Congratulations to the 44th President of the United States

[Derwin]

As you all now obviously know, America has elected Barack Obama as our 44th President. As some of you may also know, I was not a big supporter. But I must admit that this man had *destiny* on his side. I think we can all agree that HISTORY has been made tonight. This is truly a defining moment for our country, No matter what political persuasion you may come from.

This shows once again how anybody, from any background, can rise up and become the leader of this great nation. It truly makes me proud to be an American.

Just to clarify.....this thread/post is NOT a *partisan* post. This is a post recognizing the fact that HISTORY has been made tonight, and I thought it was worth recognizing, even though my *partisan* views may be different. Please do not turn this thread into a *partisan* political debate.

Let us see now if President Obama will follow through on the incredible plans he has to help companies like Venture Vehicles and Revolution Motors, and the people that would like to purchase hybrid and alternative vehicles.

God Bless America.

Derwin

[Miracleman89]

It is truely amazing, a man with his background has become the next president! Now that the election is over, let us all come together and work hard to lead the world in the right direction!

[meckman1]

Like a lot of people, I worked for the political faction of Organized Labor this year. The one thing that I want people to know is that we didn't support Obama based on anything other than his policies.

I think we should congratulate him today, and people from all points of view should work together to hold the executive and legislative branches accountable tomorrow.

[Jack Willard]

Yes we can!
Yes we can!
Yes we can!
Yes we can! agr:1

A moment in time to be marked and remembered.

What a fantastic acceptance speech!:whoohoo:

[Derwin]

I'll tell you what, I am a Republican, and this guy even inspired me to send him money back when he won Iowa in the primaries! I still didn't vote for him, but I have to admit he is charismatic and exciting, and it is a great historic day for America. That is why this thread is a non-partisan thread.

Derwin

[ziggy951]

What happened to the no politics allowed ideals of this site? I guess its just partisan politics that arent allowed?


Oh well.

I think its bull. I think it is ridiculous that people think this is such a historic day. It shows how we havent really moved beyond the past and that racism played a HUGE part in this election.


For the record my wife is black so dont try to spin the racism card.




Z

[Derwin]

What happened to the no politics allowed ideals of this site? I guess its just partisan politics that arent allowed?

You are correct... *partisan* politics is not allowed. We don't care to discuss partisan issues, but this election goes far beyond partisan politics. Here is a quote from President Bush just moments ago...


No matter how they may have cast their ballots, Americans can be proud of the history made yesterday.

History was indeed made because of the very fact a black man has won the Presidency of the United States. No matter what your party affiliation may be, or what your partisan point of view may be, it is something that is historic, and it is indeed something that we all should be proud of about our great country. I make that statement in the most *non* partisan way imaginable.

Derwin

[danbucks]

Z, you are right: racism played a part here (both for and against, btw, there is no "free pass"), just as partisan politics (unfortunately) will always rear its unfavorable head in politics as long as there are lemmings (i.e. voting for one's party's candidate without any knowledge of their qualifications or background, or, even worse, complete disregard of said qualifications) exist.

However, this is not why this election is historic. History is the whole picture, and the lemmings of the country are only a piece of the equation in this case. Let it stew for a bit on the burner, and look at the big picture.

[ziggy951]

I see the big/whole picture, but we arent allowed to discuss that here :) See, I think racism is WHY he got elected, not because of his policies...but that discussion is for another place, cant go any farther across that line in here I think hehe.

Maybe we could start a "rants" section where there is a bit more leeway in what we can discuss? Just a suggestion.




Z

[danbucks]

We could. I was in fact going to suggest to Derwin that he pull this whole thread and any reference thereof. Too dicey, and certainly not relevant to this forum until such time that Obama puts a real energy/alternative vehicle/etc. statement out on the table.

If you WANT dicey, let's talk California propositions - holy mackerel....
(a few are in fact directly relevant to this forum)

[AZEqualizer]

This is in the Cigar Lounge so it doesn't have to be a vehicle reference item. It is an announcement of a US President.

If the discussion here deteriorates further ....it will be censured like all other posts.

[ziggy951]

Lets! Lets! Lets. See, when we start talking about a politician or an election OR even a bill thats on the table, how can we keep our political views out of it? Its kind of silly to talk about a cap and trade bill without bringing in your political view isnt it. Its a worthless argument if you cant have a +/-, right vs left, green vs blue vs red, etc argument about it. Should the discussion remain focused and avoid bs political sound bytes and stick to the facts? Absolutely yes, but let us talk about a subject with our own point of view, just give it a forum dedicated to it so it doesnt spill over into a discussion about the V1 drivetrain or whether or not 2 wheels in the front is better than 1 :)




Z

[Derwin]

Ziggy, this thread was begun to simply announce the truly historic election of the next President of the United States. There is no partisan *endorsement* or non-endorsement involved. We are not discussing whether or not the policies he puts forth in the coming years will be good or bad, or even if he will be a good or bad president based on his proposed positions. That would really be partisan in nature.

Again....this is just an announcement of the election of the 44th President of the United States (with a note to the historic aspects of it), and a celebration of our democracy. I would think we can all unite around that, right?

Derwin

[ziggy951]

To answer your question I would need to derail this discussion further and I respect the club too much to do that.




Z

[danbucks]

AZ, with all due respect, congrats to Obama is plastered on the front of this forum with prominent placement, not in the Cigar Lounge - not that I am complaining, just pointing out this is way more than a cigar lounge announcement.
I am fine either way, it's just so easy for some to get caught in: "this person sucks, or that person sucks, or I can prove that person sucks, or that party sucks", etc: empty lemming talk...

[Derwin]

I think I better repeat....I did not even vote for Obama, but I do recognize that this has historic ramifications for our country, and the world. I am simply wanting us to celebrate our democracy, no matter what our partisan politics may be.

Again....it is the simple announcement (splashed on the main page) of the historic election of this individual to the highest office in our land. This goes beyond partisan politics. But, don't worry. It won't be there for long!

[luckylindy]

Historic momment ?-YES
Race a factor ?-YES
Am I proud to be an American ?- YES
Are many people lemmings and don't know the real man ?(nobody does yet) - YES
Did I vote for him ?- HELL NO

Do I want the country to pull together and support him and give him a chance? - YES YES YES YES YES !!

It truly IS A HISTORIC DAY ! Thanks for the post DERWIN

[JoeU]

Technically Obama is not Black. He is 50% White, 44% Arab and 6% Black. To be classified as Black you must be 12% of that race.

[ziggy951]

Kenyans are clasified as Arabs????


Not that it matters what his heritage is to logical thinkers.



Z

[Derwin]

His father was from Africa, and his mother was from America. That sounds like an African American to me.....in the truest sense! ;-)

Anyway, the banner on the main page will come down after a day or 2. We just wanted to celebrate our great democracy.....no matter who it was that came out victorious.

Derwin

[Mark Tomlinson]

Well, kids, this was truly a historic election! My congratulations to all who ran. No matter who would have won, it was a defining moment in the USA - let us not forget that McCain was America's oldest candidate and had a female running mate. Or that Hillary Clinton actually stood an honorable chance at winning. This is one for the history books and I'm proud to have been a part of it.

One note on race - it does have it's place in the history books in this election, but did not affect the outcome. How can I say that? Check out the 13 Keys to the White House (http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS244&=&q=13+%22keys+to+the+white+house%22&btnG=Google+Search) and you'll see that the Democrats would have won as history professor Allan J. Lichtman said, "if they picked a name from the phone book". In fact, using his model, I did a spreadsheet five weeks ago that accurately projected McCain 46%, Obama 53%. Race and gender do matter because America was ready to nominate a minority or woman. And that is huge - something we can be proud of. But it didn't change the outcome.

One final note - I wonder where the politically correct Disney Imagineers wil put Obama in the Hall of Presidents? Next to Jefferson? I don't think so. I'm guessing he will be near Lincoln.

[Miracleman89]

Technically Obama is not Black. He is 50% White, 44% Arab and 6% Black. To be classified as Black you must be 12% of that race.

Technically you are wrong! This is false information!

But really Who cares? He is an intelligent man with a wonderful All American History! The Son Of An Immigrant became the leader of a nation! Only In America! God Bless The USA!

[meckman1]

I'm really impressed that Derwin took the time to congratulate Obama, esp. since he didn't vote for him. That shows a lot of class. AS a political coordinator I sent a congrats letter to Obama, and would have done the same for John mccain.

[MikeB]

My thoughts:

Of course Obama won because he's black.

But he also won because he's a really smart guy with a strong understanding of many complex issues. And he also won because he's calm, cool, and collected in the face of crisis. And he also won because he's an eloquent speaker who can inspire hope. And he also won because his policy proposals are what a majority of America want to see happen. And he also won because his core message was of unity, not partisan throat-slitting. And he also won because people are tired (or worse) with how things have been handled in DC over the last 8 years.

Voters are complex things, almost like people. They have multiple reasons for their actions, and it often takes multiple factors to convince them to vote for someone. Obama provided quite a number of those reasons, and attracted quite a number of supporters that were neither black nor Democrats, including quite a few strong conservatives.

It is a historic day. But, as The Onion just pointed out, we just managed to give the crappiest job in the country to a black man, and expect him to clean up the mess before he can go home.


ETA: Personally, I didn't vote for the black man, but for the guy who was top of his class at Harvard, president of the law review, and a constitutional law professor.

[ziggy951]

Ok seriously, mod this thing or let the flood waters flow.





Z

[Derwin]

All I wanted to do in creating this thread was to congratulate Obama on becoming our 44th president, and recognize the historic nature of this election. I thought I did so in a completely non-partisan way.

Unfortunately, I think this thread may have not been one of my *best* ideas, and would probably be good for everyone if it gets closed now before it spirals down into negativity.

Again, I want to state how proud I am of our country and our democracy. I've *always* been proud of my country, but this is surely one of those moments that causes that pride to surface. I would say that no matter who won this election, though.

With that being said, this thread is now closed.

Derwin