Five Obama Pieces

I can’t say I’m much less elated now – 48 hours after Election Day – than I was then. I am, however, immersed in media related to what is now being called the Obama Administration.

I. A lot of Obama headlines.

II. Global reaction to Obama’s victory in the Times and on MPR.

III. A quote from a great piece in the Times from Robert Gibbs, a senior adviser to Mr. Obama, which sums up why I voted for BHO:

People went to the polls and elected Barack Obama because they believed the fact not only that he could do what he said, but that he would try to do what he said.

IV. A funny op-ed piece on the importance of having a Skinny Black Guy as president.

A lot of bigots woke up yesterday to the reality of our modern world. To them I say, just because you have a high metabolism, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have a fierce moral vision and the right ideas to fix this country. It just means that you don’t gain weight easily.

V. A great graphic from Patrick Moberg’s graphics blog:

All the Presidents

(Via my friend Matt – who’s using his blog to put up audio from the Grant Park rally.)

And one on Palin: a schadenfreude-filled story on the infighting that weakened the GOP’s ticket.

Live Obama Blogging

6:58 am: The final electoral-vote map shows a near-landslide for Obama: 338-161 or 63%/37%.

6:36 am: It looks like Coleman has won the senate race by 1,118 votes, or 0.046% of the vote. That’s an automatic recount.

12:09 am: Okay, I think that’s enough for tonight. The Franken-Coleman race is still chugging towards something like a conclusion, but my main hope has been realized. The Times is showing a 334-155 electoral vote count.

Now comes the hard part.

12:06 am: A sweet realization: that vicious Obama-Wright ad that the GOP started running on Sunday had no effect.

12:02 am: Great editorial in the (yes) Times: “He saw what is wrong with this country: the utter failure of government to protect its citizens.”

11:49 pm: I love the “Election Wordtrain” on the Times website, showing readers’ one-word summaries of their current mood. Clicking on the McCain tab to see what my fellow citizens was enlightening. They’re bumming.

11:47 pm: Rice County had 87% turnout. We love our elections down here in the windbelt.

11:45 pm: Ah yes. Palin: worst VP pick ever? Yes or yes?

11:44 pm: I can’t stop refreshing the SoS website to check the Franken-Coleman numbers, but they’re telling me on the teevee that the actual numbers don’t matter: in a race this close, a recount is (all but?) mandatory.

11:41 pm: Fired up! Ready to go! To bed.

11:35 pm: The election has broken the internet.

11:33 pm: Franken and Coleman are giving dueling speeches. The latest SoS numbers have Franken down again…

11:27 pm: Those chumps at the local NBC station are using old numbers for the senate race. Jeebus, check the damn Secretary of State website. Here’ the URL: http://electionresults.sos.state.mn.us/20081104/ElecRslts.asp?M=S&R=all&P=A&Races=%27%27. You’re welcome.

11:26 pm: The true believers at Coleman HQ are chanting, “Yes Norm Can.” Wha?

11:23 pm: Franken in the lead by 105 votes with two-thirds of the precincts reporting! One one-hundredth of a percentage point separating them.

Continue reading Live Obama Blogging

Skies of America

It’s been a warm, overcast, humid day here – more late May than early November. Around two, the clouds thickened and cast a dusk-like pall over the campus. Around then, I clicked on some link somewhere and watched this incredible bit of an Obama speech last night. No lie: as the video culminated with the riveting call-and-response (around 4:30), the clouds parted and a golden beam of sunlight came right through my office window.

E-Day Minus 1

I rode over to the playground this afternoon to meet the girls and let Shannon head out on her run. The weather was beautiful – high 60s, a slight breeze, clear golden light. The playground was buzzing with at least twenty kids – a cluster of tween girls talking by the swings, some rambunctious boys climbing over things that weren’t meant to climbed, a lot of elementary-age kids going up and down the slides. Gigantic flights of geese trailed overhead every few minutes – one had at least a hundred birds in it.

The happy activity in the beautiful setting seemed like a fitting end to what had been a hellacious day, and an almost cinematic start to what I hope will be a wonderful 36 hours.

Date-En

Julia and Genevieve are presently running around the upstairs, from one room to the other, playing the “comb game” (1. Grab the comb or brush from the extra bathroom. 2. Run back and forth with it, yelling, “I don’t wanna brush my hair!”) and enjoying being naked – or as Vivi adorably says, “Date-en.” Ask her, “Vivi, do you want to put on your pajamas?” and she’ll yell delightedly, “No, Date-en!”

The trick is figuring out how much date-en fun is enough. You want to get in there with a diaper before post-bath usual.

Roman Around

There’s some sort of Rome theme here today. First, on our morning walk, both girls evinced great fear of something they called the “sun god,” which I eventually figured out was some sort of sun-faced decoration on a house along our usual walking route. Needless to say, today’s route did not include a trip past this house. Sol Invictus, indeed.

And now, as I try to write some stuff for a proposal that’s due on Monday, Vivi is doing a world-landmarks puzzle which includes a picture of what she calls the “Non-eeum” – the Roman Colosseum. It’s her favorite picture in the puzzle, the one which she always puts in place first.

90% Treats

Shannon already provided a full rundown of the Halloween festivities (and anxieties), and I’m buzzing from too many Milk Duds (I should have Milk Dudn’t), so I’ll just share this picture of the little witch helping the little ladybug make her way up to another door:

Witch and Ladybug
Witch and Ladybug

Anyone who can guess why Julia is wearing different witch hats gets a prize – all the Almond Joys we have in our house! (Shannon wants to give up the Milk Duds, too, but NEVER!)

Fraidy Tot

Walking through the subdivision last week, Julia was musing aloud about how scary she finds skeletons. I pointed out that we all have skeletons inside us, and we don’t find them scary, and then made the unfounded argument that QED she doesn’t need to be scared of Halloween-decoration skeletons or skulls.

Not only did she accept this bill of goods, she’s passing it on: Shannon told me yesterday that Vivi had been frightened of a skull they saw somewhere, and Julia stepped right in: “You’re not afraid of your own skull, are you, Genevieve? We all have skulls, and they’re not scary!”