com is showing the South Dakota abortion ban as passing, but cnn.com shows it failing.

  222. 222.

    Nicole

    How is it just an hour ago I was weeping with joy while Obama spoke, and now I’m screaming at the TV because of Florida/Arizona/California (maybe)? Oh, right. I’m a liberal.

    And Arkansas and the gay adoption ban. Bastards.

    Whew. I was so unaccustomed to that kind of joy that it was making me uncomfortable. Now things are back to normal and I can get some sleep.

  224. 224.

    null pointer exception

    YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS. What a wonderful news to wake up to! My only regret is that here in The Netherlands I slept through it while history was being made.

  225. 225.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    Wow. Here in Michigan we put a pro-medical marijuana measure on the ballot, and it’s winning in a landslide.

  226. 226.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    And the president-elect’s margin of victory just keeps going up. It’s at 5 million up from 3.5 an hour ago.

  228. 228.

    Libby Spencer

    Si, se fucking puede. I’m at +5 so I’m just going to say how great is it to have a president we can be proud of again? How cool is it to be proud to be an American again? Every time the reality hits me, I start crying with joy and relief.

    Happy election day dear juicers. Thank you John and everyone here for all you did to make this moment happen.

  229. 229.

    Fulcanelli

    It will take some getting used to, a President who speaks in whole sentences, treats us like thinking adults and doesn’t have that asinine, idiotic look on his face that I’d like to remove with a potato peeler every time he opens his mouth.

  230. 230.

    Martin

    And the president-elect’s margin of victory just keeps going up. It’s at 5 million up from 3.5 an hour ago.

    There’s a shitton of us here in CA, and Obama will carry the state by 20+.

  232. 232.

    ninerdave

    Refresh at will:

    The San Francisco Chron’s election results

    Not looking good for No on 8. However I saw on Sully’s place the last pollster.com graph that showed the No side at 50 up by 4. Hopefully the urban areas (read the sane people in CA) haven’t been fully counted yet.

    52.6% yes
    47.4% no

    36% reporting.

    The only thing that could dampen my night is seeing bigotry written into my state’s Constitution.

    I have to believe whatever the results it will be challenged before it becomes law.

  233. 233.

    gopher2b

    I just got back from the rally in Grant Park. It was awesome. My wife (totally unexpectedly) started to cry because she started thinking about all the old african americans she cared for over the years (she’s a nurse in a nursing home) who didn’t get to see this.

    The crowd was fantastic: young, old, white, black, yuppie, not yuppie. It was very cool. They didn’t boo McCain (they did boo Palin).

    The national nightmare is over.

    (Obama’s statement about people in the corner’s of the earth listening on their radios gave me goose bumps…you know history when you see it)

  234. 234.

    Doug H. (Fausto no more)

    Seriously, I think Rahm is a tool, but he’ll be able to work the Congress on behalf of Obama.

    True that. And if it gets him out of the NDCC, even better.

  236. 236.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    MSNBC, CNN, fivethirtyeight.com. . . don’t forget the first name in news:

    Nation Finally Shitty Enough To Make Social Progress

    WASHINGTON—After emerging victorious from one of the most pivotal elections in history, president-elect Barack Obama will assume the role of commander in chief on Jan. 20, shattering a racial barrier the United States is, at long last, shitty enough to overcome.

    Although polls going into the final weeks of October showed Sen. Obama in the lead, it remained unclear whether the failing economy, dilapidated housing market, crumbling national infrastructure, health care crisis, energy crisis, and five-year-long disastrous war in Iraq had made the nation crappy enough to rise above 300 years of racial prejudice and make lasting change.

    "Today the American people have made their voices heard, and they have said, ‘Things are finally as terrible as we’re willing to tolerate," said Obama, addressing a crowd of unemployed, uninsured, and debt-ridden supporters. "To elect a black man, in this country, and at this time—these last eight years must have really broken you."

  237. 237.

    Brian J

    NBC just called Indiana for Obama. Along with success in Virginia, that makes over four decades of failure come to a grinding halt. These states are now on their way to becoming battlegrounds in every election.

  238. 238.

    Martin

    Well, OC is only in 11% – and YES is winning by 20 points. SF is 90% in. LA is going to have to flip from YES to NO, I think, and Alameda come in huge against.

    It’s going to be tight, either way. There are parts of OC that may be more supportive. Irvine in 10%, NB 20%, Santa Ana 50%, Anaheim 25%. I’m not sure Irvine will be able to turn this around enough – but there are a shitload of NO votes there with the university.

  239. 239.

    b. hussein canuckistani (comrade)

    Congratulations, my American friends. It’s good to admire the USA again.
    Now, I’m going to go and finish that elitist champagne.

  242. 242.

    Laertes

    Indiana has changed. The Indiana I knew as a kid would never ever have voted for Obama. I’m proud as hell of my old home state.

  245. 245.

    ved

    One thing that hasn’t been pointed out. Even where Obama lost he lost by approx 10points less. Bottom line, Obama moved the entire American Electorate 10points to the left. That is fundemental.

    Repeat after me: President Obama. (repeat till you stop tearing up).

  246. 246.

    Brian J

    Some Republican named Doug Nye on Fox just said two of the future voices of the Republican party were Eric Cantor and Michael Steele. Make of that what you will.

  247. 247.

    Fulcanelli

    The fun starts when Prez O’s posse starts digging through the rubble of the various Government departments and begins finding the the criminal easter eggs the Bushists forgot to delete or burn. Then there’s the low-level permanent staff in federal offices like the OMB, DOJ, State and others who most likely have been stashing some juicy indictables away for the day when Bush bails for Crawford. I live for this shit seeing the light of day, It’s coming…

  248. 248.

    LLeo

    somehow my name was changed to "ved". (repost as me LLeo)

    One thing that hasn’t been pointed out. Even where Obama lost he lost by approx 10points less. Bottom line, Obama moved the entire American Electorate 10points to the left. That is fundemental.

    Repeat after me: President Obama. (repeat till you stop tearing up).

  249. 249.

    YellowJournalism

    The only thing that could dampen my night is seeing bigotry written into my state’s Constitution

    Take comfort in the court battles to come? I know there’s going to be a lot over the one in Arkansas, too, that doesn’t allow unmarried couples to adopt. Gee…now who can’t legally marry in that state…

    According to what I saw tonight, they said it doesn’t ban single-person adoption.

    I was overjoyed to see the anti-abortion initiatives in North Dakota and Colorado are going down, especially the one in Colorado that defined a person as starting from fertilization.

  250. 250.

    Onihanzo

    i don’t even know what the hell Erick’s getting at at Red State with this bunko:

    Congratulations to Barack Obama who has made history and proven we are nation that has moved beyond the need for quotas and affirmative action. The thirty years Sandra Day O’Connor speculated we might need before reconsidering affirmative action came a hell of a lot earlier than she thought.

    Is he trying to say Affirmative Action put Barack in office?

  251. 251.

    Jeff

    @Brian J: I heard another talking head say they had to choose the divisiveness of Palin or the inclusiveness of Bobby Jindal. I know Jindal is competent, but isn’t he sort of nuts?

  253. 253.

    catatonia

    Damn, Obama’s speech was great.

    Damn, it’s nice to see the country has wised up.

    Damn, I’m proud to be an American tonight.

  254. 254.

    Jeff

    @YellowJournalism: Since the constitution contradicts itself if it passes, could an argument be made that there should be no state sponsored civil marriage and everyone now gets a civil union?

  255. 255.

    ninerdave

    @Onihanzo:

    Actually in RedState’s defense they (at least in the first few paragraphs of each "we lost" post) have been actually conciliatory and in their wingnuttia view of the world realize that this is pretty historic.

  256. 256.

    NonWonderDog (НеинтереснаяСобака)

    @Onihanzo:

    He appears to be saying that racism and racial disadvantages are now officially over, so we should embark on a national campaign to undo affirmative action. Because he’s a douchebag.

  258. 258.

    Onihanzo

    @ninerdave: True. The frontpage stuff has been neutered.

    But you’ve gotta love commenter gems like this one:

    For the Obama supporters…your guy won, bully for you! I am sure there were plenty of people that were happy that Mao, Pol Pot, Stalin, Hitler, and similar demagogues were running the show and a good number of them ended up on the bad end of the deal by the time the dust settled.

    If only someone would jar these tears… so that I might sweeten my morning tea with them.

  259. 259.

    ninerdave

    Fuck.

    Prop 8 with 48% reporting:

    Yes (BOOOOO!!!) 52.5%
    No (YAAAAAA!!!!) 47.5%

    Next time someone speaks to you about "liberal California" pop them in the grill for me. Ok?

  260. 260.

    Juan del Llano

    What did everybody watch?

    I found a CNN feed from Grant Park and just went with that after the West Coast states came in. OUTSTANDING. No voiceover, no talking heads, just one incredible celebration. And the music rocked.

    This isn’t primarily a political phenomenon, you know. I think we just busted through to something totally different, and I like it. BOY DO I LIKE IT. And just think: now you can go visit another country and not get beat up.

    I haven’t felt this good since… um… since, well…

  262. 262.

    Chuck Butcher

    Yes We Can

    Well, quite a sight I’d have made if anybody had looked away from the speach, hard edged grey bearded construction guy with wet stuff running down from the corners of his eyes. Hell yes we can.

    It takes real nerve to use a winning speach to tell the crowd it’s going to be tough. I’d like to point out that when J McC says something nice about BHO the crowd boos and when BHO says something nice about J McC there is muted applause.

    Atanjurwhatever,
    Your ideology has had free rein for quite some time and crashed the car pretty good so we’ll do something different for awhile. YOU can play stupid ideological warfare or you can figure out how to help make it work. You can get run over and flattened or you can smarten up, take seriously the difference between the crowd reactions to McCain and to Obama – it has meaning.

  263. 263.

    ninerdave

    @Onihanzo:

    Oh, ya. I intentionally didn’t get into the comments. They are vile, well not as vile as the Freeps, but still…

    I do note that Moe, the resident comment cleanser has been wiping out the "OBAMA! Fuck ya!" comments leaving the scum behind. Of course unlike the the lefty blogs that is their M.O. They must keep their ideology clean and pure.

    It’s also why I thought it was interesting that the front pagers felt the need to acknowledge Obama’s win, the immensity of the moment, even though they explained it away immediately after.

  264. 264.

    Martin

    Is he trying to say Affirmative Action put Barack in office?

    No, he’s trying to say that because of this, AA isn’t needed any more. Just like Frederick Douglass’s escape to the north was proof that we didn’t need the 13th Amendment.

  265. 265.

    jonas

    Shit, if Prop. 8 loses in California….

    What the hell, people? Obama wins the state 60/40 and Prop 8 loses? Westside LA, SF and other coastal precincts better start coming in soon….

  267. 267.

    AnotherBruce

    I had a conservative friend who asked me what I saw in Obama. My reply was "He talks to me as an adult talking to an adult." I think that really is his talent. We were ready for serious leadership. I’m glad you mentioned that John. He’s a real live intelligent and mature leader. If he runs his presidency as well as he has run his campaign, he’s going to be a great president and world leader.

  269. 269.

    cain

    @Laertes:

    Indiana has changed. The Indiana I knew as a kid would never ever have voted for Obama. I’m proud as hell of my old home state.

    Ditto! I can’t believe Indiana did it. God, I"m so proud of our country right now.. we did it.

    cain

  270. 270.

    cain

    You know.. I wish Molly Irvins was alive to see this. She would have loved it. Hope you’re watching Molly!

    cain

  271. 271.

    Martin

    What the hell, people? Obama wins the state 60/40 and Prop 8 loses? Westside LA, SF and other coastal precincts better start coming in soon….

    SF is 100% in. I don’t know the makeup of LAs reported votes, and I know a lot of OCs liberal votes aren’t in, but LA needs to reverse course here for 8 to be defeated.

  272. 272.

    ninerdave

    @JasonC:

    i’ve never been prouder.

    Me too.

    However the bigots in CA (and oh yeah, we’re not the liberal bastion that the GOP wants to pretend we are)

    look like they might actually supress rights of people by passing prop. 8.

    Shame on us.

  274. 274.

    Martin

    I don’t know why this state allows a ballot measure to amend the constitution with just a 50% vote…

  275. 275.

    BethanyAnne

    @jonas: That won’t help, unfortunately. African-Americans voted 2 to 1 for discrimination, so the extra turnout in that community actually hurt the No on 8 campaign. Heck, I got a robocall this morning with a Barack clip talking about believing that marriage is "between a man and a woman" and he "supports civil unions, not gay marriage". He was against Prop. 8 technically, but more than the statement of opposition was a luxury he couldn’t afford during the campaign.

  276. 276.

    Common Sense

    What the hell, people? Obama wins the state 60/40 and Prop 8 loses? Westside LA, SF and other coastal precincts better start coming in soon….

    AA and (Roman Catholic) Hispanics aren’t overwhelmingly supportive of gay rights. Quite a few of both in CA.

  277. 277.

    ninerdave

    You know what of one of the more interesting things:

    The Queen: Oprah….was in the crowd, just like anyone else.

    Interesting. You’d think she’d be roped off on the side in a chair somewhere.

  278. 278.

    ninerdave

    @Common Sense:

    AA and (Roman Catholic) Hispanics aren’t overwhelmingly supportive of gay rights. Quite a few of both in CA.

    Nor are blacks.

    As I said above, CA is not the liberal haven that the GOP wants you to believe it is.

  279. 279.

    ninerdave

    Should those outside of CA wonder if Prop 8 passes and wonders WTF?

    I have two answers for you.

    1) The Yes on 8 people out campaigned the no folk. They have from the beginning. Sad, but true.

    2) CA is not as liberal as you might think.

    The only thing that can shit on tonight is, the bigots winning with Prop 8.

    I’m hoping that this constitutional amendment….yes that’s right you non-CA folk…we have a proposition on the ballot that will TAKE AWAY rights and it looks to be winning, can and will be challenged in court.

  280. 280.

    Ash Can

    Fell asleep myself earlier putting Bottle Rocket to bed, woke up about an hour ago. Not surprised by the developments considering the way the electoral vote was going and the fact that Ohio had already been called for Obama, but…day-um. Wow. I feel drained, shellshocked by years of right-wing bullshit and overwhelmed by the sheer gobsmacking beauty of what’s happened tonight. I had to watch on TV the proceedings in Grant Park a few miles away — I just couldn’t haul an already sniffly 8-year-old downtown and keep him up half the night — but by heaven, I’m so proud of my city, my state, my country. I was just a kid when Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated, but I was old enough to feel shock and despair when I heard the news on the radio (even though I’m white). And now, to see this, tonight…

    At some point in the next couple of days, or maybe on Inauguration Day, it’ll all sink in, and I’ll start weeping with joy and not be able to stop. Barack isn’t perfect, and I know he’ll do things on occasion that will make me want to wring his neck (at which point I’ll remind myself of what the alternative would have been like and calm down in a hurry). But for now, it’s time to celebrate, because sanity is back, decency is back, and America is back.

  281. 281.

    Darkrose

    @Common Sense:

    Before everyone gets on the Blame the Brown People Bandwagon, I’d like to point out two things:

    1. Look at the map: the coast mostly went no. Everything east? Yes. There aren’t a whole lot of black people in Kern County.

    Hell, Sacramento probably went yes not because of the black vote, but because of the large numbers of extremely homophobic Russian evangelicals who’ve moved here in recent years.

    2. In the end, it was about who could get their message out. Yes on 8 was being bankrolled by the Mormons. Last I checked, they were a pretty white bunch.

  282. 282.

    jonas

    Yeah, I think we have to concede that the huge turnout for Obama was a double-edged sword: it helped Obama, but a lot of Hispanic/Catholic and Black voters are anti-gay, or were even mislead by the Yes on 8 campaign to think that a "yes" vote meant that they were protecting gay rights. There was a lot of misinformation out there. Last Saturday, during a large Yes on 8 rally at a main intersection in our town, a group of what looked like high school students were carrying a "Obama/Biden say: Yes on 8" banner, which was bullshit of course. Also, a lot of the Central Valley/Inland Empire areas of California are heavily conservative, so big turnouts there can blunt the votes of more liberal coastal counties. It helps to think of California as Massachusetts attached to Alabama.

  283. 283.

    Common Sense

    Darkrose:

    I’m not "blaming the brown people." I’m simply pointing out that on social issues (abortion, gay rights) the black and Hispanic community trends significantly more conservative than the typical Dem voter. I’m not saying they are horrible people mind you, they are simply not your stereotypical Democrat. Much as John Tester or Heath Shuler are more conservative on certain issues.

    I’m fairly certain that a Proposition 8 type amendment would pass by a far larger margin in states that went Obama like FL, OH, VA, NC, and IN. Not because of brown people there, but because the people voting Democrat aren’t automatically social liberals.

    WRT your point about the coasts, the question is by what margins the measure passed in the hinterlands and failed in the city. If Obama carried LA 65-35, but the vote on Prop 8 was 52-48 against, that is enough to be counteracted by the rural vote.

  284. 284.

    Common Sense

    @ninerdave:

    Nor are blacks.

    The "AA" before the Hispanics was shorthand for African American. I don’t think the recovering alky vote doomed Prop 8.

  285. 285.

    Nillin

    After the acceptance speech, there was an impromptu Obama parade in Portland, Oregon. There was drumming, cheering, and yes, actual dancing in the streets.

    Yay Obama!

  287. 287.

    Comrade Baron Elmo

    …Wow.

    I admit it — when MSNBC made the call for Obama, I hugged my girlfriend and shed tears of pure joy.

    All the months of nail-gnawing tension, checking the polls three times a day. The weeks of cautiously growing optimism, tinged with the nagging fear of impending catastrophe. The ever-present concern that America would vote for fear instead of hope.

    All over… and this time, we get a happy ending.

    I’m gonna pour a tall cool one, put on Curtis Mayfield & the Impressions’ "We’re a Winner," and bask in true contentment. Blessings aplenty to all of you.

  288. 288.

    Darkrose

    @Common Sense:

    I’m just tired of this because I’ve been dealing with it all fucking election cycle: "The black community is homophobic." "Women will vote for Hilary."

    I’m part of the black community. I’m a woman. And I’m also queer. And I’m sick of the framing that essentially makes me invisible.

  289. 289.

    Sherrell

    "What an inspiration. He is the first truly global U.S. president the world has ever had," said Pracha Kanjananont, a 29-year-old Thai sitting at a Starbuck’s in Bangkok. "He had an Asian childhood, African parentage and has a Middle Eastern name. He is a truly global president."

    The world celebrates with us!!

  290. 290.

    Conservatively Liberal

    The Hillaryis44 nutcases have thrown Hillary ‘under the bus’, and the same goes for Bill. They are blaming them for Obama winning, that they did too much to help him. Now they want to focus on Palin for president in 2012. Someone even suggested that they rename the site ‘PalinIs45’.

    Please let it happen! Let these losers hang their hopes on Caribou Barbie. It would be a perfect waste of their time.

    Myiq3.14159, I mean GoatBoy, is in fine foaming at the mouth form over at Cornfluence. GoatBoy never was a Hillary supporter, he was an Obama hater, though and through. He only supported Hillary in the hopes that the black guy would not win. He wanted her to go up against McCain because the ratfucking goatfucker wanted the weaker candidate to win.

    The PUMA asshats are irrelevant now, they have no purpose. They are a bunch of racists who can only hate like racists do, and that was not enough to do the job for McCain. They thought that racial hatred would win the day for them and they had their asses handed to them.

    I was so happy to see all of the AA faces on the TV, joyful beyond expression. Their tears of happiness brought tears to my eyes, it was truly beautiful to see them so happy. I watched Obama, Michelle and the kids come out on stage and my first thought was that is one damn fine looking First Family.

    When Obama gave his speech, it was cool that he told the world that his kids get their puppy. That really made me laugh. What a great father!

    President Barack Hussein Obama. I love it! It looks like the rest of the world does too.

  291. 291.

    bedlam UK

    Just wanted to leave my congratulations to you all.
    You all worked hard for what you believed in and have changed the future of your country.
    I hope that America can become the beacon again for whats good about democracy.

    Everyone I’ve spoken to here in the UK is pleased and hopeful for the future under President Obama.

    I cannot however understand how your country can change the fundamental structure of your politics on the same day that one of your states spits on the First Ideal of America and votes for discrimination and prejudice.
    Do Teh Gays have to sit at the back of the bus now?

    Well, one step at a time, and you’ve made the first, the hardest, the greatest step.
    WELL DONE and CONGRATULATIONS.

    ps. I just wanted to say that I’m so glad I found Balloon Juice when first learning about US politics during the Primaries.
    I’ve enjoyed every day of reading this site. Thanks John.

  292. 292.

    oh really

    President Barack Hussein Obama. I love it!

    So do I. Now, it’s fine if people want to call him Hussein, as long as they call him President Hussein.

    I can hardly wait for the joint McCain, Palin, Plumber Dumbass, and Atanarjuat press conference in which they’re all going to rub McCain’s shocking come from behind victory in our faces.

    Oh, wait, things didn’t work out quite that way. I guess we should enjoy our brief moment of happiness before Atanarjuat single handedly uncovers the greatest voter fraud scandal in world history. Rumor has it that Mickey Mouse voted nineteen million times in 23 states and every time for Obama.

  293. 293.

    liberal

    @Martin:

    I don’t know why this state allows a ballot measure to amend the constitution with just a 50% vote…

    I was wondering the same thing, but I also think it’s true for most states.

  294. 294.

    Rick Taylor

    Personally, I’m still aghast at the tragic turn of events, but that’s just the conservative partisan in me talking, not the American who is still your neighbor and an ally. Please remember this before you wield Obama’s victory like a vengeful cudgel to smite your opponents; we’ve been smitten enough in the past hour, and the cudgeling of our world will only continue for the rest of the year. There’s no need to compound our misery.

    That’s pretty much how I felt in 2004.

  295. 295.

    slightly_peeved

    Congratulations to you all, from another Australian.

    So, since he was described as a "socialist" by everyone, and still won the election, does that mean the Democrats have a mandate for socialism? Sweet!

    Seriously, it looks like you have a leader with the eloquence and political acumen to convince the American people that well-run government is a force for good. With healthcare, he has the issue which can prove it. He has the potential to cause a historic realignment in US politics, and I hope for all your sakes that he does it.

  297. 297.

    bago

    And yes, there was actual dancing in the streets, and fireworks, and when someone knocked over the trash can 5-6 people came to right it and put everything away. We fucking rule.

  299. 299.

    liberal

    @Conservatively Liberal:

    I was so happy to see all of the AA faces on the TV, joyful beyond expression. Their tears of happiness brought tears to my eyes, it was truly beautiful to see them so happy.

    Yes, that was very moving. It was also moving to see black and white together, cheering a black president.

  300. 300.

    Josh Hueco

    @Rick Taylor:

    I’ll just add McCain’s concession speech was good.

    I was impressed at McCain’s grace. Not so much at the catcalls from all the bitters in the crowd.

    This is what Nixon and Rove and Atwater have wrought. I hope the GOP never recovers.

  301. 301.

    Brian J

    I was impressed at McCain’s grace. Not so much at the catcalls from all the bitters in the crowd.

    As much as I liked his speech, I’m reminded of that quote from one of his advisers that said he was the best apologizer in politics. I don’t think we should hold his dirty campaign over his head forever, but we shouldn’t think that a nice speech and some kind promises erase what he did. It wasn’t the worst campaign ever, and while he walked back from the worst tactics when it appeared they were really going to hurt the country, he still launched them in the first place. If he’s willing to be an honest broker and to help Obama achieve, then I’m willing to forgive, but I will never, ever forget.

  302. 302.

    metricpenny

    I was finally able to release the tension I had built up over the last few months when I clicked on my Ballon Juice bookmark and read the title of this post.

    It produced a combined deeeeeep from the gut burst of laughter and sobs.

    Thanks John, I needed that!!

    When will the bumper sticker be available?

  303. 303.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    I’m not sure I’ve stopped crying since last night. Every time I think I’ve got myself together something else is said or happens that I tear right up again. What a great day it is to live in this country.

  304. 304.

    Chris Johnson

    Remember, it isn’t "yes HE can"…

    It’s yes WE can.

    I love the bit about partying people knocking over a trash can and then five or six people scurry to pick it up and clean up the mess.

    That’s us, man, that’s us all over. We just proved we don’t like living in shit. Whistle while you work :)

  305. 305.

    Malron

    John, I really mean this:

    Don’t you DARE stop calling Obama the "Magical Unity Pony." You might think you’re being disrespectful or condescending but I swear it – along with the Unicorn analogies and nicknames like "Hopey McOptimism" from Jon Stewart – are some of the funniest shit I’ve heard about Obama. I say that as an Obama supporter. The cracks are so over the top that there’s no way they can even be received as actual put downs, at least not by me. Hell, even the "Magical Negro" cracks by Limbaugh cracked me up. Obama’s ascendancy was about as likely as a Unicorn Parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to most Americans anyway, so why not poke fun at our collective disbelief at what no one – especially blacks like me before Iowa – initially believed was really possible?

    No worries, dude.

  306. 306.

    Ben Lehman

    I’m a big Obama supporter, and I was at the time you wrote it, but for what it’s worth, I consider "list of things Obama has transcended" to be the best comedy piece of this election.

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