There is definitely something special about traveling to the USA. Long before you even set a foot in the country, there is this strange feeling creeping in, reminding you that you are intending to enter a unique and bizarre place where you will lose all references to be swallowed in the blurred identity of a security bound monster which probably doesn't know anymore who it really is. I have traveled my good share of the world and passed successfully security and custom desks of some nations considered at best as dodgy, as worse as evil depending on the fluctuation of international diplomacy. But out of all my experiences this one was the first time I felt uncomfortable and unwelcome, suspected of some horrible plans before even boarding the aircraft. Now, I know about security, terrorism scare, I remember the confusion and the chaos, the loss and the grief, and how dark the future looked like a few years ago. I remember the planes on TV, the crumbling buildings and the dusty cloud swallowing New York and a big part of the world's genuine optimism. But it still didn't help me to understand why the security officer at Heathrow needed me to recite the address of my contact in New Orleans. It was the first time in a long time I even knew where I would go next once the doors of Louis Armstrong Airport would open in front of me. I was being picked up so I didn't know the address I would stay at for the next two weeks. And even if I gave them an address, what would it prove? Would it prove these people were good American citizens? Just because they had an address? Well I am pretty sure most criminals on Earth do have an address, even a family, a pet, and what the hell, maybe even hobbies and a favorite place they like to go on holiday. The last two lunatics who recently planned to kill Barack Obama did. So how in the world knowing the address of these people would help keep their country a “safe” place? A maybe it was just me being a bit too much on the defensive side.

I had traveled to America twice before but without any civic conscience of where I was. The first time I was a 15 year-old teenager on a school trip -yes, those where the days! My parents had the choice to send me to Florida (party!!! Woohoo!) or to Green Bay, Wisconsin… And on the ground that they were paying for me to learn the language and not for getting a tan and promiscuous, I ended up not going to Florida-party-woohoo but spending three weeks between the Packers museum which I visited twice, the running track my new Yankee friend would use religiously before and after class, and a school where students were sent to learn absolutely nothing at all. I was young, I looked around with naïve eyes and teenager's criticism in my mouth, not knowing anything about this country but nevertheless being stubbornly opinionated about it. After all, I am French. My second time in the United States was in 2002, at the end of my year-long first backpacking trip. I was 23 when I landed in Los Angeles. I probably had more of a conscience at that age, especially a year after 09/11, but I didn't come there to watch America. I still had my strong opinions but didn't really want to discuss or confront them in any way. All I wanted was to party-woohoo, like I should have done eight years before. I wanted to catch up with time and that is exactly what I did. I didn't learn anything apart from my own boundaries and left the country hangover, with my back tattooed and my head full of stereotypes. So this time felt like my first one all over again. And as the plane flew over the infinite landscape it suddenly hit me. I was going to experience America. This place so commonly discussed and criticized, this land of extremes that supposedly brought the best and the worst in human kind. Here it was underneath the vibrating wings of the aircraft, and it looked massive. The flat land stretched to the horizon, scarred by roads the size of my arm even if we were still a few miles away in the air. This was the country that would elect a new president in a few days, the country I had been reading and hearing so much about for the past year. The country of morbidly obese people who don't see the problem in carrying around a body weight of a baby elephant. This was the country I had booed watching Michael Moore documentaries. This was the country that had bombed Afghanistan and lead war in Iraq. This, was the country that chose George W. Bush as president. Twice. Oh. My. God. I was suddenly so not ready for that! What in heaven sake was I doing here? The thought of spending the next fortnight in New Orleans suddenly felt overwhelming and I wanted badly out. But then the wheels connected in a roar with the tarmac. And I was in America.

While in transit in Atlanta, going through customs turned out to be another hurdle and it seemed like I was not the only one growing anxious for no apparent reason. A British woman queuing behind me whispered to her friend she would probably admit any crime if one of the officer was to interrogate her. “They just make me feel guilty” the poor thing kept muttering. On the plane I had filled with an ironic smile on my face the regular questionnaire about being an ex Nazi or not, but after standing straight in front of them trying to answer their quiz the best I could, after giving them my finger tips and getting my eye scanned, I had to admit they knew how to make us sweat. I was shaking like a leaf finally passing the finish line, the big banner winking at me above my head “Welcome to the United States of America”. Really?

Inside the beast…

Jefferson Parish is a quiet suburb with an overwhelming white majority, which was mostly spared three years ago by hurricane Katrina. The streets are wide and planted, everybody knows their neighbors and children run free from garden to garden. Bill and Maggie B. have been married for 41 years. She came from Honduras as a child and got married at 19 years old to a man not much older than her, the son of an Alabaman farmer back in the country after two years of service in South Germany. At that time, he says, Americans were loved all around Europe. Together they raised four children and never left New Orleans. Bill has retired from his building company and they have been enjoying a quiet life in their lovely bungalow. They say they especially learnt to appreciate what they have after Bill's heart surgery ten years ago, which cost them at the time around $25000. “There are clearly some big problems to deal with in our health system, concedes Miss Maggie. We have always paid for private insurance but were left with the bill of the surgery, it doesn't make any sense.” But despite this tragic state of things, the public national health plan proposed by Sen. Obama doesn't receive their enthusiastic response. As they explain, Americans don't want the government to stick its nose in their private affairs by imposing on everyone the same basic health system that seems to them like an invasion of their personal freedom. They want to choose, they want to decide for themselves. They are after all the country based on self-reliance and individual liberty.

Bill and Maggie have worked their whole life and are proud of their achievement. They both started with nothing and are understandably grateful to their country to have given them the opportunity to raise a family and keep a business going for over 30 years. Even if they have recently lost a considerable amount of money in the ongoing financial crisis, they keep their chin up, happy to own their home and sure of their strength as a family and as a people. Whatever happens on 4th November, they strongly believe the World will keep on spinning and Americans will stand together as they have always done through history. Although we differ on many points their life experience allows them to have an open mind on the future of their nation and more widely on what Europe might think of America. In a bizarre twist the same cannot be said about their children: Ted, Billy, Pam and Amanda. Their age ranks between 38 and 26, they all have children of their own and feel strongly against Obama whom they see as a “socialist”, a “Marxist”, and in the heat of the discussion, a “terrorist”. According to them - and as it will turn out, to 42% of the population -nothing good will come out of an Obama state. “An Obamination” as everyone choruses around. Obama is not an option in that part of the city as you could guess from the little boards hanging on car windows alongside the “I love Jesus” sticker. They don't know him, they don't trust him, they fear him. And more than his ideas of a fairer world, I ultimately do have the feeling they are scared by his difference: different background, different experience, different way to address the public, and in a way a different color of skin. It is not said and they might not be aware of it but many of their statements start with expressions like “I am not a racist but…” or “ I have many Black friends but…” or again “There are many wonderful Black people but…” which are usually good reverse indicators of the person's state of mind on the matter. Racism hasn't unfortunately only one face and it can take many shapes among a society. And the most dangerous one is probably not the violent obvious side of it represented by a short percentage of very small-minded people that can be easily contained. The real threat stands in the Sunday racism, people who don't even realize they make a difference between skin colors. But if they tell you an anecdote they will automatically specify when a character involved is black. They would prefer to walk to the next carriage if the one they're in has a majority of Black people. They will tighten their grip on their handbag in certain neighborhoods. They don't do it consciously, but they still do it. It is not obvious and instantly damageable but it undermines most western societies.

What is terrorism?

As Obama appears to be such an outsiders with so many mysterious corners, the only way he could reach such a stage in the campaign according to the B. family is the unconditional support of the national media in a general agreement protecting some dark secrets from the general public: is he actually American? Didn't he mention his Muslim faith in an interview? What about his illegal aunt in Boston he had no idea about? What other explanation for the worldwide support he has received since defeating Hillary Clinton? More generally they don't trust this new comer whose promise to change America doesn't inspire them as much as the medals painfully earned on John McCain's uniform. Every morning the local newspapers are full of editorials developing Obama's questionable associations with ex terrorist Bill Ayers. As a last resort to push up the polls, John McCain reunites with a fight he refused to take on back in spring when Obama's relations with ex Weatherman Bill Ayers and his eccentric Reverend Jeremiah Wright were brought up. In April John McCain declared these accusations had nothing to do in the campaign, but once desperate for voters a few days away from the actual election he seemed not to be so picky anymore on his angles of attack. Well of course these relations are not without raising questions and bringing nuances to Obama's character. But first of all actions and words have to be put back in their historical, social and political context. Yes, Bill Ayers took part in the bombing of several public buildings in a protest against the Vietnam War and fighting in favor of the civil rights. These were and still are good causes. This was probably not the best way of protesting as it could have turned really nasty but after all who are we to judge? What else could have been done? Facing an apathetic world that was more likely to turn a blind eye on these issues out of personal comfort, a minority decided to wake up the public by taking explosive measures. Bill Ayers never killed anyone, unlike the American government that was slaughtering civilians in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia while he was just blowing up an empty police station. He never apologized or felt sorry for what he did in the 70s. But why should he repent about ideas and ideals he had at that time of great turmoil? So on this ground, why should Obama be feared for his relations with a man who fought hard for an ideal that was considered at the time as terrorist? The means were indeed questionable, not his believes. Lets just remember people fighting in the Resistance underground movements during WWII were presented on the news of an occupied Europe as terrorists: killing people, bombing bridges and railways, people you should have been fearing according to the mainstream. But a few years later and up to nowadays they are considered as heroes. No one would even think of reproaching them their crimes, their kills and their tortures because it was for a cause recognized afterwards as “good” by the society. As for Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his words have been well manipulated by the same medias Republicans accuse to be running for the Democrats. All this “God damn America” controversy has been completely amputated from its context and if you listen carefully to the whole sermon it does actually make good sense. It might offend lots of American patriots, but it does make good sense: his whole point was that after two centuries of aggressive behavior - eradication of Native Americans, slavery, invasive worldwide politics, economical and financial bullying, illegal wars… - the tragic events of Sept.11 didn't come across as a big surprise. After the primary shock of these attacks many analysts alongside Rev. Jeremiah Wright concluded that after putting as it seemed all their efforts into becoming the most hated country in the world, the United States of America were just harvesting the fruits of their previous mistakes. Violence calls violence. Hate calls hate. And following this thought Wright addresses the audience calling for peace and understanding. He is of course not the best politically correct acquaintance you wish for your candidate and more than once his words seem to take him to the extremity of the political spectrum but he is however far from the evil character portrayed by the medias.

Religion, UFOs and prejudices…

Back in the shade of their living-room, after Ted stated confidently that health should be a privilege and not a right, the discussion drifts lazily from one subject to another, leaving me on the side of the road as I prefer to back off and let them talk, listening in bafflement. On global warming: another conspiracy to bring America on its knees. The idea of changing attitude towards the daily use of gas, petrol and electricity is a big no-go: they are paying for it and this is enough to entitle them to waste as much energy as they wish. No step backwards should be considered by this nation of consumerists ready to defend their individual rights at gunpoint. On religion: still a huge part of their life even if they prove to be very much confused about the whole thing. They wouldn't mind voting for an atheist candidate - or so they say - but raise their eyebrows when I announce I am not even baptized. They believe in God but include in the same conversation their thoughts on UFOs and Little Greys living among us. They revere Jesus' teachings but don't really want their minuscule Presbyterian congregation to merge into its next-door neighbor, Hispanic in majority. And by the way do I really believe that my ancestors were monkeys in a tree? Because they are not so sure about it anymore. I was taught at school about the Unites States of America as a melting pot where a flag and a same idealism had built bridges between individuals. But all I seemed to witness a few days before the election - once again in a small suburb of a very peculiar Southern state - was just a sum of communities looking at each other over a fence of stereotypes and prejudices. The Whites, the Blacks, the Chinese, the Hispanics, the Presbyterian, the Baptists, the Catholics, the Evangelists, the Southern States, the Northern States, the Blue Democrats and the Red Republicans.

People here seem afraid of change. Obama frightens them because he is way over his time for the country. And he is done with the image of an over-powerful flawless America. He recognized its weaknesses, its mistakes, and that seems unacceptable for the people who still consider their country as the best in the world. A country built as a challenge, a country where everything was supposed to be possible. A country of opportunity, unity, freedom. A country that would set an example to the world that banished the early settlers. “Without the USA the whole world would be communist”, Bill reminds to me. Now it is clear: these Americans surely live deep in the past, in a black and white world where Manichaeism was such an easy option. You were good or evil, American or Red, with them or against them. I want to tell them that even back in the 60s the facts were not so obvious and the USA sweated their own kind of fascism by hunting down Communists of their own in a terrorizing witch hunt. Are they even aware their country offered asylum to Nazi scientists to benefit from their horrific knowledge. Not so black and white anymore…

Going to vote then buying a gun

Deep in the heart of Republican America, I still feel strong on my belief Barack Obama will bring something new, something fresh and above all that his eventual election will send a huge message to the world. However traveling to America made me realize the national issues raised by a new presidential crew, issues we have no clue nor interest about on the other side of the Atlantic. Health, national security, taxes, education, employment… these are no centre of interests for us as all we care about relates to international politics: two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, development of renewable energies, diplomatic relations with new threatening powers such as Iran, North Korea or even China. We are looking for a strong international message, they are awaiting for internal reassurance. And what not so many people know on our side of the world is that on election day not only will they vote for their next president but they will as well cast polls regarding their local community and their own State's politics. So there is definitely much more to them as just changing the top guy. In a way it is true that our medias tend to have supported forever, if not Obama, the Democrats. Maybe we have been as well misled and turned a blind eye on some more nuanced sides of Obama's personality, his aspirations, his motivations, his past, his acquaintances. But the same could be said from this fringe of the population who is ready to bite on any bad-mouthed rumors and turn it into a fundamental truth to get their way into the debate. The American people can't be taken as well out of its context, outside its history which is generally badly understood outside their borders. They can't think the way we do, and vice versa however we expect them to see the world through our own eyes…and so do they.

On 4th November the local stadium's club-house has been turned into a polling office and a small line of neighbors slowly sign up for the big day. They don't want to admit an early defeat but most people around shake their head in disbelief. “Of course I voted McCain but I think thanks to the medias we might well have to deal with the other one for the next four years”, mumbles one of the voters. A broody young man with wide tattooed arms discusses with an elder the age of voting that should be brought up to 25 instead of 18. According to him if this election turns out to be an Obama victory this will be the fault of the horde of new young voters, the students under the influence of university preachers turning their heads towards the wrong direction, not knowing anything about the world surrounding them. It will be as well the fault of the Black community voting for a color instead of ideas. It will be the fault of all these Americans not living in their country and perverted by international press. The young man is fuming and leaves shortly, announcing he is going to purchase a new gun to “face the music”. Many people actually predict riots in case of a Democrat success. No wonder I feel a bit tensed as I join Bill and Maggie in their living-room for the evening of truth. Of course our eyes are riveted to Fox News, the “only decent channel” as they precise, i.e. clearly Republican. The wait was long but the wait was worth it. Obama took the lead quickly and kept it until he reached 297 electoral votes and there was no possible turning back. There was a long and heavy silence and I felt terribly alone, unable to hug anyone on this historical moment. Then Bill stood up, mumbled a vague “Good night” and disappeared into the corridor. I stayed up a bit longer with Miss Maggie for both McCain and Obama speeches. She couldn't say really how she was feeling, unhappy of her candidate's defeat but well aware of the importance of the moment. Indeed “change has come to America”.

A new dawn

The next morning I woke up in a better world. I woke up in an America that had overcome its fear of difference, its fear of the past, its fear of its future. We had tried so hard to turn a blind eye on the race issue and focus on the man rather than his skin. But we had fooled ourselves as this, if not as big as expected during the campaign, took all its proportions in the results. And electing a black man as President of the United States of America got on this very day a meaning that we probably wouldn't be able to realize before many years to come. Certainly we have entered a new era where we no longer stare into America's eyes with a look of disdain and non-understanding but where we reach for it in an overwhelming feeling of hope and trust. The previous night the “greatest country in the world” turned out to be exactly that. The land of democracy, liberty and opportunity, ready to take a chance on difference. Barack Obama represents in the eyes of Americans an alternative to the misery they have been experiencing for almost a decade, a light at the other end of the tunnel. “The road will be long and the climb will be steep” he said to his people but once again united they stand behind their new leader, ready for a bumpy ride if it means getting the country out of the ditch it has been digging for too much of a long time. He talked about education, about health, about economy, about ecology, about war, about putting people back to work. He promised to make his country a better place and for once in a long time a politician sounded believable. “I will listen to you, especially when we disagree”. This is a strong statement not only to his fellow citizens but as a message to the world, a message of opening, a promise of understanding and dialogue, an end to the traditional politics of aggression the country has been leading since the beginning of the cold war. It means reaching for your hand, it means working together on global issues, it means being friends again. A few days later gun sales had skyrocketed, Ted's wife announced proudly she had bought two new weapons to protect her family and a Black church was burnt to the ground in Boston. Obviously this election in itself is not the change everyone expects: it is the opportunity to make this change happens, the best opportunity of all. Republicans like the B. family are stubborn and fearful but they will eventually get on with it and Barack Obama will be a president for all. There will be no second American revolution and hopefully if no lunatic puts an early end to his duty even the strongest opinionated “shall overcome”. That is what they have always done, and that is what they will do once more, whatever disappointment 42% of the population feel after the results. In this I feel the strength and the glory of America. Yes the road is long and the climb is steep, but it feels like everyone has embarked on the same boat to fight for a better future. Unlike France or the UK which feel like such divided and somewhat uninterested nations, America keeps in its heart this energy to stand up from its ashes and start a new chapter. There is a true movement of its people with everyone involved in the events that will mark the World forever. And this formidable push gives me hope for the future. So no matter what, my spirits are high, I am proud of America on this 5th November 2008 and can't wait to go out and play with her again.

Some may say that this is the end for America. That Obama's winning is the evidence that America will be finish for sure. That Obama will lead America to its doom. But let us think again.

It is a shame to admit that the American nation is still in the influence of discrimination between the black and white Americans. But why can't they realize that they are all Americans. They all have the American blood running down their veins.

As a matter of fact, the quotation “Don't judge the book by its cover,” should be implied. They judge Obama by his outer appearance (cover) but they did not actually read his tale and the lessons he has to say (content.) John McCain however had proven himself as a worthy candidate for presidency for being a veteran during the World War II and his patriotism for his country. Barack Obama in the other hand is a “more talk than action” type. He has not proven himself worthy for the presidency yet, but he is someone. He became a senator and now, a newly elected president.

Maybe now that he is the president, he will show the world that their judgments are wrong. That he is someone, someone who will change the world for good. So why not give him a chance? In fact, good things come out of mysterious flavors. For the past years, from George Washington through George Bush, the Americans had a great flavor of vanilla. Probably for the next year, they will have the chocolate flavor for a change. His being silence does not mean that he is a loser. The Americans will soon have the taste of strong coffee with strong cream.

Although an idea popped within me, probably the Americans just want the administration of George Bush to vanish. Maybe Obama is the light, a key to a threshold for all Americans to repair the damages they have done. The Americans maybe liked him after all or they have just used him as the weapon to destroy the reign of the present administration. But whatever is their goal, how I wish it will lead into our expectations.

I have read and heard people (and the old traditional White supremacy and racist tip offs are obvious in many, if not most) warn us to get ready to open our wallets and give money to poor people and those who do not “choose” to succeed. To make such a comment in the midst of such a terrible economic crisis resulting in our opening our wallets and giving our money to the most wealthy is really, well, stupid.

Tax money has been poured into the private sector faster than the money came in, requiring our nation to borrow heavily for much of the outrageous spending (especially the war in Iraq). There exists, currently, in our nation a top layer of society, and, of course, a bottom layer. The top just keeps on going, spending and receiving large amounts of tax dollars and not having to worry at all concerning accounting for its use. No bid contracts (both for domestic and foreign projects) are so numerous that we do not know how much, to whom and for what our tax money goes. This give away to the rich (welfare) extends from city hall to the state house in most states. The top level is in charge in most government entities. As a result of the mentality of “privatization,” governmental functions have been contracted to private sector groups and many contracts are of the no bid (or stacked bid) variety. Mayors, education groups, Governors and many other elected officials benefit to some extent when contracts are awarded to the right people. Some have received huge personal benefits. The contractors, themselves, have reaped enormous profits by charging excessive prices for their services and products and by the receipt of many dollars in grant money, mostly from the national and state governments. The private contractors increase their profits, even more, by paying less to their employees and cutting services and quality of services as much as possible. And then there are the cost plus contracts…..See halliburtonwatch.org for samples. There are many.

So don’t talk to me about welfare for the poor. If you want to talk about welfare, relative to corruption, illegalities and outright thievery, then I will discuss welfare for the rich, gladly. Possibly you would talk about the No Child Left Behind federal education programs (including the notoriously wasteful and abused Reading First Grants). Certainly not to be outdone, states have gotten into the act as well. In Texas, there is the Texas Early Education Model (TEEM) program, authorized by the state legislature in 2003, (funding comes from state and federal grants and is available in other states as well as Texas). Seventy-five percent of the participants must be children of low-income families. The TEEM developers receive thousands of dollars in royalties from book publishers and vendors. The materials, licensing fees and mentoring for a TEEM classroom and mentoring cost $ 11,175 for the first year (as compared to the state and local funding for a local pre-kindergarten classroom of $ 4,000 in Texas) with results showing no improvement in the children’s learning or inconclusive results, at best. Not only are they taking our money to give to the rich, they do it at the expense of those who need the benefits most.

Recent headlines declared “Defense auditors go easy on contractors.” Talk about understatement. It is truly unbelievable that we have elected people to represent our interests who have done nothing to stop the giveaways to the rich, but most seem to be involved, to some extent, themselves.

Your “God selected” president and his associates (many of whom are no longer his associates) stood approvingly by as all this mess unfolded. Your “good Christian” president is as close to an absolute ruler that this nation has ever had and yet some Georgia legislator warns that Barak Obama will establish a fascist dictatorship in America. Look up fascist and we are pretty close. The same with dictator. We are very close at this time under the current president and his party’s leadership.

We need to get out of Iraq, reinstitute the military draft (with no exceptions). Those who conscientiously object to fighting would be assigned public service and humanitarian duties. We need to end privatization of government (including prisons, jails, mental institutions, et. al). We need elected officials who will work for all the people (or at least a majority) and not for a narrow “base” of constituencies. It matters not what race, ethnicity or religion (yes religion) so long as they follow the wishes of the majority of their electorate in matters of civil government and so long as they adhere to the constitution. The constitution is for representative civil government. The Bible and other holy books are for personal religion

Preachers should preach their particular brands of religion to their followers and stay completely out of politics. If they oppose practices that are legal or illegal, they should convince individuals that those practices are wrong in the sight of God and/or the Church. They need not abandon their flock in order to attend conferences and rallies in attempts to change civil laws regarding those practices. Religion and religious laws are private and most intimate; between God and each individual. Civil government and civil laws are designed for all the people, and one can bet that some will be against certain laws because of their personal religious convictions (such as conscientious objectors who refuse to go to war, risking imprisonment and or other penalties) . Rather than trying to get elected to political office and changing civil laws to outlaw war, under any circumstances (or with possible exceptions such as invasion of our country), they face the consequences and leave it to God to decide who is right and who is wrong regarding the killing fields.

Your “Religious Right Conservatives” have almost destroyed our democratic society (and our religious faith, in many cases). So take your arsenal of weapons and slink off to your den. Lock the doors, tune in to the “prosperity” and political evangelists, the hate talk shows, FOX and the many blogs (or , more appropriately, globs) that reinvigorate your fears and hatreds and await the coming of the totalitarian government. With the exit of the existing dictatorial government and its policies and with the hope of a return to a progressing nation in which all people (all is quite inclusive) have a significant voice and a stake in its government, you may have an infinite wait.

The leaders in civil governments should be chosen carefully, based upon their knowledge of law and the constitution.

Religious leaders are selected in many differing ways, depending upon their religion and their denominations.

Their duties and responsibilities must be separated in order to establish freedom and justice for all…Just as our founding fathers clearly noted.

Where did you vote on Election Day, 2008?  I started my day early by going to a Lutheran church and standing in line waiting for the polls to open at 7 am EST.  The wait was not terribly long. I entered the queue at 6.45 and was out of there by about 7:20.

I was, however, in the wrong line once I got inside the church. I didn’t know there would be separate lines, so I asked one of the staff members if I should stay to the left side or go right. She examined my license and told me to stay in the line that formed to the left. . By the time I got to the sign-in desk, I had that bad feeling that I should have been going right, unlike my political convictions this year.

Unassumingly, I moved over to the proper table, ducked behind a man signing in, showed my id quickly, added my signature to the form and proceeded to take my part in American history. 

The process was surprisingly smooth. I felt like heading down to Starbucks to get a free cup of joe. I had heard on the radio on my way to the polls that the java icon was offering a cup of coffee at no charge to people who took part in arguably the most important election in our time.

My dad called me later in the day to tell me that a photo capturing this momentous occasion showed me in the line earlier that morning. I was on the front page of the afternoon daily!  I raced down to the newsstand (ok, convenience store), and sure enough, there I was – amongst the early morning risers – eager to cast my ballot.

Later that night, resting in my easy chair, I flicked through the 100’s of channels covering the results of the day. From MSNBC to NBC; CBS to ABC: CNN and even Fox News, that “fair and balanced” channel, there was no shortage of poli pros who wanted to be the first to crown the new leader of the greatest country in the world. 

Watching and reflecting, no matter who turned out to be the winner, it’s a day to be proud of the most symbolic expression of our democratic ideals

 

I breathed a sigh of relief as I eased back a little more in my lounger. The longest election cycle known to man is over.  All that’s left is discussion about who won, who lost, why this demographic group voted the way they did, what the exit polls revealed, and how the Redskins loss the previous night foreshadowed a Democratic victory

Why did the white, non-college educated, evangelical male with two kids, making about $60,000 per year, who is a strong proponent of the second amendment, vote for McCain?; while the Latina, suburban Philadelphia, Catholic mom, with a master’s degree in marketing, the product of parents who never attended college, and works out at the gym at least 3 days a week, thought Obama would take the country in a better direction.

Suddenly, I feel a huge void in my life. No more Anderson Cooper with his roundtable of 20 pundits discussing how the economy favored Obama. No more Keith Olbermann telling the world that the lame attempt by McCain to link Obama with Bill Ayers was a miscalculation by the Republican camp. No more Brit Hume favoring the foreign policy strategies of the venerable Arizonan senator over the rookie Illinois congressman.

On, second thought, thank God this is over.

It’s now 11 pm EST, three hours after the polls have closed in many states. Brian Williams is calling it for Barack Hussein Obama.  This has truly been an amazing day to be an American.

The reasons for this are to be found in the very nature of a majority of these pontificators' ideology - a strong tendency to the left, the far left in many cases. While there were many right wing press representatives as culpable, inarguably the preponderance of today's media persons are liberal minded to the extreme as revealed in surveys of their voting patterns as well as closely monitoring their reporting.

Media bias toward the Democrats and their nominee became clear and obvious by early spring, 2008. Blatantly so in many cases. Instead of observers of the political process, as is their responsibility and function in a democracy, they errantly became participants - participants with a clear choice of candidates as they cast their vote early and often for Barack Obama.

Their obvious disdain for anyone or anything Republican was evident from day one of this campaign season. They dislike President Bush with a fervor seldom witnessed and they were not at all abashed to say so in no uncertain terms. The vileness of this dislike - verging on hatred by some - determined their current positions as they searched for an alternative - any alternative - to the Republicans, both Presidential and Congressional, and landed squarely on the side of the Democrats where they felt welcomed and at home, cuddled by their own established and comforting liberalism.

The mainstream press has overwhelmingly lacked objectivity in assessing the two Presidential candidates and - at times so gleefully and so unprofessionally as to be distracting - developed a love-fest relationship with Barack Obama. Such overt and frequent on-air statements as “we will make history in this election” were common in cable news reporting - "code words" for their blatant support of the first black Presidential nominee.

Their discussions of the conventions and debates, as well as perceived and press accentuated gaffs by the McCain-Palin pair, were so exceedingly biased towards Democrats that one could not avoid becoming concerned with the lack of any truly fair assessment of the election process in their coverage. The San Diego Union-Tribune on the editorial page of Saturday, October 25th, nailed it when they so stated in an editorial entitled “Media bias? Some journalists have already voted”. In it the editor astutely observed “We usually don't put much stock in claims of media bias …But there are times when the partisanship and favoritism are so apparent that they cannot be denied. This presidential election is such an occasion….the media aren't fooling anyone with their pretense of objectivity. Little wonder that Americans have such a low opinion of the journalism profession when they perceive reporters and editors as something less than honest brokers….too many supposedly objective journalists have made their first choice perfectly clear.”

This was followed by another commentary on the editorial page of October 28th entitled “Noxious analogy, Comparing GOP, Nazi rallies reflects on media” wherein they observe “Decades from now …the first entry is sure to be the Barack Obama - national media coupling of 2008. What is going on now is simply stunning….Consider the readiness of journalists to liken McCain-Palin rallies to Nazi rallies in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s….In the Oct. 28 New Yorker, Steve Coll …became the latest….Steve Coll should be ashamed. But, then, so should many others in the national media….”

Precisely, although you will not see such an honest assessment on the editorial pages of The New York Times or The Washington Post nor hear a forthright discussion of this topic on television networks such as ABC, CBS, NBC, or the obviously extreme leftist MSNBC!

Americans should be very troubled when the fourth estate, inherently responsible for conveying political news fairly and with at the very least a modicum of objectivity, takes obvious sides so blatantly in an election. That should never happen, but it has.

How do I know this? Because I have been alive for more than thirty years. That's right thirty, and that explains it all.

For the past thirty years I have heard every candidate tell me how they were going too save America. Well what I have seen was, my friends die in Viet Nam, friends of my sons die in Iraq, and many others lose their jobs to the overseas market.

What can you tell me that is the upside? That America has been successful in the auto industry? That china made products are not harmful to our young, or any of us? Has the cost of living been balanced? Do those whom have suffered at the hands of greed gain wealth live better lives? Have the working slaves of big money business reached their goals? No, is the answer to all of these questions, and neither candidate has said what they will do to change the facts. Both have said that America needs a change, but neither has said how they would do so.

I have heard them say they would not raise the taxes for those not earning 200,000 dollars. How about reducing the taxes? What are they going to do for those of us that don't earn 30,000 dollars?

Nearly a half of million U.S. citizens have had their jobs taken away. Many have lost their homes to foreclosure. Yet, both candidates say they will help the new small business, what new?

Why not help those they have already destroyed? Instead of throwing people out of their homes, shouldn't they be finding a way too help them keep their home? Such as dropping the high or any interest rate, and allow them to pay the principle only?

If either one of these candidates had a grip on how to survive without handouts from contributors, maybe they would see and understand the truth confronting the working class of America. Speaking of handouts, aren't all political officials dependent on tax payers money? Therefore they are the same as welfare recipients, right? Which makes one wonder about a double standard. If you are employed by a federal, state, or city government, you are being paid by tax payers money. Should you be on welfare, you are receiving tax payers money. So why aren't those of political employment forced to find a job within the privet sector after two years?

Why is it that those of high paid welfare (politicians) are also allowed to receive medical care, and retirement benefits paid in full by tax payers? Maybe these political candidates should start the new change reform by correcting their own (live off the tax payers money system.)

Here's a concept of how too make change. When one votes, one is giving his or her endorsement and approval to the candidate of their choice. Equal to one being hired to preform a specific job. Well if John Doe, hires Paul Smith, why doesn't John Doe, pay Paul Smith? This can easily be done. All registered votes should be required to vote by use of their social security numbers. This way those and only those whom voted for, or hired Paul Smith, will be taxed to pay for Paul Smith. Those who did not hire or vote for him are not to be charged.

With this system each voter would be responsible for a $1.00 a year payment to their candidate. Which would be a few hundred thousand dollars year for the winning politician.

From that yearly income, the winner would be responsible for his or her own lifestyle. Oh sure they won't have $100.00 or $200.00 dollars a plate diners, not if they had too pay for them. But what they would have is, a more too reality sense of what the cost of living is to the blue collar worker. Do you think if they had to pay for their own and their families medical coverage, groceries, heating gas or oil, gasoline, electric, and so on, they would allow big companies set their own prices?

Think about it, if only those who voted for the winner, would you vote for either of these candidates?

There are a lot of people in America today afraid to say anything for fear of causing problems in the racial and ethnic order. I, for one, am not racist but racism goes both ways. I hear Obama say how he wants to take the money from the rich and give it to the poor. Just who is going to be first line?

I have heard Obama's own wife stand up on national TV and tell the whole world that she has never even liked America, that is, until her husband started his conquest to rule the world, starting with the U.S. I guess that's why Obama is trying so hard to turn America into Kenya, Uganda, or maybe Sudan. Then maybe they will both feel at home once again.

There has been a lot of people that have said Africa is where man first began. Well, if that is where they started, it's a good thing my relatives got out when they did. As a matter of fact, the black populous in America even though they had a hard time as did we, are lucky they got out when they did. In my opinion, I honestly think that if you are an American you should call yourself an American first. Don't walk around with the attitude that somebody owes you something, calling yourself African-Americans. Either you are an American or you are an African.

Obama, I have listened to the media bragging about how well you are doing in your campaign. Also, I have watched when you are asked questions, and listened as you changed the subject. So I have to hand it to you either America is dumb or you are the slickest con in history.

America, in a lot of countries around the world their government controls the media. But, it looks as though Obama has bought ours. All I see and hear is how great he is. Saddam Hussein used to do the same thing until he was rudely interrupted by George Bush. Maybe that is why Obama intensely dislikes him? McCain agreed with bush about the war, so, of coarse he is going to bash McCain and do everything within his power to discredit him.

If we are to believe that Obama has our best interest at heart why has he aligned himself with so many people that think so badly of us? Bill Ayers, Rev. Wright and others we have not heard from as of yet, mostly because the information so far has been blocked. America do you really want to elect a man whom you know so little about spending the wealth of our nation?

There has always been somebody that comes along and devises some way to getting rich. Each time that happens jobs are created to support what ever it might have been. What you people have over looked is the simple fact that he was free to do so. If we make laws to penalize these types of people then take their money, and give it to the so-called poor mistreated people that hire Mexicans and others to work while they themselves sit on their butts and draw money from the government to pay them then, I guess you should be electing Obama, but don't call yourselves Americans. America was not founded on the ideas that the government pays and/or owes your way.

Let's talk about education. When did the idea get in your heads that it is a god given right for someone to get paid to go to school? As far as that goes, why do students and teachers think they are worth so much? If a student does not want to learn, kick him out. If a teacher does not want to teach, kick them out.

Showing up is not a job. Someone needs to inform Obama of this. Taking mom and dad's money and even government money to show up including playing sports is not a job. What teacher is worth what they are being paid if there students are not taught what life is about? Maybe they don't know, if that is the case, then they are not worth enough to warrant what they are paid to grade a paper. If you do not want your job, find another, but do not sit silently expecting everyone else to pay you.

If the teachers were teaching and the students were learning the whole damn country would not be in the mess you're complaining about to begin with. Obama did learn something and that is how to con the whole country. I guess you're too lazy to think or care, “uh” let him do it the movie is about to start.

How many of you know anything about our past? We didn't just materialize out of nothing. President Bush is not the only president that has screwed up. Bill Clinton stood before the world and defined the placement of certain body parts together was not sex. Richard M Nixon wanted us to read his lips while he lied his butt off and the list goes on… Humans make mistakes and we learn, God makes a mistake and we're gone.

There are only four types of people:

• Believers
• Non-Believers
• Givers
• Takers

Believers sincerely try to help those that don't believe and have needs. Non-believers try there best to obtain all they can from the believers by any means possible. Givers give to the poor and needy from their hearts. Takers also give, but they only give you a chance to give it up before they beat the crap out of you and take it anyway.

That brings me back to the point; do you really want somebody that merely shows up? Somebody that doesn't believe in your values, a man that is a taker. Do you want a man that lies so well he leaves you with the impression you heard it wrong and he must have been right. (Obama)

Do you want a man that has experience and knowledge to lead a country and an army? A man that is willing to admit if he makes a mistake, as well as, the willingness to correct it. A true American is a man that has given his all in support of America. An American is a true believer in truth, justice and the American way. (McCain)

This morning (October 19 th ) I listened to “Meet the Press“, with guest Colin Powell. I listened as he gave his endorsement to Obama, because he thought he would be a better President than John McCain. He, Powell, has his right to choose and vote for anyone he would like to being that America is still a free nation. That doesn't mean I agree with him, if I did, I would say so.

As an American, I strongly believe in open, honest, and free choice election. Where I am having a real problem is when people in places of influence start calling one or the other candidate “the one”.

I would like somebody to explain just what that is supposed to mean, “the one” what? While they are at it I think someone needs to come clean about where all this money is coming from. One hundred fifty million for September alone for the Obama campaign. I have heard some money is coming from Gaza. The last time I looked Gaza was being held by terrorists, supported by Iran.

Is there something going on we need to be informed of before the polls open? I think the Senate needs to get off their butt and have a full disclosure of where his campaign funds are coming from, and do it quick.

Maybe I'm looking at this backwards. It just might be that there are people here in the U.S. that have been funding the terrorists all along, shifting their money and other resources to other places. Either way wouldn't that be a kick in the butt if we found out?

I really think the ethics review board needs to find out where it (the money) is really coming from, before the election and make a full disclosure. We, as Americans, have the right to know!

You know, come to think about it, maybe it's the nation you the people care so little about? I mean is this the change you seek because you think it will keep us from going stagnant as a whole? If this is so, I do not think you realize what you are venturing into, has it really been that long that all of you have forgotten what not having freedom was like? Is it a “French Revolution and Civil War” you are seeking? If so, be careful what you wish for, voting for Obama just might grant it for you.

Keep strong America, may God bless us all!

CALL ME UN-AMERICAN.

I don't care who wins this presidential election, or of what happens to the U.S. I feel guilty about not caring what happens to the U.S but as long as I am okay, then my life is fine. I also feel like voting who is going to control our country for the next four years is a huge responsibility. What if we vote for McCain? What if we vote for Obama? What decisions are THEY going to make during their reign?

I am writing this because I want others to know how I personally feel; and I feel as if no matter who we vote for, the country has been at it's downfall for years, and nobody is going to be able to fix it. Look at us, paying $4.50 in some states for a GALLON of gas. While others are eating out of dumpsters because they cannot afford their light, electricity, and water bills, and have now become homeless, what are the new candidates going to do for them?

The Homosexual Community recieves no priveledges to life at all, oh wait, they have a "Domestic Partnership".

What are they going to do for them? They cannot get married, they cannot be open in the military, unless I haven't heard of them actually dropping the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Bottom line, what's happening to The United States?

Since “Joe the Plumber”’s emergence, many facts have come to light concerning Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, who plays the role of Joe the Plumber, which reveal the entire premise of his question to Obama and all of its elements and facets to be a lie.

According to many respectable news sources (among them

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/us/politics/17joe.html?_r=1&oref=slogin,

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/10/joe-the-plumber.html,

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/factchecking_debate_no_3.html,

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article4961157.ece),

“Joe the Plumber”’s real name is Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher and he says he has been a plumber for 15 years. We now know that he is not a plumber, he just works for one. He is not licensed as a plumber, he has never served a plumbing apprenticeship and he does not belong to the plumber’s union. If he does plumbing work, as he says, he is working illegally. Moreover, the man who plays the part of “Joe the Plumber” owes back taxes in the amount of nearly $1,200 and therefore has a lien against his property. 

According to these same news sources, Mr. Wurzelbacher admits that he earns significantly less than $250,000 a year and, even if he purchased the business he says he wants to purchase, he admits that he actually would make much less than $250,000 and that he would, in fact, get a tax cut under Barack Obama’s plan. Despite this, this man, Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, complained to Barack Obama about his tax plan because Obama would raise his taxes. Thus, the man himself debunked the entire premise of his complaint and in this way also revealed that “Joe the Plumber” does not exist.  

These are facts. What is worrying is that I was able to turn on the Fox News channel last night and see Samuel J. Wurzelbacher as a guest still introducing himself and being introduced and glorified as “Joe the Plumber” and nobody, not the audience, not the interviewers, naturally not Mr. Wurzelbacher, nobody present on the show addressed or even alluded to any discrepancy between the fictitious character “Joe the Plumber” and their guest, Samuel J. Wurzelbacher. As I watched, I felt as if I was viewing parents holding a discussion with a santa claus for the entertainment and pacification of their children.

The question is, why is the McCain campaign (evidently with the support of Fox News) sticking its proverbial head in the sand in denial and making an icon out of a voter who is so gripped with a penetrating irrational fear of paying taxes he isn’t even liable to pay, that he has fabricated an entire persona and an entire scenario that doesn’t even exist? Why is the Republican campaign idealizing a voter who has proven his dishonesty and lack of integrity by fabricating these lies, by not working legally in his trade and by not paying the taxes that he is responsible to pay under the Bush administration?

According to McCain, "[Obama] claims that this honest, hard-working small businessman could not possibly have enough income to face a tax increase under the Obama plan." By this flagrant denial of the facts, are McCain and his supporters insisting that the average American is a dishonest, tax-evading, unprofessional, fear-laden citizen just like the "honest, hard-working" Mr. Wurzelbacher? And is Mr. Wurzelbacher their idea of the model American citizen that they want to promote and reward? What about the hard-working American who plays by the rules? What about the hard-working Americans who do pay their taxes? What about the hard-working Americans who pay their bills on time? What about the hard-working Americans who do live with integrity? 

As Winston Churchill once said “...man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but usually manages to pick himself up, walk over or around it, and carry on.” While most of us already know that Santa Claus and Joe the Plumber aren’t real, McCain’s campaign and Fox News wrongly continue to do their public and the integrity of the American people a disservice by perpetuating a grand myth around Mr. Wurzelbacher and by denying a truth that their public is already apt to deny.