Remarks from Senator John McCain

Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.

My friends, we have -- we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.

In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.

This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.

I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too. But we both recognize that though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African American to the presidency of the United States. Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.

Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer in my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day, though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.

Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain. These are difficult times for our country, and I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.

I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises, to bridge our differences, and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.

It is natural tonight to feel some disappointment, but tomorrow we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again. We fought as hard as we could.

And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours.

I am so deeply grateful to all of you for the great honor of your support and for all you have done for me. I wish the outcome had been different, my friends. The road was a difficult one from the outset. But your support and friendship never wavered. I cannot adequately express how deeply indebted I am to you.

I am especially grateful to my wife, Cindy, my children, my dear mother and all my family and to the many old and dear friends who have stood by my side through the many ups and downs of this long campaign. I have always been a fortunate man, and never more so for the love and encouragement you have given me.

You know, campaigns are often harder on a candidate's family than on the candidate, and that's been true in this campaign. All I can offer in compensation is my love and gratitude, and the promise of more peaceful years ahead.

I am also, of course, very thankful to Governor Sarah Palin, one of the best campaigners I have ever seen and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength. Her husband Todd and their five beautiful children with their tireless dedication to our cause, and the courage and grace they showed in the rough-and-tumble of a presidential campaign. We can all look forward with great interest to her future service to Alaska, the Republican Party and our country.

To all my campaign comrades, from Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, to every last volunteer who fought so hard and valiantly month after month in what at times seemed to be the most challenged campaign in modern times, thank you so much. A lost election will never mean more to me than the privilege of your faith and friendship.

I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I'll leave that to others to determine. Every candidate makes mistakes, and I'm sure I made my share of them. But I won't spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been.

This campaign was and will remain the great honor of my life. And my heart is filled with nothing but gratitude for the experience and to the American people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Senator Obama and my old friend Senator Joe Biden should have the honor of leading us for the next four years.

I would not be an American worthy of the name, should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century. Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone and I thank the people of Arizona for it.

Tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Senator Obama, I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president.

And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties but to believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.

Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history, we make history.

Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very much.

Presidential Inauguration

The presidential inauguration is the official day that the President of the United States is sworn into office. The purpose of this inauguration is to honor the incoming president with formal ceremonies, including: a Presidential Swearing-in Ceremony, an Inaugural Address, and an Inaugural Parade.

The inauguration will take place on January 20, 2009 in Washington D.C. on the steps of the United States Capitol. President-elect Barack Obama will take the oath of office, which states the following:

"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Vice President-elect Joe Biden will have already taken a similar oath.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee is in charge of planning and executing the inauguration of our 44th president, Barack Obama. If you want to participate in inauguration day events, check back here often for more details.

Sarah Palin Pardons Turkey

WHY HILLARY???

It’s finally official: Barack Obama will appear with Hillary Clinton in Chicago on Monday as he names her secretary of state.

Thank you, Sarah Palin

My Godson (After the Christening)

Secret Service Steps Up Inauguration Security

WASHINGTON (AP) – Law enforcement officials bracing for the largest crowds in inaugural history are preparing far-reaching security — thousands of video cameras, sharpshooters, air patrols — to safeguard President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in.

People attending the ceremony and parade on Jan. 20 can expect to be searched by machines, security personnel or both. Precautions will range from the routine — magnetometers like those used at airports — to countersnipers trained to hit a target the size of a teacup saucer from 1,000 yards away. Plus undercover officers, bomb sniffing dogs and air patrols.

The Secret Service — the agency coordinating the security – also has assigned trained officials to identify and prevent cyber security risks. And, as it does at every inauguration, the service has mapped out escape routes for the 44th president.

In addition Washington's 5,265 surveillance cameras, spread around the city, are expected to be fed into a multi-agency command center.

"When you have an event like the inauguration, the more eyes we have in and around the city the better off we are," District of Columbia Police Chief Cathy Lanier said. Streets will be closed within seven-to-eight blocks on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue, and two-to-three blocks around each inaugural ball site, she said.

The already-high security for inaugurations was intensified in January 2005, for the first swearing-in after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and this year's will follow that heightened model.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/22/inauguration-security-enlists-snipers/

Pastor Manning is Crazy (as Hell)!

Is Obama Going to Selected Clinton for "Secretary of State"?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/22/us/politics/22obama.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Has The World Lost Respect For Bush???

YOUNG VOTERS IN THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION (SNIPPET 3) ---WILLIAM HOSTON

Al Qaeda Calls Obama a "House Negro"

Al Qaeda's No. 2 leader is heard in a Web posting Wednesday warning President-elect Barack Obama that "a heavy legacy of failure and crimes awaits" him.

The speaker also said Obama was the "direct opposite of honorable black Americans" like Malcolm X, the fiery African-American Muslim activist from the 1950s and 1960s.

"You have reached the position of president, and a heavy legacy of failure and crimes awaits you. A failure in Iraq to which you have admitted and a failure in Afghanistan to which the commanders of your army have admitted," the message said.

The speaker also said Obama's plan to pull troops from Iraq and send them to Afghanistan "is a policy which was destined for failure before it was born."

"If you still want to be stubborn about America's failure in Afghanistan, then remember the fate of Bush and Pervez Musharraf, and the fate of the Soviets and British before them," the message said. "And be aware that the dogs of Afghanistan have found the flesh of your soldiers to be delicious, so send thousands after thousands to them."

The message said Obama appears "to be captive to the same criminal American mentality towards the world and towards the Muslims." The speaker cited Muslims' ire toward Obama's support of Israel.

The speaker also said Obama, former and current Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, and "your likes" fit Malcolm X's description of "house slaves."

An English translation of the message used the term "house Negroes," Malcolm X's term for blacks who were subservient to whites.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/19/obama.alqaeda/index.html

Nebraska Safe Haven

Inaugural tickets hot hot hot

Obama Christmas Greeting

The "Red" South

The 2008 Presidential election showed that "race" is still a factor in the Southeastern region of the country. States such as Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas voted for McCain. Here are excerpts from a NY Times article that provides commentary as to why citizens from this region supported McCain.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/opinion/l17south.html?_r=1

Obama on 60 Minutes

inSECURITY

Paint the White House Black: Part 2

Paint the White House Black: Part 1

WSU Obama Pep Rally

A GREAT DAY...---WILLIAM HOSTON

Nigga Please

N Please from Aram Farouq on Vimeo.

Obama Visits the White House

Palin Blames Bush

(CNN) – Sarah Palin told local reporters in Alaska that unhappiness with the Bush administration’s Iraq war policy and spending record were responsible for the GOP ticket’s defeat this year.

“I think the Republican ticket represented too much of the status quo, too much of what had gone on in these last eight years, that Americans were kind of shaking their heads like going, wait a minute, how did we run up a $10 trillion debt in a Republican administration?” Palin told the Anchorage Daily News and Alaska’s KTUU Channel 2.

“How have there been blunders with war strategy under a Republican administration? If we're talking change, we want to get far away from what it was that the present administration represented and that is to a great degree what the Republican Party at the time had been representing. So people desiring change I think went as far from the administration that is presently seated as they could. It's amazing that we did as well as we did.”

Newspaper Ignores Obama Win

Obama Hate.

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

FACEBOOK GROUP "IMPEACH OBAMA"

Barack Obama has yet to be sworn in as the 44th U.S. President, but various groups are already using the Internet to gather support for his impeachment.

On Facebook, an "Impeach Barack Obama" group has attracted more than 700 members and a lively debate about the Democrat's election victory on Tuesday over Republican John McCain, reports AFP.

Another Facebook group of the same name has 160 members and urges others to join because "we might as well get a head start on the impeachment of Obama."

"There are a lot of Americans out there that do not fully understand the concept of Socialism or Communism which is why they've elected Obama as president," it says.

Yet another Facebook group, "Impeach Barack Hussein Obama," has 160 members. It decries that Obama "has voiced support for various unconstitutional programs such as the assault weapons ban, universal healthcare, and various schemes for wealth distribution."

Obama still has some way to go, however, to equal the number of "Impeach George Bush" groups on Facebook, which lists at least 95 such groups with varying membership.

Obama is to be sworn into office on January 20, 2009. He will be the first African-American president of the United States.

Ann Nixon Cooper Witnessed History

ATLANTA -- At age 106, Ann Nixon Cooper doesn't usually stay awake past midnight. But on Election Night she had special reason to do so: She was waiting for Barack Obama to mention her name. Cooper, one of the oldest voters for the nation's first black president, had been tipped off by the Obama campaign that she would be mentioned in his acceptance speech. Toward the end, she got her moment.

"I was waiting for it," said Cooper. "I had heard that they would be calling my name at least."
Obama introduced the world to a woman who "was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin."

"Tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can," he said.

On Wednesday, Cooper beamed as she greeted reporters at her southwest Atlanta home, wearing a gold cross around her neck that proudly displayed her age.

Cooper first registered to vote on Sept. 1, 1941. Though she was friends with elite black Atlantans like W.E.B. Du Bois, John Hope Franklin and Benjamin E. Mays, because of her status as a black woman in a segregated and sexist society, she didn't exercise her right to vote for years.

Instead, she deferred to her husband - Dr. Albert B. Cooper, a prominent Atlanta dentist - who "voted for the house."

Her husband died in 1967. Cooper has outlived three of her four children and lived to see women gain the right to vote and the end of segregation. On Oct. 16, she voted early for the Illinois senator, who called to thank her after reading a news article about her.

Cooper said she believes Obama's win could finally signal the change she has been waiting for.
"I feel nothing but relief that things have changed as much as they have," she said. "After a while, we will all be one. That's what I look forward to."

Cooper turns 107 in January, just a few weeks before Obama's inauguration.

Beautiful Moments...

THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Obama Makes History!!!

'Change has come to America'

Barack Obama told supporters that "change has come to America," as he addressed the country for the first time as the president-elect. "The American people have spoken."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/election.president/index.html

"44"--AN ODE TO OBAMA ---WILLIAM HOSTON

Hoax voting e-mail targets George Mason University community

It appears someone hacked into George Mason University's e-mail system late last night and sent out a hoax message intending to deter the Northern Virginia school's voters from going to the polls today.

The short message, which looked as if it came from the office of Provost Peter N. Stearns, was addressed to the Mason Community at large: "Please note that election day has been moved to November 5th. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you."

George Mason officials said this morning that the message went to approximately 35,000 people at the school's three campuses in Fairfax, Arlington and Prince William County, including about 30,000 students and 5,000 employees. University officials do not know who is responsible for the hack but said GMU is working with University police and the FBI to determine the source.

"Somebody was able to access a closed list, and the question we're trying to answer is how was that person able to get in there and do that," said Daniel Walsch, a George Mason spokesman. "We are working with authorities to try to locate the source, and hopefully we can identify the source, as we are taking it seriously and will prosecute if we find the person."

Stearns, the provost, sent out a message to the University community shortly before 1 a.m. to try to debunk what he called "troubling rumors" about the election. He wrote that the election is on Nov. 4 for both political parties and that it is untrue that any student jeopardizes their financial aid package by voting, a reference to earlier hoax e-mails that have circulated.

Walsch said it is unclear what the motive of the hoax was, whether it was just a joke or whether it was aimed at preventing students from voting.

"It caused some disruption," Walsch said, adding that students and parents have been calling about the rumors. "We're trying to get out notices that this is not true and we are working with police authorities to find the source of this. And we're trying to be as open about it as we possibly can be."

J.KWEST

J.Kwest - I Am (Obama) from Endangered Peace on Vimeo.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING...

Rev. Wright Ad

Sarah Palin Report Card

Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin attended five colleges in six years before graduating from the University of Idaho in 1987.

She began college at Hawaii Pacific University, a private, nonsectarian school in Honolulu. She attended only as a freshman during the fall of 1982. Then known as Sarah Louise Heath, she was in the business administration program as a full-time student.

From Hawaii Pacific, Palin transferred to North Idaho College, a two-year school in Coeur d'Alene, about 30 miles east of Spokane. She attended the college as a general studies major for two semesters, in spring 1983 and fall 1983.

From North Idaho College, Palin transferred 70 miles south to the University of Idaho, the state's flagship institution. She majored in journalism with an emphasis in broadcast news. She attended Idaho, whose mascot is the Vandals, from fall 1984 to spring 1985.

She then returned to Alaska to attend Matanuska-Susitna College in Palmer in fall 1985.

Then she returned to Idaho, for spring 1986, fall 1986 and spring 1987, when she graduated.

What do you think about the Young Conservatives of Texas' Anti-Obama Carnival?

Meet Charles... (ANOTHER REASON THAT AFRICAN-AMERICANS NEED TO VOTE!)

Ron Clark's Kids