Ten Things You Might Not Know About President-elect Obama!

The English paper, "The Telegraph", in an article, "Barack Obama: The Fifty Facts You Might Not Know", written by Jon Swaine, gives us some fun facts about our new President. For all fifty, just click here and see them!

• He collects Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics

• He was known as "O'Bomber" at high school for his skill at basketball

• His name means "one who is blessed" in Swahili

• His favorite meal is wife Michelle's shrimp linguini

• He won a Grammy in 2006 for the audio version of his memoir, Dreams From My Father

• He is left-handed – the sixth post-war president to be left-handed

• He has read every Harry Potter book

• He owns a set of red boxing gloves autographed by Muhammad Ali

• He worked in a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop as a teenager and now can't stand ice cream

• His favorite snacks are chocolate-peanut protein bars

Mixner's Personal Campaign's Winners and Losers:

WINNERS!

WINNER: Dr. Martin Luther King and the brave heroes of the civil rights movement who made all of this possible.

WINNER: The Obama Campaign Team because never in my 40 plus years of politics have I seen a better run campaign with no leaks, no infighting and total discipline. An extraordinary historic achievement in a year when Hillary Clinton was inevitable and McCain came out of his Convention with a 12 point lead. They never flinched. This campaign was a work of art.

WINNER: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Senator Chuck Schumer who took advantage of the anti-Bush atmosphere and fielded a top notch group of candidates and made sure they had the money and the issues to make it work. A special nod to Tom Lopach on the Committee.

WINNER: Empire State Pride Agenda who might be the most important force in turning the New York State Senate to Democrat. Special kudos to Executive Director Alan van Capelle who had the vision and guts to try it.

WINNER: Kay Hagen in North Carolina who finally retired Elizabeth Dole and makes for another impressive Democratic woman in the United States Senate.

WINNER: Senator Ted and Vicki Kennedy who gave Obama a needed lift at a crucial time and campaigned endlessly for him even in illness. A true story of courage.

WINNER: Caroline Kennedy who came into her own this election and we can expect her to be a major force for some years to come.

WINNER: Howard Dean whose 50 state strategy worked this year. He took a lot of heat for it and it is paying off in places like Montana, North Dakota, etc.

WINNER: The over 3 million Americans who donated in small donations over and over again to Barack Obama. A historic achievement in eliminating the power of big money in politics.

WINNER: Jeremy Bernard and Rufus Gifford for choosing Obama early and delivering millions of dollars in the early months of the campaign.  

WINNER: Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle who was one of Obama's earliest supporters and now can be a major player in making America great again.

WINNER: Oprah Winfrey who took major heat from women's groups for endorsing Obama and even saw her ratings dip. Guess who will get the President of the United States on her show?

WINNER: Nancy Pelosi who insisted that if Obama had the delegate votes he should be the nominee and for delivering a huge new majority in the House of Representatives.

WINNER: Rachel Maddow who emerged as the new media star in the election. Special mention has to go to Donna Brasile for her amazing work on CNN and Andrea Mitchell for on the spot old fashion excellent reporting. Finally, Frank Rich, who made millions of us wait for his intellectual and extraordinary Sunday column in the New York Times.

WINNER: Senator Claire McCaskill who emerged as an early Obama supporter and a major new force in American politics. Keep your eye on this smart lady!

WINNER: The blogs who kept this campaign honest, raised money (especially for NO on 8 and Obama) and became the leading source of information this year. Special notice to DailyKos, Towleroad, Politico and Taegan Goddard of Political Wire for excellence in this political year.

LOSERS:

LOSER: The right wing nuts who have dominated political discussion for far too long in America and made this nation divided instead of united.

LOSER: John McCain who sold his soul to the devil in attempt to win. He abandoned all his values, principles and beliefs in the quest for raw political power. He is especially a loser in sticking this nation for years to come with Sarah Palin. How could you, John?

LOSER: Ohio and Florida who have had all the attention for years and now have to compete with Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada.

LOSER: The Lady de Rothchild who betrayed her Democratic Party in its hour of need and became the "Tokyo Rose" of the McCain campaign. Her attempts as a billionaire to portray Obama as an elitist only embarrassed herself and her credibility for years to come.

LOSER: Right wing talk radio which was unable in an economic crisis keep their listeners from voting for Obama. Fox News is taking a major hit and Rush Limbaugh is going the way of Joseph McCarthy...into addiction and irreverence.

LOSER: Bush and Cheney who were clearly and beyond a doubt resoundedly rejected by the American people.

LOSER: Sarah Palin who is one of the two or three two reasons John McCain has lost. Unfortunately we most likely will have to listen to her craziness for years to come.

LOSER: White Supremacists who now have to depend on an African-American to lead them to economic security and jobs.

LOSER: Senator Mitch McConnell who has seen his Republican Senate go down in flames.

LOSER: The mindnumbingly infantile use of 'Socialism', 'Marxist' and 'Communist' which proved how out of touch the McCain camp was by using themes more suited for the 1950's than the 21st Century!

LOSER: The use of fear as a way to victory. People ignored the fear-based campaign of McCain/Palin and voted on issues. It has been a long time coming but it is here. Time for the likes of Karl Rove and Steve Schmidt to be fully banished into the political trash heap of failed divisive strategies.

LOSER: Senator Lindsey Graham who has been McCain's abused lap dog for years now will spend that honor in a smaller sphere.

LOSER: Texas - which has been the source of money and power for the GOP for years. Welcome the new power players from the nation's heartland...........Chicago.

LOSER: Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani shredded what little reputation and principles he had left in a raw attempt to kiss ass to the right wing nuts. Please don't burden us by running for Governor of New York. You smell to high heaven.

LOSER: Senator Joseph Lieberman forgot his long time support for all progressive causes including LGBT issues and embraced Sarah Palin. Has he no shame?

Barack Obama and the Grassroots Art Movement

Not since the late sixties with civil rights and opposition to the Vietnam War can I remember a more spontaneous grassroots arts movement on behalf of a candidate or cause. Literally thousands of stunning songs, pieces of art, dance and writing have coalesced around the Democratic nominee for president, Barack Obama. The "Yes We Can" campaign has brought out the best not only in the established arts but also in homes and offices all over America. Youtube.com is filled with professional and amateur videos that capture the spirit of Obama.

To assist you in dealing with the chronic anxiety that we all are feeling about this pending election, I have picked four videos to remind you of the arts and this campaign. Take some time, chill, relax and remember what this campaign has been all about over the last year. Hopefully with all the hard work and a little bit of luck we will wake up on Wednesday morning to a new America.

Impressions of an Election.............By David Mixner

-So far, Barack Obama has been endorsed by 231 newspapers with a combined circulation of 21 million people. McCain has a total of 102 newspapers with a circulation of 7 million people. Forty-Six of the papers that endorsed Bush in 2004 have switched to Obama. One of the more interesting endorsements for Obama was the Anchorage Daily News. You bet'cha. If you want to know how your newspaper endorsed, go to www.editorandpublisher.com .

-Tell me again, John McCain, why we should not tax corporations more? Exxon/ Mobil, just for this quarter, has reported an all time record profit of $14.3 billion dollars! So much for taking our hard earned money at the gas pump and putting it back into exploration.

-Astronaut Sally Ride (photograph) has endorsed Obama and says he is the best choice for the future of the space program.

-Matt Drudge continues to bring shame to his site The Drudge Report by endlessly printing every slimy unauthenticated rumor about Obama. His effort to pump up the Republicans with such trash is unbecoming. But not surprising.

-The latest CNN/Time battleground state polls continue to show we are heading in the right direction. They showed Obama leading in a number of states including:

Florida +4%
Virginia +9%
Pennsylvania +12%
North Carolina +6%
Nevada +7%
Ohio +4%

-In the 'just when you think it can't get any worse' department, incumbent Republican Elizabeth Dole sank to new lows in the already acknowledged nadir known as Republican politics. She accused very religious challenger Kay Hagan of 'associating with Atheists" in a television spot! The Charlotte Observer called out Dole on her disgusting ad and said:

“This is indecent. It is the modern-day version of the “white hands” ad, a lie born of Dole's desperation in a race in which she has trailed for weeks. It is also a deliberate attempt by Dole's campaign not just to distort the truth, but to shatter Hagan's admirable record as an elder for more than a decade in Greensboro's First Presbyterian Church, as a Sunday School teacher and a volunteer in her church's fundraising campaigns, worship services and community service programs. It has no place in N.C. politics. Unless she admits this egregious, shameful mistake and acts appropriately, Elizabeth Dole has no place in N.C. politics, either.”

-Queerty.com carried the story of 109 year old Texan Amanda Jones whose father was a slave. Her life has spanned three centuries and has voted Democrat for seventy years. She proudly filled out her Absentee Ballot for Barack Obama this week. She announced it was her proudest vote ever in her long life.

-Speaking of the Lone Star State, a University of Texas poll showed that 23% of the voters of that state believe Barack Obama is a Muslim. Really. No kidding. No wonder they keep electing Republicans. Guess they have had too many head injuries in those Friday night football games.

-McCain has 177 lobbyists for Big Oil, Wall Street and other corporations running his campaign. No wonder his campaign thinks Obama's fair tax policy is "socialism".

-My political guru in Nevada, Dr. Jerry Cade, reports that Democrats out numbered Republicans in early voting in Clark County (Las Vegas) by 54% to 29%! In the Republican stronghold of Washoe County (Reno), Democrats have out numbered Republicans in early voting by 51% to 33%. Good news.

-Patrick Range McDonald sent a note about a rally in West Hollywood, California on Sunday at 4PM against Proposition 8. The huge rally will be at Santa Monica and Robertson Blvd. If you are in the Southland, please get your butt to it and while you are at it please give more money. We need $3 million more in three days to air a spot by Senator Dianne Feinstein against Proposition 8. Go to www.noonprop8.com and give one more check.

-"Keep on truckin' Scott Kleeb" is driving his pickup truck all over Nebraska. The Democrat, running for U.S. Senate, is having citizens sign his truck with missives detailing what they need from their government. The truck is covered with messages from the grassroots. (See Photograph).

-Alison Teal reports in "Hot Flashes from the Campaign Trail" that National Public Radio had a story of a factory worker in Missouri who voting early. As an old civil rights activist, I loved his quote which sounds like he might have gotten it from his preacher last Sunday:

 "Rosa sat so Martin could walk; Martin walked so Barack could run; Barack is running so children can fly."

-The Lady de Rothchild has taken her tiara and diamonds to New Hampshire to hold press conferences for John McCain. Once again the big Democratic contributor married to a billionaire is accusing Obama of being an elitist! I guess when you have that much inherited money, the notion of irony never enters your addled thought process. Even so, you have to admit that Lady de Rothchild seems to have lost all sense of what is elite and what is a noble struggle to create a magnificent life.

-The 'silver fox' President Clinton joined Barack Obama on stage for the first time last night at a huge, boisterous, and incredibly satisfying rally in Florida. If you missed the meeting of Democratic Titans, it is worth viewing. Just click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC-9PgJfJIw

-This will be my last Impressions of an Election column and next week after the election, I will begin my "Impressions by David Mixner" column. Lets hope I love covering this transition!

I leave you with this Obama canvasser who does it all on horseback in Missouri.

The Economist Endorses Obama

One of the world's most influential magazines, The Economist, announced their support of Barack Obama for President. You read the entire endorsement by clicking here. However, you see the tone of the endorsement in the excerpts that follow:

"That, however, was Senator McCain; the Candidate McCain of the past six months has too often seemed the victim of political sorcery, his good features magically inverted, his bad ones exaggerated. The fiscal conservative who once tackled Mr Bush over his unaffordable tax cuts now proposes not just to keep the cuts, but to deepen them. The man who denounced the religious right as “agents of intolerance” now embraces theocratic culture warriors. The campaigner against ethanol subsidies (who had a better record on global warming than most Democrats) came out in favour of a petrol-tax holiday. It has not all disappeared: his support for free trade has never wavered. Yet rather than heading towards the centre after he won the nomination, Mr McCain moved to the right.

Meanwhile his temperament, always perhaps his weak spot, has been found wanting. Sometimes the seat-of-the-pants method still works: his gut reaction over Georgia—to warn Russia off immediately—was the right one. Yet on the great issue of the campaign, the financial crisis, he has seemed all at sea, emitting panic and indecision. Mr McCain has never been particularly interested in economics, but, unlike Mr Obama, he has made little effort to catch up or to bring in good advisers (Doug Holtz-Eakin being the impressive exception).

The choice of Sarah Palin epitomised the sloppiness. It is not just that she is an unconvincing stand-in, nor even that she seems to have been chosen partly for her views on divisive social issues, notably abortion. Mr McCain made his most important appointment having met her just twice."

The Economist concludes by saying:

"So Mr Obama in that respect is a gamble. But the same goes for Mr McCain on at least as many counts, not least the possibility of President Palin. And this cannot be another election where the choice is based merely on fear. In terms of painting a brighter future for America and the world, Mr Obama has produced the more compelling and detailed portrait. He has campaigned with more style, intelligence and discipline than his opponent. Whether he can fulfil his immense potential remains to be seen. But Mr Obama deserves the presidency."

Final Days: Best Campaign Ad This Year

<

Final Days: Tale of Two Rallies

Nothing better illustrates the differences between the McCain and Obama campaigns than the situation this week in the Philadelphia area. Both candidates were in Southeast Pennsylvania stumping for votes in the final days.

On Tuesday, an old fashion Northeaster was winding up off the coast of Delaware. The impact up and down the East coast was severe. In the City of Brotherly Love, heavy cold rain poured down all day. Even some of the outer edges of the city had their first hint of snow. It couldn't have been a more miserable day.

McCain canceled his scheduled rally in Quakertown. Not far away 9,000 people in the West Chester area stood in freezing temperatures, pouring rain and waited for Obama. The candidate bounded on the stage in casual dress (sneakers and jeans) and gave a stirring speech to the enthusiastic crowd that was drench to the bone. Nothing will stop us this time around and the people of West Chester proved that once again. Neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night....

Final Days: Obama's Last Economic Ad - Pass It On!

The following ad from the Obama campaign captures the dramatic difference between the two candidates on the economic crisis and McCain's impetuous choice of Palin. It is really good and if you have time you should send it to your entire list of family and friends this weekend. This is just one more thing you can do to help propel Obama to victory!

Impressions of an Election.......by David Mixner

-So far over 1,098,777 doors have been knocked upon for Obama just in Ohio! According to First Read, the grassroots operation for Obama is historic. In addition to the house visits, over a million calls have been made to voters in this battleground state! The McCain Troy, Ohio office was closed for the weekend again.

-The people are responding like never before in an election and early voting is a good indication of record turnouts. States with early voting report long lines and no one leaving those lines no matter how long the wait. Ben Smith in www.politico.com says that reports in Cleveland show (see photograph at right) long lines and literally bus loads of supporters arriving at the early voting stations. Smith reports that over 1.6 million people have voted so far in Florida. These are amazing statistics.

-Unfortunately in the Sunshine State there have also been cries of voter suppression due to the fact that while hundreds of machines are available for early voting, most polling places have only two -- an undersupply seriously compromising people's efforts to vote. The elderly, the infirm, people desperate to get back to their jobs are waiting three and four hours to cast their votes! This is unconscionable. Time to call upon Republican Governor Crist to free up the extra machines so Floridians can vote in a timely manner.

-Speaking of early voting, I cast my absentee ballot this weekend for Obama! It sure felt incredible as I placed my mark next to his name. I had to take a few minutes and enjoy the moment.

-Apple corporation gave $100,000 to the battle for marriage equality in California. Have you made your contribution to www.noonprop8.com this week? Just give one more time!

-Incumbent Republican North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole finally got a newspaper endorsement! The endangered Senator got endorsed by her hometown newspaper - The Washington Times. Oops, that's right she is from North Carolina. Her Democratic challenger, Kay Hagan, has garnered every major newspaper endorsement that is in the state.

-According to a Gallup, 75% of the Jewish voters will cast their ballots for Obama!

-The conservative Financial Times shed its Republican leanings and endorsed Barack Obama this week! The paper stated in its editorial on Sunday:

"In responding to the economic emergency, Mr Obama has again impressed – not by advancing solutions of his own, but in displaying a calm and methodical disposition, and in seeking the best advice. Mr McCain’s hasty half-baked interventions were unnerving when they were not beside the point.

On foreign policy, where the candidates have often conspired to exaggerate their differences, this contrast in temperaments seems crucial. For all his experience, Mr McCain has seemed too much guided by an instinct for peremptory action, an exaggerated sense of certainty, and a reluctance to see shades of grey."

-Speaking of endorsements, The Miami Herald also stressed the economic crisis when it endorsed Obama. The paper said,

"The way the two candidates responded to the economic meltdown offers a lesson in contrasting styles of leadership. Both have put forth a series of worthwhile policy options, but where Sen. Obama was calm, Sen. McCain was frantic. He first put his campaign "on hold" and suggested he would cancel the first debate, and then suddenly decided to take part even as the first bailout deal cratered. He said the fundamentals of the economy were strong, then a few days later vowed to "name the names" of those responsible for the financial crisis.

In other elections, voters have complained of having to make a choice between two bad candidates. That is not the case this time. The nation is fortunate to have good candidates and a clear choice. Sen. Obama represents the best chance for America to make a clean break with the culture wars and failed policies of the past, and begin to restore the hope and promise of America as the world's greatest democracy."

-Polling continues to look good for Obama...almost too good. In eight states that George W. Bush carried in 2004, Obama now leads in six of them according to the Reuters/ Zogby poll! Obama leads in Virginia, Ohio, Nevada, Missouri, North Carolina and Florida. McCain leads in Indiana and West Virginia. In many of those states the leads are paper thin so get out there and walk and call for Obama.

-MSNBC's First Read has Barack Obama, for the first time, edging over the magical 270 number in electoral votes by shifting Virginia and Colorado into the Illinois senator's column. This gives Obama 286 electoral votes according to the political team at the cable network.

-Politico.com reports a major endorsement for Obama out of South Dakota. Former United States Republican Senator Larry Pressler, who was the first Vietnam veteran elected to the United States Senate, has endorsed Obama. He cited the economic crisis as the reason for his cross party endorsement.

-Speaking of South Dakota, it is too bad that Obama is running out of time. I am convinced if he could make stops in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Arizona and Georgia he could carry those states.

-You have to love those folks in Colorado. Not only did they fill Mile High Stadium at the Convention, they turned out 100,000 in Denver and 45,000 in Ft. Collins on Sunday. Take a look at the local newspaper's front page.

Barack Obama: Richmond's "Together" Excerpt