that always makes me laugh. everyone around here says "nucular". it's just the accent

thank you.

Maybe the accent is the trouble.

Bush is an easterner pretending to be a Texan.

Maybe that's why he fails to pronounce some words correctly.

I think axents rock

There been times that I thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

yea yea yea

It's good see there is still belief in the world

http://www.zefrank.com/from52to48withlove/

Where is that from?

I personally like Jeb..Nothing like his bro and when he was governor genually care about the people of Fl..

WON!!!!

A Change Is Gonna Come
(Sam Cooke)
As Performed Sam Cooke (1964)

I was born by the river in a little tent
And just like the river, I've been running ever since
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come

It's been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die
I don't know what's up there beyond the sky
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come

I go to the movie, and I go downtown
Somebody keep telling me "Don't hang around"
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come

Then I go to my brother and I say, "Brother, help me please"
But he winds up knocking me back down on my knees

There've been times that I've thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come

Hope.

Far be it from me to rain on everyone's "Hope" inspired exhilaration or to dampen what is without a doubt one of the most meaningful events in our nation, but there are a few things I think worth mentioning about this election.

There can be no doubt now that America has experienced a proud moment. Electing an American of color to the presidency is not without powerful significance and provides a moment of great national reflection. It has been said however that President-elect Obama's victory on Tuesday night was an expression of how far we've come and a sign that perhaps the pitch of national racism has finally died down (if not out.)

Perhaps, but there is a non-sequitur inherent in such thinking. To believe that President-elect Obama was elected because of a lessening of racism is easy enough to say and feel because he won. The question that lingers however is what would it have meant had he lost? Would an Obama loss have indicated entrenched racism or would it have been explained away using alternative but slightly less accepted reasons?

If race truly does not matter as it pertains to electing people to high office then while I think it worth pointing out the cultural, social, and historical significance of President-elect Obama's victory, what truly matters should not be left out: That his being elected was because the majority of people in this nation felt that he was the best person to hold office--not in spite of his race and not because of it, but simply because of the "content of his character."

Personally, I hope for that day, for the day when we simply don't consider race when deciding who we feel best qualified to run the nation (or any other institution open for election.)

As for the sense of hope people feel, this is an emotion I simply do not share as it relates to politicians, regardless of party or mission. I have hope in my family, in my faith and in those people for whom I care. I have hope in random acts of kindness, both shown and received and I have hope for our nation, not because of government but in spite of government.

Thomas Jefferson, in his first inaugural address said the following:

"I repair, then, fellow-citizens, to the post you have assigned me. With experience enough in subordinate offices to have seen the difficulties of this the greatest of all, I have learnt to expect that it will rarely fall to the lot of imperfect man to retire from this station with the reputation and the favor which bring him into it. Without pretensions to that high confidence you reposed in our first and greatest revolutionary character, whose preeminent services had entitled him to the first place in his country's love and destined for him the fairest page in the volume of faithful history, I ask so much confidence only as may give firmness and effect to the legal administration of your affairs. I shall often go wrong through defect of judgment. When right, I shall often be thought wrong by those whose positions will not command a view of the whole ground. I ask your indulgence for my own errors, which will never be intentional, and your support against the errors of others, who may condemn what they would not if seen in all its parts."

Jefferson grasped that it was much easier to enter office "loved" than to leave office being offered the same good will. Hope in politicians is dangerous in that even the best politician is human first, a political operative second.

I believe hope should be reserve not for our leaders but for the system of government our leaders are charged with upholding. Our Republic can and has endured many hardships. It has thwarted some influences better than others but we should never allow ourselves to forget the role of elected officials is to preserve and protect that which our country was built upon. This is not a plea for religion or secularism, not for idol worship or unfounded disdain of elected leaders. It is simply a reminder that we are the government, we have no King and we don't answer to our leaders--they are charged with answering to us. Therefore, I find hope in the people of this nation, the people who on a daily basis commit themselves to bettering your life and mine. No matter the profession they have chosen or the amount of money that they earn, the hope I find is in counting on them, believing in them and trusting my fellow citizen to remember some wise words by the same man I quoted above: "A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have."

Sorry for the book--I wish everyone a great weekend.

-Drew

truly enlightening and well said sir

OK, so, here you are saying that you do not share the emotion of "hope" in the politicians. Then go on to say, the fellow citizens, whatever profession they have chosen, you have hope in them. You believe in them and would want to "hope" you could count on them.

Well, isn't our president one of us? Isn't he, too, a citizen, just like we are?

Thomas Jefferson-
“I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be.”

We need to see our president as a human, not a manufacturing machine. Though we may expect much more from him than our fellow workers we see on a daily basis, so much more is riding on their job and efforts. There can be no human in office that will ever be perfect.

The "hope" you are referring to should be held in our president, just the same as in a marriage. As I was talking with someone just tonight about this same thing, we elect who we marry amongst many other candidates. You said that you have hope in your family and in your nation. Your hope should hold the same value for your president. This IS your future. This could, eventually, hold the outcome of how your life changes over his term in office.

The definition of "hope" is: to cherish a desire with anticipation

I would "hope" this is the case with everyone.

Tony Blair-
"At the heart of my politics has always been the value of community, the belief that we are not merely individuals struggling in isolation from each other, but members of a community who depend on each other, who benefit from each other's help, who owe obligations to each other. From that everything stems: solidarity, social justice, equality, freedom."

All said in a lump sum. We live in a community and survive off of community effort (yes, even when it comes to elections). You said you have "hope" in our nation (community effort), so it would be an oxymoron for you to say that you have "hope" in our nation without "hope" in our president.

Tina

Tina,

You state:

"OK, so, here you are saying that you do not share the emotion of "hope" in the politicians. Then go on to say, the fellow citizens, whatever profession they have chosen, you have hope in them. You believe in them and would want to "hope" you could count on them.

Well, isn't our president one of us? Isn't he, too, a citizen, just like we are?"

You believe the president is "just like us?" Have you ever had 600 million dollars to spend on a campaign or owed back as many favors as are required in order to offer to return the favor? I submit that the president is far from "just like us."

The point here is that if someone wants to have hope in politicians it should, at the very least, be on the local level. Why not your state representative or your governor? They actually do more and pass measures that affect your day-to-day life in much more significant ways then the Chief Executive.

A president is one man serving a nation of over 300 million. Odds alone dictate that to him you are little more than a number, a part of a census figure.

But more to the point, what has President-elect Obama done to deserve a "hope" in him. My hope in fellow citizens is developed after having had some experience with them, some reason to be faithful to their cause or business. A man who four days ago was elected is someone I feel I need to give a chance but hope? I think the verdict is very much out on that--at least for now.

I don't understand political idol worship. They were supposed to be the people's servants--answerable to the people and accountable to us. Today they are accountable to the NY Times and the Washington Post but not to the electorate.

I guess to have hope I have to first develop a relationship...and it is tough to do that when only one of 300 million plus.

Drew,

There is a chance for every American to one day become President. The raising of 600 million dollars for a campaign is absolutely rediculous. I do agree with that. Not only is our President taking that money away from his people who definitely could use it right now, he is also campaigning to every city and state with precise emphasis on "the little guys".

Knowing that President-elect Obama has taken so much money from "the little guys", yet every state has an electoral group, and "the little guys" are just tossed into a sea, I definitely would have to agree with you about the money issue.

The favors, however, are going to be there and have been there for quite some time now. I dont believe that we have a true democracy anymore. I dont think democracy really exists anymore in America. There are too many people in power who can appoint people they like to continue their legacy and too many people with money that can flash it around.

Hope in politicians? I think there can ALWAYS be hope. Whether or not the hope is deserving, and whether or not it was a fair battle to earn the trust and hope, we should still always look at the future with hope.

I see hope as waking up in the morning facing the day, facing all the hard times in my life, because someday I might make some things easier for my family.

I do have hope for my local politicians, but that's just the start as far as government is concerned. Where would we be right now without the United States of America and all that our flag, people, and nation stand for? It would be a cold day to wake up and realize that I was under the rule of an islamic country, or some other communist country. Hope?

Yeah, I do have hope, even in our President.

Tina

"Obama has taken so much money from "the little guys".

I don't feel that he has "taken" the money. It was freely given to him by people that wanted him to win. What he doesn't use, will be used another day for someone running for a position in the same party.

In all honesty, a person either accepts or rejects a gift. In this case, as with the case of all Republicans and Democrats, money is ACCEPTED.

I am not saying it is not necessary to run a campaign of this size or calibur. It is not a bash against any candidate, it is a fact. I did not say that the person donating the money HAD to do it, but it was accepted by the receiver.

In addition,

Not only was the money accepted, it was heavily sought and asked for.

And again, I am not bashing any candidate that has every run for office. It is just a fact that money is taken (accepted) from the American people. And now, as much as any time in America's past recessions, we need that money in the hands of the American people. To brag about how much money was raised, I think, is a sign of how little one may care about the "little people" who donate verses the power all that money can buy. One who says they care about the "little people" and then takes SO MUCH money (as President-elect Obama said) from the "little people" - during a recession, makes me wonder.

President-elect Obama may do wonders for our country, I am not saying anything different. The fact that we have stepped beyond any bounds that would have never been considered 40 years ago is a huge deal. I dont think that means there is, all the sudden, not going to be any devious political tactics anymore.