The World Says Thank You To American People For Electing Obama

It's no secret that most countries did not wish for a John McCain presidency. All nations and people worldwide hoped, prayed, wished (begged) for an Obama victory. Time and time again polls showed that Barack Obama was the favourite and if the world could cast a ballot, Barack would have clinched the victory with an even bigger margin! Citizens of the world prayed, volunteered, marched, set up blogs, designed, petitioned and got involved in many ways for Obama. Now, the world is thanking the American people for their choice! Below are a sample of pictures that reflect that gratitude/joy:

Nov. 5: Supporters of United States Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, celebrate as they watch a TV broadcast predicting his victory in the state of Ohio, during an election party in the U.S. embassy in central London.

Koichi Morii, an Obama citizen, holds Obama fish burgers, which are sold in the city, to celebrate Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election in Obama, western Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008. Obama had been elected the 44th president of the United States and the citizens of Obama were ecstatic. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

Nov. 5: Neapolitan nativity scene artisan Genni Di Virgilio, in background, puts a crown on his terracotta statuette of American president-elect Barack Obama, next to his wife Michelle (holding a 'Long Live Obama' sign), in his shop in Naples, southern Italy.(Fox News)

Kenyans celebrate the victory of president-elect Barack Obama in the US presidential election, in Nairobi, Wednesday Nov. 5, 2008. Barack Obama's Kenyan relatives and Africans across the continent celebrated his victory Wednesday, staying up all night or waking before dawn to cheer in America's first black president.(AP Photo/Khalil Senosi/Fox News)

An unidentified Iranian man decorates on his shirt with a badge of US President elect Barack Obama, in Tehran, Iran on Wedensday Nov. 5, 2008. Iranians Wednesday welcomed the landslide victory of Democrat Barack Obama as America's first black president. (AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian)

Nov. 5: Members of the al-Basra band play music as they celebrate Barack Obama's U.S. electoral victory, in central Basra, Iraq.(Fox News)

Nov. 5: Indonesian school children react to the announcement that Barack Obama won the election for the U.S. Presidency at Obama's former school in Jakarta, Indonesia.(Fox News)

Indonesians passes a giant poster of U.S. Presidential candidate Barack Obama Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008 at Obama's former school in Jakarta, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Irwin Fedriansyiah)

Students pose for photographs with a cut-out of President-elect Barack Obama at a function to celebrate the election of the new U.S. President in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008. (AP Photo/ Mustafa Quraishi)

Nov. 5: A young Chinese girl cheers as she watches a live feed on television of President-elect Barack Obama at a U.S. Presidential election party organized by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.(Fox News)

People write messages of congratulations for US president-elect Barack Obama at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on November 7, 2008. Sunken-cheeked, Abraham Lincoln casts a piercing gaze over Washington. A century and a half after his fight against slavery, Americans crowding the marble monument now see his legacy alive in the first black US president elect.(AFP/File/Nicholas Kamm)

South Korean Christians celebrate U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's victory in Busan, about 420 km (262 miles) southeast of Seoul, November 6, 2008. REUTERS/Jo Jung-ho/Yonhap (SOUTH KOREA).(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

A customer looks at beef on sale at Dahanoo beef shop in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Nov. 7, 2008. The local shop had decided to give South Korean beef (450 grams) for free to customers who were born in 1961 or has O family names like U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, among those who buy more than US$50. The Korean read: 'Congratulations, President-elect Barack Obama, Free Beef for customers who were born in 1961 or has O family name.' (AP Photo/ Lee Sang-hak, Yonhap)

Messages of congratulations for US President-elect Barack Obama are written on a giant card in front of the Washington Monument in Washington, DC. Obama holds his first post-election meeting with President George W. Bush Monday, promising a civil handover of power even as aides said he seeks to reverse current White House policy on oil drilling and stem cell research. (AFP/File/Nicholas Kamm)

Barack & Michelle Obama meet George & Laura Bush at the White House

UPDATE - November 21, 2008: Another video of the Obamas visit at the White House from Fox 'News'


Watch President-elect Barack Obama and Michelle Obama at the white house:



FLASHBACK VIDEOS-- Celebration For Obama Outside The White House On Election Nigth:

Palin Linked To Death Threats Against Obama

A U.S. Secret Service Counter Assault Team member has his assault weapon at the ready while sitting in the rear of a motorcade SUV as they escort President-elect Barack Obama, not pictured, to a private meeting at the FBI building in Chicago, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak/Yahoo)

WASHINGTON: The defeated Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been blamed by the Secret Service for provoking a spike in death threats against US President-elect Barack Obama.

During the bitter election campaign, the Alaskan governor had questioned Obama's patriotism and accused him of "palling around with terrorists", citing his links with the sixties radical William Ayers.

Palin's demagogic tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to plan attacks on the future president of the US.

The Secret Service warned the Obama family last month that they had seen a dramatic surge in threats against the Democratic leader, coinciding with Palin's attacks, the Daily Telegraph newspaper has reported. Read more>

Election Night--Behind The Scenes With The President-Elect (Photos)

Obama's Historic Victory: News Front Page

UPDATE: To view more Front pages from around the world, visit: http://obama2008.s3.amazonaws.com/headlines.html

Message From President-Elect Barack Obama: "How this happened"

Before his Election Night speech last night, Barack sent out this message to suppporters:

I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.

We just made history.

And I don't want you to forget how we did it.

You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change.

I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign. We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next.

But I want to be very clear about one thing...

All of this happened because of you.

Thank you,

Barack

Obama Victory Speech!

Barack Obama Wins US Presidency In landslide Victory

UPDATE 20 Nov:
John McCain won Missouri. It was close. His margin of victory was only 3632 votes out of 2.9 million cast. This means the final electoral vote tally is 365 to 173, more than 2 to 1 for Obama. For Missourians, the downside of going for McCain is the state loses its much-heralded bellwether status--it has voted with the winner every time since 1956--except 2008. (report by Electoral-vote.com)

UPDATE 8 Nov:
Unlike other states, Nebraska and Maine use a tiered system for awarding electoral votes, in which a single elector is awarded based on votes within each Congressional district and two electors are awarded to the winner of the statewide popular vote. Yesterday, the Omaha World-Herald announced:

For the first time ever, a blue circle will appear in Nebraska on national electoral maps.

Democrat Barack Obama won the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District on Friday, scooping up one of the state's five electoral votes.

... "We always knew we could do it, but it would be an uphill climb. It's great to see a little corner of Nebraska turn blue," said John Berge, state director for the Obama campaign.

Berge said the victory was a tribute to all the work done by staffers and the hundreds of Obama volunteers who manned telephones and walked neighborhoods in the Omaha metropolitan area.

Tuesday's election is the first time since 1964 that Nebraska has awarded an electoral vote to a Democrat.

The Nebraska results give Obama 365 electoral votes to John McCain's 162. Only Missouri and its 11 electoral votes remain undecided.

UPDATE 6 Nov: We all know by now that Barack is the President-elect :-)
However, some ballots are still being counted in North Carolina and Missouri. Today, The Associated Press declared Obama the winner in North Carolina after canvassing counties to determine the number of outstanding provisional ballots. This win adds 15 electoral votes to his already wide victory. Obama's win was the first for a Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter won the state in 1976.

North Carolina's 15 electoral votes brings Obama's total to 364 nearly 100 more than necessary to win the White House. Missouri is the only state that remains too close to call.

Electoral College votes Winning post 270

BARACK OBAMA Democratic Party candidate 53% ECV: 365

JOHN MCCAIN Republican Party candidate 46% ECV: 173

Electoral precincts reporting: 96%

UPDATE:

CELEBRATION FOR OBAMA'S VICTORY (Chicago)



Obama Celebration in Berkeley (California)




New York City, East Village, St. Marks



University of Illinois


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Source: Al Jazeera http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/uselections2008/2008/10/20081078262489582.html
BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/americas/2008/vote_usa_2008/default.stm

THAT ONE IS PRESIDENT ELECT BARACK OBAMA!

VOTE FOR CHANGE!

Obama's Grandmother Dies of Cancer in Hawaii

Sen. Barack Obama's grandmother died Sunday night, just hours before the presidential election.

"It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer," Sen. Obama and his half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng said in a joint statement Monday.

In Charlotte, N.C., Sen. Obama, looking upset, paid tribute during a campaign rally. "Some of you heard that my grandmother who helped raise me passed away early this morning," he said. "I'm not going to talk about it too long because it's hard for me to talk about."

He went on saying "No matter what happens tomorrow, I'm going to feel good about how it has turned out because all of you have created this remarkable campaign. She is gone home. And she died peacefully in her sleep, with my sister at her side. And so, there is great joy as well as tears. I'm not going to talk about it too long because it is hard, a little, to talk about.

I want everybody to know though a little bit about her. Her name was Madelyn Dunham. And she was born in Kansas in a small town in 1922. Which means she lived through the Great Depression, she lived through two world wars, she watched her husband go off to war, while she looked after her baby and worked on a bomber assembly line. When her husband came back they benefited from the GI bill, they moved west and eventually ended up in Hawaii.

She was somebody who was a very humble person, a very plainspoken person. She is one of those quiet heroes we have all across America, who are not famous, their names are not in the newspapers, but each and every day they work hard. They look after their families. They sacrifice for their children, and their grandchildren. They aren't seeking the limelight. All they try to do is do the right thing. And in this crowd, there are a lot of quiet heroes like that, people like that, mothers and fathers and grandparents who have worked hard and sacrificed all their lives and the satisfaction that they get is in seeing their children or maybe their grandchildren or their great-grandchildren live a better life than they did. That is what America is about. That is what we are fighting for."

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Barack, Michelle, Malia, Sacha Obama and Madelyn Dunham.

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122575547493495003.html?mod=googlenews_wsj http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/03/obama-on-grandmother-and_n_140698.html

McCain Congratulates Obama

Well, not for the general election...McCain congratulates Obama for his Democratic nomination...Let's hope that on Wednesday, he will be congratulating Obama for yet another historic and sweet victory!

Why We Stand In Line To Vote

Millions of Americans have already cast their ballots. On November 4th, many others will stand in line to make history. I've just read the historical photo essay 'Why We Stand In Line To Vote'. You might enjoy reading this: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/11/1/131234/836/917/648948

Cheney Endorses McCain, Obama Unloads

Dick Cheney 'delighted' to support John McCain? Not surprising...Senator McCain admitted he would have Dick Cheney in his administration should he become President elected.. In addition, according to numerous papers at a July 15 appearance in Michigan, McCain dampened the speculation by calling Cheney “one of the most capable, experienced, intelligent and steady vice presidents this country has ever had.”...So much for the 'change' he claims to bring about...interesting.

Barack Obama's Impressive Road To The White House

I enjoyed reading The Observer article by Andrew Rawnsley. This piece illustrates what so many politicians, scholars and average Joes worldwide think about the Democrat nominee. Rawnsley writes:

You cannot entirely tell what a person will be like as President from the way he fought for the office, but it does offer useful pointers. It is one huge stress test of a candidate's temperament, ideas, judgment, strategic capacity, organisational skills and resilience. Take the last first. Initially and then repeatedly dismissed as a fashionable fad, a celebrity confection, Obama has proved that he is durable. To get here, the rookie senator has out-campaigned both the Republicans and the Clintons, besting America's two most formidable political machines by building from scratch an even better organisation of his own. At the climax, his campaign is so flush with donations that he can afford to buy 30 minutes of airtime in prime time across the networks while his opponent is running on empty and calling himself 'the underdog' to try to make a desperate virtue out of being behind.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/nov/02/us-elections-2008-barack-obama1

Barack Obama Speaks At Rally , November 1, 2008 (Photos)

*Rally in Henderson, NV on Saturday, November 1, 2008
*Rally and visits Jorge's mexican restaurant in Pueblo, CO on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008
*Rally in Springfield, MO on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008
More pictures on Flickr
http://my.slideflickr.com/PkiBP7pY
(David Katz/Obama for America)

On Campuses, McCain Supporters Are Running On A Shoestring And Conviction

The New-York Times article by JULIE BOSMAN reminds us that young people tend to back Obama rather than McCain. We kind of knew that already...nothing surprising here but the article is still worth reading. Bosman writes:

Many college students are enthusiastic about Mr. McCain’s candidacy. They feel passionately about conservative principles, have faith that he will keep them safe, get a kick out of his “straight talk” (and his post-“Daily Show” sarcastic edge) and are enthralled by his fiery running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

Yet on many campuses, the dorm rooms with the McCain-Palin stickers are oases in a sea of Obama-Biden signs.

McCain supporters are outnumbered, outspent and generally outgunned by the legions of young, liberal college students who came out for Senator Barack Obama in record numbers during the primary season. Read more>

If You'd Tell A Pollster 'Obama,' Then Vote For Him

Below is an interesting article by Susan Campbell:

" if you've been paying attention, and you like Obama's platform, vote your guts and your heart. Vote the measure of the man." How would America have reacted if it had been Barack Obama — not Sarah Palin — who brought five kids onstage at his party's national convention? Imagine, too, if one of the Obama children had been a pregnant, unmarried teenager? Consider this: What if John McCain had been the former president of Harvard Law Review (a line on Obama's résumé) or, conversely, Obama had finished near the bottom of his class (a line on McCain's)? What if Obama — like McCain — was married to his second wife? What would the ever-fluctuating polls say then?

Tuesday is just over the horizon. This endless campaign is about to end, and besides the threat of the Democratic Party's ever-present ability to screw up a one-car funeral, pollsters caution us about things like the Bradley effect — a phenomenon not everyone recognizes and is, perhaps, pollsters' way of explaining why they so often get it wrong.

In this case, pollsters say voters sometimes report that they would vote for an African American candidate, and then they go into the voting booth and do what they always do — throw the lever for the white guy. Read full article here...>

Aussies barracking for Obama

Non-Americans worldwide are wondering how they can help and/or volunteer for the Obama-Biden ticket. Many Europeans have flown to America and joined the Obama team . Others wish foreigners could donate money to the campaign. Today, I came across this article about 8 Australians who are working for Obama-Biden in New Hampshire:

"ARE you from New York or Durham?" asks Larry the "visibility co-ordinator". When we reply "Sydney" he is startled. "What, all of you?" he asks. "Yes, all of us," we reply.

How eight Australians have ended up in the tiny city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, volunteering for the last eight days of the Obama campaign is a long and complicated tale - but here we are.

Ten minutes later we are standing at the corner of Maplewood and Congress streets waving our Obama-Biden signs at the peak-hour traffic.

The temperature is minus 10 and the wind whips the signs out of our hands but the welcome from our fellow "visibility participants" is warm and, frankly, puzzled. We repeat our story many times but they still marvel.

Six months before, at the height of the Democratic primaries, an American friend had, over dinner, invited us to campaign with him in New Hampshire. My sister and I replied "yes" immediately and the troupe of volunteers grew, eventually including my other sister from Melbourne. Read more>

Obama Could Lose Election Due To Voter Suppression

• In Florida, Republican operatives visited Democratic voters and promised to "deliver their absentee ballots to the polling place" and then promptly threw them in the trash. Miami Herald, October 25, 2008
• In California, they used phony petitions to trick voters into registering Republican. Los Angeles Times, October 20, 2008
• In Virginia, they even sent out phony flyers telling Democratic voters to show up on the wrong day. UPI, Oct. 28, 2008

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judah-freed/obama-could-lose-election_b_139547.html

Senator Barack Obama is leading Senator John McCain in almost every national poll, yet Obama keeps telling his campaign workers not to be overconfident. Beyond McCain calling himself "the comeback kid," Democrats have good reasons to fear a Republican victory on election day.

First and foremost, Republicans are actively seeking to suppress the voter turnout among the youth and minorities and poor people likely to support Obama. [...] "The key, of course, is for Democrats to vote in such overwhelming numbers that even voter suppression and vote fraud will not be enough to resist the wave of support for Barack Obama." Read more...>

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Other interesting and related links:

Steal Back Your Vote by Greg Palast & Robert F. Kennedy Jr. http://www.truthout.org/101408R

Drinking the ACORN Kool Aid: How Cries of Voter Fraud Cover Up GOP Elections Theft

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr-and-greg-palast/drinking-the-acorn-koolai_b_138390.html