Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Election Commentary

Here's part of an hour's worth of surfing this morning:

From John McCain

"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 ... 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.

***
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."

From Debo

"I stand corrected. Thank you U.S. for proving me wrong."

From Fermi

"Here's to the millions of people who helped make history. Yes we can!"

From Doc

"History was indeed made last night. For the first time, the President of the United States will be younger than I am.Let us celebrate now, for a lot of work lies ahead in restoring responsible government in Washington, as well as restoring the public's trust."

From Ron

"I can't believe how relieved I feel. The 8 years of madness - the 8 years of 'is this really my country?' feeling I had watching the Bush administration. For tonight, at least, it is gone."

From Jim

"Wow. That is all."

From Thomas

"My Friend L: Dude, you're in the paper!

Me: Me? What did I do?

My Friend L: They printed the precinct results, and Nader only got one vote in the whole county. That was you, right?Um, yeah. It was."

From Kvatch

“'[I'm] putting this in God’s hands that the right thing for America will be done at the end of the day on November 4th."

— Republican Vice Presidential Candidate, Sarah Palin, 2008/10/22

'Just checkin in with ya on this one Sarah…you know, before we call it a night.'

— Kvatch, 2008/11/04, 9:10 PM, Pacific Standard Time"

And from me

Many of us did not get what we wanted yesterday, a few more many did. Now, for an outcome that benefits all of us, comes the hard part. Senator Obama used his "Yes we can" refrain in his speech last night. For him to be right, his party, the Republicans and all of the rest of us have to do something we aren't too good at other than in times of crisis: work together for the common good. Not snipe, not posture for the 2010 elections, not conduct investigations and hold hearings on the Bush Administration's failings and wrong-doing (though they would be richly deserved).

Am I naïve, Pollyannaish? I hope not.

Finally, from Barack Obama

"This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

***

In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection."

I hope we can.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a comment from Dave's brother Larry. Since Dave didn't post what I wrote in my email to him I will add it here. I read his blog on a semi frequent basis but have only posted a comment once a very long time ago. I voted for McCain so obviously Dave and I don't agree. That is fine we still like each other.

My thoughts on McCain’s loss… What we have just witnessed is a dam good marketing job of a very mediocre product.

I voted for the war hero.

Semper Fi,
Larry (Dave's brother and former Marine)

Jeni said...

Dave - I do believe that "Yes, we can" make for very good words of inspiration for ALL of us. Yes, we will ALL have to come together, find a common ground to work on many of the issues that face us -as individuals, as a nation -but I do believe both men extended olive branches -to each other and for those of opposing beliefs across the nation to join hands to restore our country, put it back on the pedestal to shine for truth, justice, liberty for all. Facts are it is not going to be a walk in the park ahead for him, for any of us, but if we try our level best, each doing whatever is possible for that person to do in a positive effort, I do believe we have to perseverance, fortitude, knowledge, strength, ability -you name it -to make it all happen. But it will be in difficult baby steps at first, gaining in ability and strength as we get accustomed to standing on our legs and moving forward. You know, I see growth like this every single day in my own home, with my two grandchildren as they each struggle to learn, to adjust too because of factors at this point beyond their control due to the autism. They, like our country today, have the ability to learn but just need to find the right configuration that allows them to function to the best of their abilities. So, baby steps it is, picking up speed and stamina along the way -for them, and for all of us.

Dave said...

To set the record straight, I never put an Email into a comment without permission. That said, Larry, and some of the other more conservative readers, comment more often rather than sending me Emails. The bulk of the liberal, commie, pinkos that hang out here need your thoughts.

For the rest of you, if you want to read about my thoughts on heroes, do a search for Marine on the blog. You'll find out a bit about one of my brothers, the Marine.

Am I allowed to say Semper Fi?

Dave said...

An update on my comment, I hadn't realized I'd used the word Marine so often. My brother is mentioned in the second and third posts you'll find.

Jenn said...

I feel so left out. I demanded a recount. LOL. Pbbblbbth. I read your blog. (making mommy tch tch noises at you)

fermicat said...

I am hopeful for this country's future.

McCain's speech last night was gracious, and sounded like the old McCain of 2000 - a person that I admired. I think that if he had just been himself this time, rather than trying to please the right wingers and hiring the guys who smeared him in 2000, the outcome may have been different. We'll never know now.

I will respectfully disagree with your brother about Obama. He is far from mediocre.