tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post1303658401324897221..comments2024-02-04T05:13:04.501-05:00Comments on Nik at Nite: Random Thoughts for TodayNikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-81848934862602679262008-11-08T13:47:00.000-05:002008-11-08T13:47:00.000-05:00Humanebean, that made me teary-eyed.Nikki, why isn...Humanebean, that made me teary-eyed.<BR/><BR/>Nikki, why isn't Kristin commenting anymore, I wonder?The Chapati Kidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08916089544395886858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-48787663424904495022008-11-06T18:53:00.000-05:002008-11-06T18:53:00.000-05:00I have to begin by saying: "Wow. In my lifetime....I have to begin by saying: "Wow. In my lifetime. Wow."<BR/><BR/>I watched the results come in last night with hope and confidence ... and rising tension. When it became clear that the pivotal states would flip from red to blue in this seemingly endless election year, I felt myself literally swell with ... emotion, pride ... and incredulity.<BR/><BR/>I grew up a white man in a largely white world (my slice of it, that is). I remember meeting a boy at summer camp and exchanging information so that we could stay in touch when we got home. We spoke by phone and I got my Mom to drive me to his house, over on the other side of town. I don't remember staying long and when we got back home, my Mom told me that she didn't want me to have friends that lived in "that part of town". I was mad, because I understood immediately that it was because he was black.<BR/><BR/>And this was in Massachusetts. In the 1970's. Forced busing to integrate the schools was the law of the land and people in South Boston were rioting and screaming on the news. I never thought of my Mom as a racist. She didn't 'hate' people. She was just like 90% of the other people that I knew. The races were .... different. And, that mattered. A lot.<BR/><BR/>Today, after staying up late to watch the speeches and finally getting to sleep while trying to understand all that had happened in just 24 hours, I woke up in a different world. All day long I've been searching my mind and heart, feeling my way around the edges of this unusual sensation. I'm sure that some of this will fade with time, once we get back to the business side of presidential politics. Obama has huge challenges ahead and the best minds of our generation are struggling to figure out how we can begin to solve them.<BR/><BR/>But. The fractious and stratified people of my nation went to the polls yesterday and elected an African-American man President of the United States. That people are still divided by race and politics, class divisions and fear was made clear by the narrowness of the popular vote, and by the booing and catcalls that greeted Obama's name in McCain's concession speech. Already the scramble has begun to convince people that the main reason Obama was elected is that George W. Bush and the dreadful economy whipped up a perfect storm for the Republican party. "There are none so blind as those that will not see."<BR/><BR/>An intelligent, thoughtful, decent and caring man was elected President. And, if the carefully parsed details of the exit polling are to be believed, not BECAUSE he was black, but because enough people believed that the color of his skin was not the most important criterion for choosing the next leader of the United States. As Martin Luther King, Jr. foresaw .. a day may finally have dawned when a man can be judged not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character.<BR/><BR/>And it happened here. In my country. In my lifetime.<BR/><BR/>Wow.humanebeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15717844158635399246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-69147947481333871282008-11-06T18:48:00.000-05:002008-11-06T18:48:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.humanebeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15717844158635399246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-86060172810564953242008-11-06T18:09:00.000-05:002008-11-06T18:09:00.000-05:00I am not a huge McCain backer or anything, but I t...I am not a huge McCain backer or anything, but I thought his speech was the definition of classy. That being said, I find it odd that two sides in an election can spend months tearing the other apart and pleading with people to, to steal from Keith Olberman "save the democracy" by voting for their side. Then, as soon as it is over, they all unite behind the winner and urge their supporters to come together for the good of America. It all sounds very nice and idyllic, but if everything that one side says about the other is true (in any election) how can they possibly throw their support to that side when all is said and done? While it certainly is a better system than many countries have, there are a lot of flaws with the American system of electing a president. But I doubt anyone here wants to get into that now.<BR/><BR/>One other thought. I disagree that Obama is the right choice for America, but again, I doubt you want to get into an argument about it. I did hear a particularly good analogy from Mike Tirico. He said, and pardon my paraphrase, that essentially America, by voting for Obama, has clicked "restart" on their computer. They have opted for "change" and for a clean start. But, and I don't know Mike Tirico's political views, he cautioned that sometimes when you restart a computer, things don't come back as you want them. Change is not always good, and while you have your reasons for celebrating Obama's victory, just keep in mind that this "restart" may not necessarily be good for America.<BR/><BR/>That said, I again don't want to start a big argument here, so I will leave my comments at that. Oh, and don't go catching leaves from trees. Who knows what bug has just peed on it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-26851211295865363972008-11-06T16:13:00.000-05:002008-11-06T16:13:00.000-05:00Yeah, I think my group of friends all liked McCain...Yeah, I think my group of friends all liked McCain's speech at the very least because we were relieved he didn't take a page from his running mate's book and incite the crowd against Obama.Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-28664657367004592992008-11-06T15:57:00.000-05:002008-11-06T15:57:00.000-05:00We're not talking about the content of his speech,...We're not talking about the content of his speech, jj. We're talking about the eloquence and dignity with which he spoke. McCain was always thought to be a centrist Republican, but the campaign was bigger than him. The biggest flaw in his campaign was that he didn't have a single clear message, so he was running scattershot. When we say we believe the election might have turned out differently, we mean that there would have been no invective from the Republicans, there would have been wiser choices made for a running mate, and way less dirty campaigning. None of this would have happened if McCain hadn't got lost in the mire of politicking. That's all we're saying. He wasn't strong enough to speak over his advisors. There's media reports (actually a great one in Newsweek that will be fully released in the coming days, of insider observer reports of the back room politics in both camps - snippets are available on their site now) that show McCain to have resisted wanting to use the Ayers angle - until Palin went ahead and talked about it without his approval, how deeply hurt he was when Lewis said his campaign was racially segregating (he had taken his kids to meet Lewis because he admired him so much), and much much more, that show McCain to be a good man who mishandled situations, was badly advised by his camp, and was kept in the dark about a lot of things while he was on the road.<BR/><BR/>There's a wonderful article in the Economist today that speaks with deep admiration for McCain, and explains exactly why he lost, considering he was such a popular candidate 21 months ago when it all began.The Chapati Kidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08916089544395886858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-66711502390309912982008-11-06T13:17:00.000-05:002008-11-06T13:17:00.000-05:00Just to voice my two cents here, but I'm going to ...Just to voice my two cents here, but I'm going to call foul on this meme that "if McCain had handled his campaign the way he handled his concession speech, things would have been different." McCain spent a third of his speech praising the inspirational rise of African-Americans from second-class citizenship over the course of his lifetime (McCain was nineteen during the Montgomery bus boycott), and Barack Obama's rise in particular. Most of the rest was the usual reach-across-the-aisle stuff. If McCain had "fought" like that in the election, he'd have been creamed!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-21946449363838288532008-11-06T10:59:00.000-05:002008-11-06T10:59:00.000-05:00My wife and I gathered at a friend's house to watc...My wife and I gathered at a friend's house to watch the election results. We watched McCain's speech and the entire group of Obama-voters thought it was superb, and agreed that if the McCain who spoke that night had been the McCain who showed up at the campaign, maybe the outcome would have been different. <BR/><BR/>We drove home, and my wife commented on how she's proud to be an American again, that hopefully this means America can renew some of the international goodwill squandered by cowboy diplomacy the last eight years. <BR/><BR/>I told her that regardless of what happens in the next four years, no matter how successful Obama is or isn't in it setting things right and keeping his promises, we are witnessing history, and we will tell our children about this day.<BR/><BR/>We got home and watched Obama's speech. My wife told me she got chills and I told her that's what a good speaker should do. We agreed that for the first time in eight years we were excited to hear a Presidential inaugural and State of the Union addresses, to hear a Presidential speech devoid of malapropisms and folksy slang and halting teleprompter phrasing. <BR/><BR/>When Obama recalled Lincoln and the Gettysburg address, I even teared up a little. <BR/><BR/>No matter what happens in the next four years, good or bad, it was definitely a night to remember.Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-42646388795024442832008-11-06T10:17:00.000-05:002008-11-06T10:17:00.000-05:00michelle: We already do. :) Emilia: I do, too! ori...michelle: We already do. :) <BR/><BR/>Emilia: I do, too! <BR/><BR/>original blawger: Thank you so much for your comment. I was so happy that you came on here and said you voted for McCain; I was hoping I'd have a Republican come on and be as eloquent as you are about the outcome. And I agree; this is the first step, and I cannot wait for the day when my child (or grandchild) says, "Were you alive in the time when they'd never had an African-American president before?" :) <BR/><BR/>jj: I'm happy that you're happy that I'm happy. LOL! <BR/><BR/>Michele and CK: Thank you for your comments. xo<BR/><BR/>Joshua: Sorry to hear someone attempted to trample on your good day (I did have one person try to bring it down a bit, but I just didn't mention it my post). And I'm SO glad they didn't succeed! <BR/><BR/>By the way, the sun is shining here again and it's STILL warm! My happiness continues. :)Nikki Staffordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-53726634041507119732008-11-06T08:49:00.000-05:002008-11-06T08:49:00.000-05:00As an American Democrat who resides in a state tha...As an American Democrat who resides in a state that will presumably always remain stubbornly red on the electoral map, I cannot say that there weren't those who attempted to dampen my spirits yesterday. I can say, however, that they were entirely unsuccessful.<BR/><BR/>Step one, check. Now to step two.yourblindspothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17976169517693699335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-67516836434098749212008-11-06T08:45:00.000-05:002008-11-06T08:45:00.000-05:00I hear you Nikki!Love,Your leaf-catcher-in-crime.I hear you Nikki!<BR/>Love,<BR/>Your leaf-catcher-in-crime.The Chapati Kidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08916089544395886858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-36948224619751795592008-11-06T07:23:00.000-05:002008-11-06T07:23:00.000-05:00I didn't cry when the decision was called but I di...I didn't cry when the decision was called but I did feel like America had done an amazing thing. I have big hopes that Obama can actually make some of his own dreams happen and improve how some people now percieve the States to be: a big bully! As you talked about in one of your previous posts, we Canadians are affected by everything that happens in the US, but we don't want that "big bully"....we want to know that we have a neighbour that will help us and the rest of the world, a neighbour who will stand up to the terrorists and injustices in the world when the need arises but not just plow through everyone because they feel they are the best.<BR/><BR/>I particularly enjoyed reading the story about the exchange with your daughter. She may only be 4 and not understand what exactly is happening but the reason she was so interested is because you were interested. Those little minds have such an ability to understand what others are feeling and they do indeed know deep inside what is important and what is not. I have had similar "deep" conversations with Hayley, who is 5, and am constantly amazed at her observations.<BR/><BR/>I am one of many Canadians who are celebrating this US Election result along with you. I am also glad that you disabled the comments in your previous posts. They stood alone and did not need to be picked apart and insulted by those posters who come on YOUR blog and tell you what you can and cannot talk about.<BR/><BR/>Excellent posts, Nikki...keep it up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-5388969797589716422008-11-06T01:48:00.000-05:002008-11-06T01:48:00.000-05:00I'm happy that you're happy, Nikki. By that I mea...I'm happy that you're happy, Nikki. By that I mean, Obama has never really thrilled me as he has you. I would have voted for McCain if I were American (yes, Nikki, I do vote in important elections in which big issues are at stake). That said, I wish the man well and hope his presidency is more successful than Bush's.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-92018311136717180122008-11-05T23:21:00.000-05:002008-11-05T23:21:00.000-05:00I voted for John McCain, yet I still understand th...I voted for John McCain, yet I still understand the significance of this election. However, it will be a much better day in America when a black man, or woman, is elected president and it is not such a big deal.Jim Woodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11251916165007416709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-73574655084104276912008-11-05T22:53:00.000-05:002008-11-05T22:53:00.000-05:00I'm glad to hear you're sharing this happy day wit...I'm glad to hear you're sharing this happy day with your daughter; I hope she remembers it as she grows up!Emiliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10825088589163315464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-6387492553327145322008-11-05T22:23:00.000-05:002008-11-05T22:23:00.000-05:00I cried during McCain's speech. Then I cried duri...I cried during McCain's speech. Then I cried during Obama's. <BR/><BR/>I hope the world will look more positively upon us these next few years.Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04115052406701494191noreply@blogger.com