election 2008

Lizard Brains

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:24:40 -0500

by Joyce Marcel

The blogosphere exploded on Tuesday with the rumor that President-Elect Barack Obama might ask Sen. Hillary Clinton to be our next secretary of state.

Immediately, pro- and anti-Hillary comments lit up the Web. Personally, I can't wait for her to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but in the meantime, welcome to the next eight (I hope) years, where fractious Democrats, liberals, progressives, libertarians and even a few conservatives -- opinionators each and every one of them -- create a cacophony of comment over every move Obama does or doesn't make.

Hobbes Is Dead (or at least on life support) . . . and I Feel Fine

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:57:50 -0500

by Randall Amster

It has been said that the election of Barack Obama as the next President may serve to redress the four-century-old stain of racism in America. While the symbolic poignancy of his ascent no doubt will dispel some demons and open new vistas of opportunity for many, there is another deep-seated ideology of nearly the same historical age that Obama's election may confront, one that perhaps even underlies the overt machinations of race and caste: to wit, fear itself.

Election Lessons

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:31:58 -0500

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 13, 2008

Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA)

HARVEY WASSERMAN

In Memory of Bubbling Bob

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:23:44 -0500

by Joyce Marcel

Barack Obama has inspired a generation and a nation. It's a wonderful thing.

But please allow me to be the crotchety old lady next door screaming "Get off my lawn!" for just one moment longer.

From what we're hearing, Obama is listening to good people and making good moves. He can't close Guantanamo or get our soldiers out of Iraq fast enough for me. If he could convince George W. Bush to move out of the White House tomorrow and take that toad of a vice president with him, I'd be thrilled.

Obama's Chance to End the Fantasy That Is Star Wars

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:30:38 -0500

by Johann Hari

The world is still pleasurably suffering from Woah-bama whiplash. Did he really win? Are we all awake? And would anybody mind if he starts a few months early? The need for decisions is rapidly piling up – and one of Obama's first choices is whether to bring to an end one of the strangest episodes in American political history.

Recalling Checks and Balances

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:59:26 -0500

by Pat LaMarche

"D'oh!"

That's Homer Simpson, who could now be hired as a spokesman by the Republican national leadership.

The only problem is that once you've led a country to unjustified war and commingled that evil blunder with economic catastrophe, you don't just get an automatic do-over.

Franken Now Just 206 Votes Behind

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:09:51 -0500

by Patricia Lopez and Kevin Duchschere

The Coleman and Franken campaigns traded shots Monday as counties completed the process of certifying their vote tallies and officials prepared to start recounting nearly 3 million ballots in the U.S. Senate race.

Six days after the election, unofficial results showed Republican Sen. Norm Coleman leading Democratic challenger Al Franken by 206 votes, a difference of about 1/100th of 1 percent that sets the stage for the automatic hand recount that will begin next week.

The Disenfranchisement of My Daughter

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:43:40 -0500

by Stephen Zunes

Growing up in Mississippi and North Carolina in the late 1950s and early 1960s, I have vivid memories of African-Americans hoping to participate in their first election being turned away at the polls, denied their most basic right to vote.

Little did I know that near fifty years later, in 2008, my daughter would similarly be prevented from voting.

The Double Standard Continues; New Report Reveals Further Disparate Coverage in McCain's Favor

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:05:15 -0500

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2008

Media Matters

Media Matters for America today released a study revealing that while the media frequently covered the McCain campaign's claims about Sen. Barack Obama's ties to Chicago developer Antoin Rezko and former Weather Underground member Bill Ayers, they almost completely ignored Sen. John McCain's involvement in land deals and his relationship with convicted Watergate felon G. Gordon Liddy. In April, Media Matters released a separate study showing an enormous disparity between coverage of Obama and Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.

Organizer in Chief

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:02:13 -0500

by Amy Goodman

You could almost hear the world’s collective sigh of relief. This year’s U.S. presidential election was a global event in every sense. Barack Hussein Obama, the son of a black Kenyan father and a white Kansan mother, who grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii, represents to so many a living bridge—between continents and cultures. Perhaps the job that qualified him most for the presidency was not senator or lawyer, but the one most vilified by his opponents: community organizer, on the South Side of Chicago. As Alaska Gov.