A gracious loser is superior to an arrogant winner, lone wolf. My thoughts are of ancient Rome this morning. We carry our own victory inside. No matter who won we have a mess to solve/deal with.
On Nov 5, 2:18 am, "\"Lone Wolf\"" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > The election of Barack Obama > 5 November 2008 > > Democratic candidate Barack Obama won an overwhelming victory over > Republican John McCain in the US presidential election Tuesday, and > the Democrats significantly increased their majorities in both the > House of Representatives and the US Senate. > > As of midnight, Obama was projected to win 338 electoral votes > compared to 156 for McCain, with five states still too close to call. > A total of 270 electoral votes is required for victory. The Democrats > had gained at least five seats in the Senate and nearly 20 seats in > the House, with the outcome of many contests still undetermined. > > Obama carried 26 states: all 19 won by the 2004 Democratic candidate > John Kerry and seven states won by Bush in that election--Virginia, > Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada. He was leading > in three more states won by Bush in 2004--Indiana, North Carolina and > Montana. > > Obama's national margin in the popular vote will approach ten million. > He has won by the largest margin for a non-incumbent candidate for > president since Eisenhower in 1952. > > First and foremost, the election outcome is a massive repudiation of > the Bush presidency, the Republican Party and nearly three decades of > right-wing domination of American politics. It is a watershed > election, one which reflects, in the electoral framework, the massive > demographic, socio-economic and cultural shifts over the past quarter- > century. > > All of the right-wing nostrums reiterated by the media and political > establishment of both parties in recent years—that America is a > "right" or "center-right" nation with a majority of "red states" > unshakably loyal to the Republicans, that religion and cultural > "values" are the decisive political issues—have been shattered. > > More significantly, the election's outcome has disproved the claim > that the United States is a racist nation, and that irrational racial > animosities trump all other issues. According to exit polls, only a > very small percentage of voters stated that the issue of race exerted > any influence on their vote. Instead, under the impact of war, > financial crisis and deepening recession, tens of millions, in a > completely rational manner, voted to express their democratic and > essentially egalitarian aspirations—although, given the distorted and > limiting framework of official politics, the only outlet for their > sentiments was a vote for the Democrats. > > Polls also show that two-thirds of the immense youth vote went to > Obama. > > The result is shipwreck for the Republican Party, with its > presidential base reduced to a regional rump, consisting of the Deep > South and the largely rural states of the interior West. Obama swept > the East Coast from Maine down to Florida, the industrial Midwest, the > entire Pacific Coast and much of the Mountain West. > > The Republicans lost Senate seats in every region of the country. > Democrats captured vacant seats in Virginia, Colorado and New Mexico > and defeated incumbent Republicans in New Hampshire and North > Carolina, with seats in Oregon, Alaska and Minnesota still > undetermined. Not a single incumbent Democratic senator was defeated. > > In the House of Representatives, Democrats captured three Republican- > held seats in New York, three in Virginia, two in Ohio, two in > Florida, two in New Mexico, and one each in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, > North Carolina, Alabama, Illinois, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada and > Idaho. Only three Democratic incumbents were defeated, in Florida, > Louisiana and Texas. > > Millions of people in America and billions around the world are > greeting the sweeping Republican defeat with a sense of relief and > even exhilaration. However, their interpretation of the Obama victory > is very different from that of the Democratic Party leadership, > including Obama himself, and the ruling class constituency that backed > the Illinois senator. > > The US media will doubtless say that the Democratic victory is not a > mandate for a radical change of course. Already, even before the votes > were counted and Obama's victory was officially acknowledged, leading > Democrats were putting forward precisely this position. New Mexico > Governor Bill Richardson, who threw his support to Obama during the > Democratic primary contest, cautioned Tuesday night that the Democrats > should "be modest" and "seek alliances." Georgia Congressman John > Lewis echoed these remarks, saying the Democrats had to "go slowly" > and pursue a "bipartisan" course. > > In fact, Tuesday's election was a clear popular mandate for a reversal > of right-wing policies that have largely been of a bipartisan > character. > > Whatever satisfaction the Democratic Party draws from its victory is > tempered by the realization within President-elect Obama's inner > circle, the party leadership and the political establishment that the > mass expectations and hopes aroused by the election will not be easily > contained. The outcome of the election sets the stage for a new and > protracted period of intense class conflict in the United States. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. 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