Jack & Jill Politics

Ohio gone to Obama

ELECTION NIGHT OPEN THREAD #1 IS UP AND RUNNING

What's the soundtrack for tonight?

I'm about to put on Can You Feel It

As they said on How I Met Your Mother last night "I only need two things, Kool and the Gang"...Celebrate Good Times Come On!!!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwEMxYggoKQ

Green Lady where you at?????

John King and his map are getting all crazy. He's bringing the holograms, yo. This is going to be fun!

He and Chucky T are going to have so much fun tonight.

Who is watching what channels?

On one Tivo, I'm recording MSNBC and CNN.

On the other one, I've decided TVOne and C-Span.

I'm primaraly watching MSNBC but I have to switch to CNN every once and a while because it is in HD and John King is the orginal map guy.

Ditto. Election Night ain't official if you don't tune in to see John King making love to the map!

there are several housebound folks with helpers on my aunt's block. I told them to bring the folks they take care of to my aunt's house and they could go vote. felt good - allowed four people to vote, and listened to some Elders talk about how they never thought this day would come.

nice.

Anyone have the soundtrack to "Roots"? There is a song, the very last one on there, "Many Rains Ago"....its so appropriate to listen to tonight. Of course I cry just listening to a clip of it on free.napster.

I've been trying to get the CD of the soundtrack and its extremely hard to find. I'd really like to hear that song tonight.

First Polls closed in Indiana and Kentucky!

<freakout>

The suspense is killing me. That's it, I got nothing else.

</freakout>

Smile! :)

I saw the smiling list and would like to add.

Fannie Lou Hamer

Medgar Evers

Fred Hampton

There are so many who will go un-named that have sacrificed all to make this day possible.

I voted for the first time today and it was incredible!

On the way to the school I heard a mother tell her son " You see, with education you can do anything". Once inside I saw a lot of teenagers and it really made me feel good.

I went into the booth and I paused to take it all in before I voted. I was moments away from taking a part in the most transformative event in American history since the Civil War!

Brooklyn and NYC as a whole will be in a state of euphoria when Obama wins tonight.

Who is smiling today
1.Crispus Attucks
2.Nat Turner
3.Frederick Douglas
4.Harriet Tubman
5.W.E.B. Dubois
6.Booker T.Washington
7.Dredd Scott
8.Homer Plessy
9.Phillip Randolph
10.Thurgood Marshall
11.Martin Luther King
12.Ida B Wells
If I forgot anyone please let me know

Malcolm X

Emmit Till

Mamie Till

Ossie Davis

Coretta Scott King

James Chaney

Andrew Goodman

Michael Schwerner

Sojourner Truth

Vernon Johns

Harold Washington

Blache Bruce

Daisy Bates

Medgar Evers

Chicago folks: Lu Palmer, Vernon Jarrett

At least 10 million people whom didn't make it to these shores.

Including the mothers who jumped overboard with their babies rather than raise them in bondage.

I stole this comment from a black gossip site regarding Madelyn Dunham. see below:

"I truly believe she ascended to ensure Barack’s safety in the upcoming days, weeks, months and years.

Although she’s left this Earthly realm, her contribution and shaping the man we are about to elect as the next President of the United States, she will never be forgotten."

I don't have tickets to the rally tonight but I am going down anyway. I just want to be in the midst. I want to see the faces. I just want to....feel.

I made hotel reservations for the night for me and the hubby so we don't have to worry about getting back home. I already have the day off.

I am stil debating on taking my laptop to the hotel. I want to be able to check in with you guys for whatever time we are in the hotel.

Honey - go without your laptop and enjoy the sights and sounds. Take a camera instead.

hey have you guys heard anything about the black panthers blocking voting site w/ sticks?

suppose to be on fox news.

heres a link i found

http://minx.cc/?post=277352

I have a strange urge to dig up my Public Enemy CD.

Remember. It takes a nation to hold us back. That never made sence to me till just now.

Oh....then allow me to instigate............Dig it up! Dig it UP!!

I was just bumping to Fight the Power at work....hey, they played it on the radio and the office was nearly empty..LOL

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1108/Pol...

ONE FOOTNOTE: The McCain camp also sent out, and Drudge is driving, the story of Black Panthers allegedly intimidating voters at a Philadelphia poll site. The story is disputed; indeed, it's such a heavily Democratic precinct (90% in 2004) that it wouldn't make a huge amount of sense for Obama backers to intimidate anyone there.

But more broadly, I wonder what the goal of pushing that one is (regardless of its details, which will likely be untangled tomorrow in the Philadelhipa press). On one hand, the idea that Democrats are up to dirty tricks may energize the Republican base; on the other, I'm not sure warnings of physical danger are the best way to get marginal Republicans to the polls.


Looks like spin the McCain Camp is putting out in order to discourage voters!!!!!!!

I wasnt able to view the video because of our firewall. Has anyone seen this on any respectable website? What about a youtube video?

LOL...yeah the Philly D.A. is suspect of the whole "intimidation" thing as well....
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/myfox/pages/News/Det...

Dealing in dirt until the end. Shameful.

I'm so nervous I can barely breathe. I felt like I was about to choke then I thought of this as instinctively as someone dying of thirst would reach for water. It's been years upon years since I've listened to the speech in full. If you're feeling the same way, hold on as tight as you can...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?st...

I'm nervous as can be too. Excited, but nervous.

Thanks for this reminder, NMP. I've been trying not to panic myself. I just got a few of those emails about how the campaign is worried about new voters not making it to the polls? So I did some calling from home. I can't say that I'm less nervous. But at least I've channeled it into something good!

Just came back from the third day of phone banking. Feels good. This time I had my three daughters with me. We've been out since 10:00am. They with me when I voted. That was the first time I took my children with me. And from there we went phone banking. I am so glad that my younguns can share the work with me and be a part of this victory.

Peace and love.

(Oh btw, a photographer from Atlantic Monthly took pictures of us phone banking for the Atlantic Monthly blog. If you see a picture of a sistah w/locks with 3 young girls w/locks on the blog that's us)

thank you ljf for all you do.

I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep. I sensed I was being led to go vote early.

I got to my polling place at 6:15am this morning. Already there was a line going around Northern Virginia Community College that was at least a mile long. I was there for an hour. The volunteers were going through the lines, using Blackberries to verify registrations in line and showing us how to use the computer equipment to cast our votes.

I stopped off at Mickey D's and picked up breakfast. Did some poll watching. Kept my eyes on everything.

Dropped off into a dreamless sleep around 10am. Glad I did that early voting because now I'm hearing about problems, but guess what? I also saw people whipping out cellphones and calling their workplaces saying "I might not be in, because I'm staying in this line to vote."

What amazed me most was the diversity in the voting line. Kinda reminded me when Nelson Mandela was running for President of South Africa and people were determined to stay in line.

I've called Tim Kaine and added my demands that the polls be kept open longer than 7:00pm tonight. If he wants any part of an Obama Administration, he will do it.

I'm waiting to lift my glass and toast a new President named Barack Obama. I've done my part - I hope you will do YOURS.

Job well done, CPL! Thanks to JJP for all the hard work! You're the best!


Love You Guys

I can't believe that TODAY is finally here!!!! I have been on cloud 99 all day!!! I'm so ready for the results!!!

Here is Obama an interview with Tom Joyner after he voted in Chicago today

He hopes that his supporters will remain in line to cast their vote no matter how long

He told a story about a woman standing in line while her husband is in a hospice, she later finds out that her husband died, however she remained in line to cast her vote for him.

Listen

hey nate thanks for directing me 2 that TPM site

hey u guys i came across this and i had 2 repost it 2 make sure it got read.....if u don't get emotional or teary eayed then something is wrong with u.....................

I have a confession to make.

I did not vote for Barack Obama today.

I've openly supported Obama since March. But I didn't vote for him today.

I wanted to vote for Ronald Woods. He was my algebra teacher at Clark Junior High in East St. Louis, IL. He died 15 years ago when his truck skidded head-first into a utility pole. He spent many a day teaching us many things besides the Pythagorean Theorem. He taught us about Medgar Evers, Ralph Abernathy, John Lewis and many other civil rights figures who get lost in the shadow cast by Martin Luther King, Jr.

But I didn't vote for Mr. Woods.

I wanted to vote for Willie Mae Cross. She owned and operated Crossroads Preparatory Academy for almost 30 years, educating and empowering thousands of kids before her death in 2003. I was her first student. She gave me my first job, teaching chess and math concepts to kids in grades K-4 in her summer program. She was always there for advice, cheer and consolation. Ms. Cross, in her own way, taught me more about walking in faith than anyone else I ever knew.

But I didn't vote for Ms. Cross.

I wanted to vote for Arthur Mells Jackson, Sr. and Jr. Jackson Senior was a Latin professor. He has a gifted school named for him in my hometown. Jackson Junior was the pre-eminent physician in my hometown for over 30 years. He has a heliport named for him at a hospital in my hometown. They were my great-grandfather and great-uncle, respectively.

But I didn't vote for Prof. Jackson or Dr. Jackson.

I wanted to vote for A.B. Palmer. She was a leading civil rights figure in Shreveport, Louisiana, where my mother grew up and where I still have dozens of family members. She was a strong-willed woman who earned the grudging respect of the town's leaders because she never, ever backed down from anyone and always gave better than she got. She lived to the ripe old age of 99, and has a community center named for her in Shreveport.

But I didn't vote for Mrs. Palmer.

I wanted to vote for these people, who did not live to see a day where a Black man would appear on their ballots on a crisp November morning.

In the end, though, I realized that I could not vote for them any more than I could vote for Obama himself.

So who did I vote for?

No one.

I didn't vote. Not for President, anyway.

Oh, I went to the voting booth. I signed, was given my stub, and was walked over to a voting machine. I cast votes for statewide races and a state referendum on water and sewer improvements.

I stood there, and I thought about all of these people, who influenced my life so greatly. But I didn't vote for who would be the 44th President of the United States.

When my ballot was complete, except for the top line, I finally decided who I was going to vote for - and then decided to let him vote for me. I reached down, picked him up, and told him to find Obama's name on the screen and touch it.

And so it came to pass that Alexander Reed, age 5, read the voting screen, found the right candidate, touched his name, and actually cast a vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Oh, the vote will be recorded as mine. But I didn't cast it.

Then again, the person who actually pressed the Obama box and the red "vote" button was the person I was really voting for all along.

It made the months of donating, phonebanking, canvassing, door hanger distributing, sign posting, blogging, arguing and persuading so much sweeter.

So, no, I didn't vote for Barack Obama. I voted for a boy who now has every reason to believe he, too, can grow up to be anything he wants...even President.

That was beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing!

Thanks for reposting this! I want believe that me tearing up is due to this cold i'm fighting..lol..It was actually this post. Thanks again!

Dang, I have been boo hooing for about ten minutes with this post.

Thanks to all of us, this is an awesome day.

so where are palin's 5 kids today?

she didnt' even bring piper to the polls....wouldn't it make sense to follow suit with the other candidates and bring the fam?

I guess she wanted them to catch up on school. lol

eastside93, a blogger for Talking Points Memo: "I Didn't Vote For Obama Today"

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/eas...

Dang, maybe I shouldn't have voted for Obama either.

I emailed this link to family and friends. Thanks for posting.

I followed the link and now it is posted on a few other sites. Thanks Nate.

It took me approximately 2 hrs, 11 min. to vote in S.C., but I did it!
When I went to eat breakfast (after voting), a young lady told me it took approximately 3 hours for her to vote.

Paid GOP workers say they misled Wis. voters

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081104/ap_on_el_ge...

"The employees told The Associated Press on Monday they were hired by Allstaff Labor Group to go door to door in the Milwaukee suburbs locating McCain supporters and distributing absentee ballot request forms. Allstaff recruited them under a contract with a consulting firm hired by the Republican Party of Wisconsin to run its absentee ballot program.

The workers claim they were told to say they were GOP volunteers even though they were getting paid $10 an hour. They were required to sign agreements stating they would not publicly discuss their work but said they decided to speak out because they were angry they had not been paid for the last few days. They claim they are owed between $200 and $300."

i voted...and it was really surreal to me. all the black people in my neighborhood are so proud and they are high fiving and whatnot when they see people with the i voted sticker :-)

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Too cool!

Cool

Hey Barry, great minds think alike: I included this is my comment on another thread! :-)

I'm totally copying this to spread the HOPE around.

I live in suburban NJ, and it took me almost 2 hours to vote this morning. Normal time during a presidential election is 20 minutes. If the result of increased voter participation is just a little more time on line, that is fine by me. Remember the South Africans that stood in line for days to vote for Nelson Mandela?

I voted as well out here on the West Coast (San Francisco). It's a beautiful Fall day with blue skies and crisp air. What a day to be alive.

I voted bright and early( 7:00am PST). Today couldn't have gone more perfectly...it is the 20th anniversary of the first time I was eligible to cast a vote for President. I can't think of a better moment in my voting history than being able to cast my vote for America's first Black president! I was overcome by the immense emotion that I felt today.

I voted for the first time in my new home state of OK.It took about 30 min. and to my shock they used paper ballots.Even was part of an exit polled for the first time.I have faith that the American people will do the right thing.Got my bottle of Moet for a celebration and corn whiskey well I dont even want to think of the consequences if McCain wins.