The bar has been set so high with Obama that many who voted for him are going to be in for a MAJOR disappointment when they see just what this economy is really heading for. Depending how he decides to govern (no one really knows) the problems may only be exasperated worse, and then you are going to see economic times not seen since the Carter years, or worse yet the Hoover years. No government plan is going to fix this mess we are in, which is the primary fault of reckless Greenspan FED policies. Government intervention that the hill is so eager to embark upon will only exemplify the problems, and that is the real danger we face now.

"They voted for him because he was black. Period."

Race had nothing to do with my vote. Obama got my vote because he had more to offer than McCain. Simple as that. McCain did not have my best interests in mind and therefore lost out. I also was turned off immensely by McCain's choice of running mate.

Barack Obama isn't president yet.

It really kills me, these politicians (including our newly elected President) who say that the rich just keep getting richer and we get stiffed! I'm sorry but Obama is also one of those rich people! If you think he's going to change that,you are sadly mistaken. He loves his money as much as they all do! We will, as the middle class, still get stuck with the higher taxes etc. I haven't seen any money of his in my paycheck,Thanks for spreading your wealth Barack!

Just like the Obama supporter in Tx, I want to know how soon he will fill my tank with gas and help pay the mortgage. Oh yeh change is coming. Good Luck!

Well they were "JERKS"

You gotta admit it was kinda funny. Especially when she used the adjective, "Jerks."

And by the way lovestocrap, McCain was leading in the polls until the economy went into the crapper. The economy became the single biggest reason for his defeat, not race.

lovestocrap: "Older Union guys" are an incredibly small representation of the population. At most 2%. Less than 15% of ALL voters (male/female; all ages; all races) were union mebers in 2004. I doubt ALL of the "older union guys" didn't vote at all. The fact remains that non-white voters increased only 3% as a percentage of all races, of which 2% were African-American.

Your anecdotal experience is clouding the reality. Rock county voted for Obama by a 2-1 margin, while being more White than the national average.
http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/popInfo.p...

The undecided vote wasn't much different this year than in 2004, and I'm not sure what that has to do with race. In 2008, 10% of voters made a decision within the last week before the election, and they split their votes evenly between obama and McCain. In 2004, 11% decided in the last week, with Kerry getting 52% vs. 46% for Bush.

California also has a large Latino population, which effected the gay rights vote. So what? Latino's and African-Americans also voted overwelmingly for kerry on 2004.

The idea that Obama won the election "largely based on race" is insulting and ridiculous.

Zoom...you are forgetting one aspect of your statistics. Many older union guys refused to vote this election because they won't vote for a black man and they won't vote republican. My father has been a union member for more than 30 years and this was the general attitude of most of the guys he works with. I can't imagine that this attitude was exclusive to truck drivers. Obama won the presidency largely based on race. Many of these voters don't even agree with him on the issues. Not only that, but there were a record number of undecideds. So, I believe the number of minorities voting was much higher than what your numbers are saying. Which is also why the gays lost their rights in California...most blacks call themselves Christians and are against such behavior. It was enormous defeat for the gays because of the record number of black voters out to vote for Obama.

momof5 said: "Don't vote when you haven't voted in the other elections you were previously able to vote in--just because the candidate is the same gender, race, origin, etc.., as you."

You are not the only person that thinks the only reason Barack Obama won was because of a huge African-American voter turnout. The fact is, more people of ALL races voted this year, but the percentage of African-American voters did not increase that much as a percentage of the whole.

The ratio of non-white to white voters increased only 3% from 2004 to 2008 (non-whites were 23% of all voters in 2004, and 26% in 2008).
Of that 3% increase, 2% were African-American, and 1% were Latino.

"Comparing exit polls from 2004 and 2008 makes the breadth of Barack Obama's victory clear. Obama received a larger share of the vote than John Kerry among voters of ALL genders, races, education levels, and income classes, and virtually all religions. The only groups with whom he underperformed Kerry were older (65+) voters, and gay and lesbian voters.

Conversley, there is a hidden source of strength in this table that hasn't been talked much about before: Obama markedly overperformed Kerry among parents. In a sense, it was those people who have most reason to be concerned about the future who voted for Obama: people who are young themeslves, or people who have young children at home."
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/

nurse4u - Last I knew Palin is only the second women to be a vice-presidental candidate for a major party. Oh, and a Governor as well. Win or lose, she has already made her mark on history.

How do you think Sarah Palin would do on "Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?"
She may need some assistance with geography.

lakekennedy- I agree with you. You make excellent points.

I believe we're going to see a large increase in people who are interested in their government now. Either out of excitement, or because they're waiting for Obama to fail. I'm beginning to find friends more involved already. A lot of them are interested in who Obama will choose for his cabinet, who was chosen in the past, and what each position is responsible for. You have to admit that most American's don't typically care about these things. I think the level of participation is going to go up, and that's a great thing.

You're judging based on ONE press conference...and one position filled?
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WOW...nothing like giving a person a chance.
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He doesn't even become president for another ten weeks.
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And then you'll give him what.....two days before you condemn him for not solving all the worlds problems to your liking?

Did you see the Obama press conference today and the guys on stage with him? Change? What Change? The more things change the more they stay the same. I fervently hope Obama succeeds because that is what would be best for America. I am afraid that when his far left supporters realize the reality of change we will here something like this: "He couldn't do anything because of the problems Bush left" or "He wanted to help me but THEY wouldn't let him because he is black". I hope I'm wrong about that.

Da, Comrade Barrack will bring us down the last mile of the road to socialism!

People voted for Obama to change. They wanted to get away from Bush. But, do they know what they are running to? Sounds like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire to me. Sorry about the cliche.

Does this mean the era of "kinder, gentler" Republicans is over?

I really was PO'ed beyond belief a couple of weeks ago because someone stole my Obama sign out of my yard. In response, I really stuck it to all Republicans on this website. I think it was TJNCJ who reminded me not to paint with such a broad brush. He/she was right. In a nameless faceless forum, it is easy to be an irresponsible chicken poop and fling it around. But to the guy who stole my sign, you are chicken poop.
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I have not crowed over Obama's victory and I won't. I need to wait and see what happens. I have quiet confidence in him. He will get my criticism when I think he is wrong, and my praise when I think he is right. Conservatives, I would hope you would do the same.
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I can remember how angry I was when Reagan was shot. I was in a public place and some idiot passing the crowd in front of the television remarked loudly, "too bad the aim was not better". I read him the riot act. I am an american first, and my political persuasion is a distant second.

I agree, lakennedy.

momof5.
There is nothing okay about voting for someone based on the color of their skin. I do think that there is a lot to be said for the fact that a black person couldn't even attend a white persons school fifty years ago, and now is the President-elect. That says a lot about how far this country has come. His color will not dictate his successes or his failures, his character will. We'll see what happens.

upnorth: I understand your views. I don't agree with them, but that doesn't matter. I just wanted to let you know that I (and many others) felt the same way the last 8 years. Especially after the 2004 election. Scared out of my wits. We have different definitions of what the right path is for this country. I'm not saying that mine is any better than yours, but I will say it deserves the same respect I am giving yours. As you know, the election is over. It is all of our jobs, regardless of who you voted for, to hold our politicians accountable. While it was inspiring to see so many from both sides get so involved during the election, it would suit us all well to remember that that same level of involvement needs to be practiced everyday. Read about what's going on. Who voted for what, etc. Hold these guys accountable.

guy: As a matter of fact, yes I do. Barack Obama is a MAN. If you don't want to be judged by the color of your skin, then don't celebrate when you normally wouldn't be so celebratory. Don't vote when you haven't voted in the other elections you were previously able to vote in--just because the candidate is the same gender, race, origin, etc.., as you. Racism knows no boundary.
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If Sen. Clinton had won, I would be saying the same thing. If you want to be equal, then ACT equal. If you want to be judged for WHO you are and not WHAT you are, then don't draw attention to it.
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I can nearly guarantee you, if Barack Obama did not have the pigmentation he has in his skin, you would not see Condi, Gen. Powell, Rev. Jackson (because, boy, there is a credible "cheerleader"), Rev. Sharpton (again, what a cheerleader), Oprah Winfrey, etc.., hooping and hollering that this was a historic election.
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Let HIS ACTIONS as Commander-in-Chief write the history lesson; NOT the COLOR of his skin!
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Tammy Baldwin was just elected to a "historic" 6th term. Pretty sure there weren't rainbows and pink triangles being bobbed in the air during her acceptance speech. She is a woman who serves in the US Congress representing Wisconsin. She also happens to be a lesbian. If Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O'Donnell and Neil Patrick Harris, Elton John and TR Knight all started giving interviews on how historic and great it was that a district in Wisconsin elected a lesbian woman to her 6th term, I'm quite sure some of you "historians" would be changing your tunes.
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I did not vote for Obama. However, it is what it is now and there is nothing we can do about it except to hold him and his cabinet accountable like we would any other President. We do need to look to the future and ask ourselves what we can do to turn the fate of this country around. Republican, democrat, lipstick wearing pitbull or not, we need to unite before we all start asking "Where are we going....and why are we in a handbasket???"
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KT, lovetoscrap, upnorthwi: I agree!

tincj - billnewbie is correct. The change many Obama supporters want to see is a coming together around common goals. We would rather not see things in an us/them dichotomy but rather "how does a nation of different individuals come together for the betterment of all?"

I thought this post by billnewbie on a blog entry was appropriate for you who are "discussing" the election here.
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"Sore losers on the right, poor winners on the left, gracelessness everywhere you look. This wasn't a war, it was an election. The losers need not be humiliated, the winners need not be excoriated. Want real change? Start with yourself. Congratulate the winners. Assure the losers. Love our country and our neighbors. I am not your enemy and you are not mine. Accomplish this and real change for the better is possible. Take vengeance for past defeats or plot vengeance for current defeats and you undermine our country to the delight of our enemies. We have a choice. We can work together to fix what’s wrong while saving what works, or we can oppose each other’s every move accomplishing nothing that won’t be undone later when the tide turns again, as it always does." -billnewbie

upnorthwi - honey, if Mr. Obama's associations are any seedier than Mr. Bush's I'll eat my mittens! Though I voted for Mr. Obama, even Mr. McCain could not have stooped to the level of sleaze of the Bush administration (unless you count his VP selection).

So you think Jesse Jackson, Conde, Colin Powell and the rest are all wrong in the way they are reacting? You think MLK would have reacted differently? I'm still waiting for one of them to be offended by the attention it's getting. I doubt we'll see that.

lovetoscrap...AMEN!!! Couldn't have said it better myself. The country has set it's moral values aside. Sad, sad, sad:( I don't trust Obama as far as I could throw him. All of his "seedy" associations makes me uncomfortable. But, nobody thinks of that. Smoothe talker, that's what he is. Baby killer, spreading the wealth, member of Rev. Wrights church, AND good friend for 20 years (but didn't know his views), shady friends on Wall Street etc.. and the list goes on. It's a scary time for America!!

ktaustin: I'm with you on this one. Sorry, guyonthecouch. To paraphrase Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech, he looked forward to the day that his children weren't judged by the color of their skin but yet by their character. Huh. WE must not have come as far as we thought then. Those who are making all of this fuss about the president-elect right now, calling it historic and placing the importance of Tuesday's results above 9/11 and the WORST recession since the Great Depression, I welcome you the phenom known as reverse racism. While I am sure Dr. King would be proud of his country for electing Barack Obama and breaking down the racial barrier, I am also certain the hoopla surrounding the pigmentation of the President-elect's skin would draw ire.

Name: Love to scrap
Age: 42
City: Janesville
Political Preference: Republican

It scares me that America is falling away from traditional values and morals that has separated us from the rest of the world. That the majority of the populace voted for a man with no experience and no traditional values makes me realize just what some people will do for the sake of money. Even worse is, it's about money not earned but stolen from those who do earn it.

On top of that, try to think of a minority of this magnitude (blacks make up about 14% of the population) elected leader of ANY significant country. And we're currently leader of the free world. I doubt you'll find a comparable event in history.

There have been multiple recessions and only one non-white president.
Lovetoscrap, you're right, but good luck graduating Magna Cum Laude from Harvard if you aren't. I think we can assume.

An education makes you knowledgable...not smart. Sounds like you are talking about obama.

guyonthecouch, I guess I just can't relate to that sentiment. Maybe it's just because I'm young and didn't grow up with the kind of racism that I've only seen in history movies, but I can't imagine how this election even comes close to the historic significance of 9/11. Even the economic recession seems more significant to me than electing a black president.

Wow, I guess I didn't realize how much people are fawning over this man. The point of my original post (very bottom) is that it will (hopefully) not be remembered as particularly historic that Obama was black. My attitude reflects those of sewaelizebeth and her daughter; yeah, he's black, so what? The fact that so many people are so hyped up over the fact that he's black is just another indication that we as a country are still racist. If we weren't, then it wouldn't be newsworthy now would it? Voting for a man because he is black is just as racist as voting against him because he is black. Coincidentally I read that 1 in 5 voters considered the racial issue very important, and of those the majority voted for Obama.

A century from now (if the planet is still here), I would hope that people wouldn't care about skin color and therefore nobody would remember Obama, the first black president. As I said, only if there is something historic about what he DOES will he be remembered by most. We'll have to wait and see.

justsome1here, I've heard that with just about every political office milestone (senator, governor, representative, etc), there was always a black man elected before a woman. I haven't confirmed that, but I guess this election would support that trend.

What really scares me is the people who got off the couch to vote for him who didn't know one single thing about his platform. They voted for him because he was black. Period. That is something to brag about!

An education makes you knowledgeable, not smart. This is possibly the biggest thing to happen in the U.S. the last 25+ years. I might only put 9/11 in the same category in my lifetime.

Ok I just have to come in defense of ktaustin, Edgewater:I happen to know this man and he is HIGHLY educated! Gaduate of the UW Madison in fact in a very highly intelligent field! He looks at the issues and doesn't speak from his rear like some. anyway, I'm not thrilled about this election, but it's done and now we have to live with it. In a year I wonder if Obama will have tarnished his "messiah" crown and we will find that he is a normal man just like the rest of us. He can't walk on water and I doubt he will be able to bring this country together any more than anyone else could. We will have less jobs and more unemployment than now. Hang on to your wallet tight because the democrats love to spend. for that matter hang onto your gun and Bible even tighter!!!

What would have happened if the American people would have had this information before the election? You know, Noel Sheppard is an author from Newsbusters and he looked at the exit polls. And remember, you know, are you better off. The failed policies of the past. Here are the exit polls. The percentage of poor voters showed a huge decrease in 2004 while the percentage of folks making over 200,000 doubled, doubled. Here are the particulars. In 2004 8% of the electorate earned 15% or less. That dropped to 6% in 2008. That's a 25% decline. In 2004 15% made between 10 and $30,000. That dropped to 12%. That's a 20% decline. In 2004 23% made $30,000 or less. That dropped to 18% in 2008, a 22% decline. In 2004 11% made $100 to $150,000. That rose to 14%, a 27% increase. In 2004 4% made $150,000 to $200,000. That rose 6%, a 50% increase. In 2004 3% made over $200,000. That rose 6% this year, a 100% increase. In 2004 18% of people who went out to vote made $100,000 or more. That rose 26% in 2008, in 44% increase. Add it up. When you look at it from an income perspective, voters did pretty well over the last four years. You wouldn't think that, would you?

RichE95 - good post. The picture is appropriate too of a woman crying for joy, because she is oblivious to what is would actually take for any president to affect any change in this country's economic and foreign policy unfortunate path to a fading superpower status.
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The borrowing and spending has been going on too long, and we are still trying to police the world. Not even Obama has said he would bring all of our troops home from around the world and bring down the federal deficit.

TheJoker: Your attention to detail is appreciated, but Obama thinks of himself as black.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/09/b...
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The consensus of thousands of news media sources seems to embrace the term "black President" as well.
http://news.google.com/news?q=black.pres...

The votes have been cast and counted. America spoke and the name that was called was Obama. Let's all support him in his quest to usher in a new golden age for America. Hail to the chief!

He is not the first black president. He is not black, he is multi-racial. Half white, half black. Please get it right. Who cares what color he is?! He needs to run the country now.

Bush is done. Also, the grammar and spelling on this blog are horrible. Please give some thought as to how you type.

Now, can we talk about Obama and the future? He needs to stay in the middle of the political spectrum. Any veer to the left will have him losing my support. He has a lot of work to do and we all need to help him do it.

he is just a man. but you HAVE to stop and recongnize the fact that he is a black man. just 40+ years ago we still had segregation in some areas. now we have a black man running one of the most powerful countries in the world. it WOULD be historic as well if we elected a female(unless palin then catastrophic more than historic;) but that doesnt discount the fact that electing president obama is historic BECAUSE he's black. good luck president obama....you said something about reforming the marijuana laws??;)

Did you read the post about what my daughter said? I agree. The thing is we have always been bigotted and the fact that so many have gotten past that is historic. I suppose it's more about the voters than the president elect as far as what I'm talking about.
I know what I mean.

sewaelizebeth- We will have to agree to disagree. A man was elected president of the United States. To me that is not historic, just the way it is has always been.

A black man has never been elected either.
Let's not lower the importance of one historic event because another hasn't occurred yet.
both would be awesome-If they were suited for the job.

The point was tongue and cheek. Of course we are not an enlightened society. If we were, there would be no mention of this being a historic moment in our history. A truly historic moment would be if a woman had been elected president. A man has always been elected president, a woman has never been.
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chad_vader - I am enlightened. He is just a man, which is what the point was to begin with.

The election is over, the people of America spoke, for CHANGE..in the presidency, house and senate! We all need to come together as AMERICANS and move forward..

It is appropriate that the photos were taken at the UAW Hall. One of the amazing things Tuesday was to see GM give the UAW the day off to vote and campaign. This from a company going broke and a union which probably won't have that union hall in 4 years. GM and the UAW continue in an embrace of oblivion. The paid day off says it all about the demise of GM in Janesville.

justsome1here - I think you need to be enlightened. If you read sewaelizebeth's posts there are no references to being proud of not being enlightened. But on the other hand, one can be proud of paths taken to be enlightened. Not being proud of the journey makes being enlightened not as great a goal.
Besides, I didn't vote for skin color but for the candidate I thought would be best. If it were a woman that would not have even changed the fact, even though historic, if that person was not best suited for the job to get my vote.

Enlightened? Americans? Americans are known throughout the world as being brutally stupid. This would mean that we are seen as stupid brutes. Enlightened? In someone's wildest dreams, perhaps.

Read some of the gazette reader's comments and tell me we're enlightened.

Again, who said I'm proud of it??
And again like I actually DID say: maybe we're getting there.
Do you honestly think we, as a whole, are enlightened? Look at all the bigotted behavior we exhibit.
Not proud of it and I think we are changing.

sewaelizebeth - Definitions of enlightened-1) free of ignorance, prejudice, or superstition 2) having a sound and open-minded understanding of all the facts, or based on such an understanding.
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Not being an enlightened society is not something to be proud of.

We aren't an enlightened society, that's what's so great about this. Maybe we're getting there. A woman would be a change too. I supported Obama-well, still do-not because he's black but because he's the candidate who's views I believe in.

I would have thought that our enlightened society would have looked past the color of someone's skin and realized that we only elected another man to be president of the United States. What would have been really historic is if a woman had been elected president. If memory serves me correctly, we have never elected a woman president of any color in this country. It is time for a real change!

I shouldn't have judged. ;)

sewaelizebeth - George was just torn, because they were getting to the end of the story and he wanted to know how it ended.

Good post tater!
Elections are always divisive, but in the end we all have to make things work for this economic downfall to turn around. If people want to lock themselves into a party label and just complain, go ahead. I will work with other AMERICANS to make this country strong again.
And to those still stuck on the Hussein thing, grow up. You make all of us look stupid to the rest of the world.

Where did I blame 9/11 on Bush? Uhm, nowhere. Like I said he didn't need to jump up and run around or anything but he should have made an excuse and left to take care of country business.
And I never said anything about Clinton either so..
Anyway, I asked my daughter (12) what she thought about our first black president. She said-in her bored teenage voice-'so, he's a man just like any other.'
Exactly!!! I think (hope)we as a country are starting to see that. All men are created equal and all that jazz..

The congratulations belong to you also, tater.
Now if you could only convince your Republican or Independent brothers and sisters....

Ok, I’ll come clean. I did not vote for Mr. Obama, but I have no problem telling him and all those that voted for him, “Congratulations”. It is being estimated that over 136 million Americans voted and the voter turnout is the biggest in over 40, possibly even 100 years! I saw interviews with people on TV last night that were crying with joy and overcome with emotion. I have been through 8 elections and I have never seen such enthusiasm for any candidate. I think this could be a pretty neat time to live in and I urge all to look forward and stand behind Mr. Obama as he leads our great country to the prominence that it deserves. And I believe that as long as he remains fiscally responsible, bi-partisan, moderate and fair, Mr. Obama has an opportunity to be a major chapter in history.

So-how long before the new elected messiah begins to walk on the water?

earnhardt:
I just ran into a Republican on the bus who wouldn't vote for McCain because his name rhymes with Hussein. He voted for Barack instead.

sewaelizebeth - Bush reacted how he should have in front of kids. Give me a break. Don't be blaming 9/11 on Bush. Let's not forget Clinton had access to the man responsible for that attack at one time and failed to capitalize on doing something about it.

earnhardtfan. The name Hussein means "king." His father was from Africa. That's all. Time to get over it. We've got work to do as a nation.

I just don't know if I like a guy with the middle name Hussein running the USA.

Some of the people who commented had voted for both parties.

Let's think about this Gazette article, could you have asked a Republican what they thought? At this point I think you will find that there are many republicans who are ready to move forward from the election and discuss the kind of change that they hope for and the kind of changes that they are scared of. I would have loved to give my honest and positve thoughts...

Yes we can-from Obama's speech.

Do you know what kind of change you all voted for? And yes we can do what?

God bless the USA and President Obama!

YES WE CAN!

Bush and 9/11 is historic. Not in a good way. Have we all seen the footage of Bush being told about the disaster and him just sitting there for a while? No one expects him to jump up and run around screaming or anything but the elementary kids can wait in the event of a terrorist attack.
As far as Obama-being the first black President of the United States is historic. How could it not be?
And the country will not be a utopia in 6 months, never will be. Will it get better? After how screwed up it's gotten in the last eight years I don't think anyone expects huge changes right away but we are all hoping for change.
(For a president the teleprompter rarely goes off-but at least Obama doesn't flub up his speeches even with one.)

PRESIDENT OBAMA

man that sounds good doesn't it?

Swell. First black president, overcoming racial divisions, etc., etc. Now, let's try tackling this misogyny thing...

ktaustin -

A minor footnote without historic content or meaning? Do you actually believe that our first black president will be a minor footnote in future US history textbooks? Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, Brown vs. Board of Education...do you think these distinctions are minor footnotes in history books? What kind of education, or lack thereof, do you have? What a pathetic post. Get an education before you hurt yourself.

Good grief, you'd think this guy walks on water. I guess if you listen to enough of his telepromter fed rhetoric that's where you'd get the idea. We'll see what happens now that the teleprompter is shut off. My guess is we'll give it about 6 months to a year and when we aren't living in this utopia that we were all promised with "hope" and "change" then the President Elect will go back to the ole' Democrat playbook and blame all the problems on the previous administration.

It seems every election has been "very historic, if not the most historic". Honestly, I don't think this election will be all that historic unless some historic event happens to coincide. For example, I think it will be 9/11 that will make Bush's presidency historic even decades later. Sure, Obama is the first black president, but it was only a matter of time before that happened and after a few decades that will be a minor footnote in history books.