From the simple to the complex, from the trivial to the sophisticated, what are your thoughts about this election cycle? What were your favorite or least favorite moments...or haven't they happend yet? What are your predictions for the election results or your predictions for what happens next? Will voting problems have an impact on the results (2000 all over again)? What did you find most interesting and what would you rather not see next time around?
Reflect on, think about, and comment on what Americans learned from the 2008 elections.
284 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 284 of 284I like this online reunion.
We need Shannon though.
& Brooke
& Erica
& Jake
& Alex
AH oh my gosh we've had to go to a new page of comments?!?!
Virginia just went to Obama. California will be called at 10 o'clock. The Mac ain't comming back.
This just in:
Jake Holtz can't wait to get home from work so he can start blogging.
YAY! JAKEEEE
Sir Brinkman is upset that he does not have a comment from me praising his presence.
Therefore this post his dedicated to him.
Almost good enough Jamie. Almost.
I think you'll know who your next president will be in the next 5 minutes. Ooops, now David Gergen agress with me. He opines that it would be pleasant if Hawaii puts Obama over the top.
Obama: 220
McCain: 135
AHHHH. This is so amazing.
CNN PROJECTS THAT BARACK OBAMA IS THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!
OBAMA WINS!!!OBAMA WINS!!!OBAMA WINS!!!OBAMA WINS!!!OBAMA WINS!!!OBAMA WINS!!!OBAMA WINS!!!OBAMA WINS!!!OBAMA WINS!!!OBAMA WINS!!!OBAMA WINS!!!OBAMA WINS!!! YAY!!!!!!
NBC just announced it... Obama won!!!
Game, Set, Match.
Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart have confirmed it: the president elect is Barack Obama.
Smiley face.
President Barack Obama :-)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22537974@N05/2920938786/sizes/o/
Matt Lowe... Congratulations.(don't get used to it lol)
Joanna that's awesome.
I am 11 floors up and I can hear a large amount of celebratory yelling from outside. I'm glad I got to be a part of this historical election.
I remember that pokemon thing a few months ago. Funny stuff.
My floor is roaring with excitement.
Except my roommate who wanted McCain....
EH.
YAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!
ahhh jamieeeeee.
my twinnnn
I knowwwwwwwww. I so almost wore my AP gov shirt today, and then didn't because i thought it might be bad luck. and now it doesn't matter. except for i totally don't understand how they called california already
Jake....it was a good run but i hope Obama can unite this country and not make it all about democrats and republicans...but Americans where we can all be happy with 1 man representing us fairly.
Jake good job for handling it well and kudos for being a good sport about it.
I wish John the best for Senate in his own state.
Obama wins Florida! 333 electoral votes (projected)
Just FYI- McCain is lying it is FREEZING HERE, in AZ. You all might disagree, but it does effect your body being in 119 degrees heat everyday.
To make this a bit more political, I was actually shock at how little I saw about the McCain around AZ. There was nothing. I saw more about Obama than McCain. Yes, I am on a college campus, but even around the rich parts of AZ, there were Obama signs everywhere.
YAY! Obama
Can we all go on Facebook and look at the amazing day where we were feet from the new President of the United States.
AHHH CRAZY!!
Oh one more... I wish I was in Gov right now with Mr. Bretzmann! It just isn't the same. I miss you guys!! I miss Gov!
:[
Welcome and thank you President Obama and VP Biden
VIP SECTION BABY!
I am so sad that tomorrow I'll wake up and not be going to AP Government and Politics.
09 students- appreciate tomorrow
Yea. I was left out on that day. I can pretend I was there!
I think Senator McCain made a good speech and handled the defeat well. It's unfortunate that the crowd had to keep booing about Obama winning though.
We all miss you all too.
What are we doing tomorrow????
lol Don't even kid yourself you aren't going to do nothing but enjoy this!
Look at all these college kids you changed! I actually cared about all of this! I know so many people that don't care.
Party? Not a party to celebrate the victory but a celebration to unite the class....?
The boos weren't very classy.
But what a great concession speech. It was very, very gracious. Well done senator.
Yes, a party. A party with 538 different types of popcorn and cool-aid!
Mr. Bretzmann,
The honest truth is that you have affected our lives. Not all of us in the same ways, but still. This blog can be used as evidence of how interested many of your former students still are. Many voted and even got involved in the election.
I would like to thank you for the year of education that you provided me and making politics seem worth it to us kids. :]
B##r and Chili?
Dont forget the suade West Wing shirts :-)
Definitely.
Thank you Mr. B :-)
I could have done without the booing as well.
...and I'm up for a party tomarrow in class :)
...and thanks Erica. That was a very nice comment...and John L. Brinkman too...but you decided to do all this yourselves...I just walked alongside...with a silly gait...
I've got to go get some chili ready for tomorrow...good night
WE DID IT!!!! WOOHOO.
I'M WITNESSING THE JFK OF MY GENERATION!!!!!!
O.........M..................F........................G
PS - Indeed, Mr. B i actually was directing that to the racist kids in our school, because I had that racism directed towards me when i was putting up posters; they are lame and that's the truth.
...don't mind my insane rambling, I'm absolutely enlightened by this moment, this means a lot to me and a lot of others too.
I think I have to skip my math class tomorrow in celebration.
And I would also like to thank you, Mr. Bretzmann, for inspiring us to actually care about this stuff.
There are helicopters like crazy around here.
Goodnight Mr. Bretzmann.
Mr. B,
Bed before hearing PRESIDENT Obama's speech?
WHAAAAT
Yes....Mr.B thank you from the deepest part of my soul....you made me care about this and look in a new light....thank you.
New Deal=FDR
New Frontier=JFK
New Spirit=BHO
Change = Obama
Can we do it?
YES WE CAN!!!
i miss you guys
:[
But man oh man, what is gov going to talk about now. I'm glad we were the class of '08
:]
I thought it was kinda funny how it was over at 10:00.
Sorry Im joining the party a little late. I had to work late tonight. I knew that I should have taken off for tonignt. I missed all the excitment now so all I can say is GO OBAMA!
Jake I missed you :-(
Woke up this morning an looked at the Alaskan senate race and Stevens is up a couple thousands vote but the race wasn't called, so it will be interesting to see if he can win
When obama's victory was announced, his supporters put away their Obama signs and held American flags.
It's not about Obama anymore. It's about America.
I'm so excited.
It feels good to be American.
:)
Mr. Bretzmann I have a question.
People were talking in my Historical Perspectives class that Obama is at a high risk of assasination due to race. If something were to happen to him before he was inaugurated, what exactly would happen?
The way I understand it, the executive committee of his party could replace his name with someone else, but don't quote me on that. Either way, it would defintely be contested in court. Here's another issue: would the electors be required to vote for the person they were pledged to or could they switch?
Let's hope that none of our leaders ever dies in office (or close to it) ever again.
Yeah. That would be so traumatic. I was just thinking about that though and realizd I didn't have any idea.
Well, now that I'm caught up on the intense bloggage from last night, it's my turn now, as the ’08 AP Gov Chicago representative! Sorry for the lengthiness; I just need to catch up with everyone else!
Just being at Grant Park, the same site of the infamous 1968 Democratic Convention, to see how far we’ve come forty years later was awe-inspiring. It was incredible: 100,000+ people huddled and hoping together creates a rather intense feeling. All were clustered around the big screens, holding their breaths every time CNN had another projection. To everyone that was watching at home, imagine your reactions to each bit of information, and then multiply it by 100,000.
Seeing the words, "Barack Obama, the next President of the United States..." Oh man. Madness. Hugging, kissing, crying, screaming, everywhere you looked. That moment... It was indescribable.
After hearing McCain’s cordial concession speech, the moment everyone was waiting for – Barack Obama. Seeing the scene on TV from the living room gives you the general picture, but being there is just so, so, SO different. Every individual became a part of a greater entity pursuing a greater goal. I met so many people and walked away with new friendships and an altered perspective of mankind, overall.
Afterwards, several blocks had been blocked off, and the streets were filled with people. Hundreds of officers were present as a safety precaution, but the best part was that they weren’t necessary – everyone was content, peaceful, hopeful for the future. Had Obama lost… I don’t even want to think of the riots that would’ve broken out though. But he won! :] That was one heckuva train ride home with a LOT of happy people. Waking up this morning, I just had to go online to make sure I hadn’t dreamt it all. And I hadn’t. And that makes me absolutely euphoric.
sounds like a magical moment....i wish i could have shared it with you....congrates
Got this email today... Very classy email
Get involved when you go to college
For many months, we worked tirelessly to elect Republicans all across the country. We made phone calls, knocked on doors, waived signs, and did anything else we needed to do to help our candidates win. I wanted to take a moment to thank you for all of your hard work and effort.
While the results were disappointing, they do not negate the importance of our efforts. This year, we proved that the young conservative movement is not dead. Despite the attention the media paid to young Obama supporters, we recruited over 149,000 new members, made over 1,000,000 phone calls, and knocked on over 420,000 doors.
We congratulate Sen. Obama on his historic victory which once again proves that America is a country where all people have opportunity beyond limit. While we disagree with Senator Obama on many policy issues, this is a moment that America will always remember.
Republicans faced an incredibly difficult political climate, and as bad as yesterday was, things could have been far worse. If the Democrats had successfully taken control of sixty seats in the Senate, they would have been free to pursue their liberal agenda without even the constitutional check of a filibuster to stop them. Several of the Senate races were very tight, and without the hard work of College Republicans their outcomes might have been much different.
Once again, thank you so much for all of your hard work this election cycle. I urge you to continue your activism, continue to fight. Take refuge in the power of our ideas, the strength of our organization, and faith in our country. We must stand strong and united in order to advance our ideas and our principles in the months and years to come.
We live to fight another day. With your help, fight we will.
Thank you,
Charlie Smith
National Chairman, CRNC
I think now is as good a time as any to talk about who Obama is going to assemble for his cabinet and advisors. I personally hope he has a very diverse cabinet. By diverse I mean ideologically diverse. I think it would be great to if he had as many Republicans and Independents as Democrats.
Keeping Robert Gates has been mentioned on some of the news networks, which would definitely be a sign that he was willing to compromise and cooperate. Since Gates is respected by both parties, this would certainly be a good choice. However the rest of the world could take this as a sign that he will continue similar military tactics to Bush. Either way, I look forward to seeing the picks he makes.
Rahm Emanuel will most likely be the White House chief of staff for Barack Obama.
Article
I really liked the way both candidates handles the final result...I thought McCain was really restpectful in his speech as was Barack in His. Nobody rubbed anything in or got mad about the election. It was handled the best it could've been by both candidates.
I would say that people have learned that a black man can, in fact, be president.
Or, we have all learned that people will vote for a president just because he is blacl.
This election was the first one that I really followed and I enjoyed it. I watched CNN for most of the night, because of all the cool things they had. It is just amazing that everything builds up to one day or you could even say just one night and it goes by so fast. Speaking of CNN I thought it was cool how they had all of the touchscreens to show how different sections of each state votes and how they compared them to the 2004 election. Now its all done and one thing I can say is I'm glad we don't have to deal with the mailings, TV ads, and phone calls anymore.
This election really was amazing to watch. I had on CNN most of the night and I do agree the computers they had were pretty awesome, especially the hologram. They also did some things that really ticked me off. First is they outright said they were going to be conservative and not call things too early. FALSE! When the first results came in from South Carolina (only 1%) Obama led 55% to 44% and they called it as a McCain win. Even though it was pretty obvious McCain would win South Carolina they should not have done that. After that a very long explanation of exit polls had to be given.
I really enjoyed watching this election. This was the first election that I really watched and followed because this election will truelly affect me. It's a big change for our country, but needed. This election was very exciting and full of twists and turns. It's sad that it's over, but at least we are done with the commercials and phone calls 24/7.
Overall, I agree. This election was very fun to watch as history was made. I really admire John McCain and his speech. To spend countless hours competing for the job and upon being defeated, being able to stand behind his opponent as president is just inspiring that we as a nation can do that as a whole. Another example was when all of the Barack obama supporters heard at Grant Park. They put down their Obama signs and held up American flags. It really is a wonderful time to be an American.
-Erik K.
Americans have learned from this election that race doesn't matter as much as we thought it did. This election also emphasized the importance of the vice president selection because in the long run Governor Palin did not help McCain's campaign.
I also had a fun time watching this election. I agree that John McCain's speech was very well done. I have to say it was very enjoyable watching this election and at the same time i am glad it is over. Now I hope we can feel more like one nation insted of democrats and republicans.
Well now that the election is over the cabinet formation begins. I heard that Obama has been interviewing people for secretary of state. He interviewed Clinton on Thursday, Richardson on Friday, and is supposed to interview McCain on Monday. The last part kind of shocked me when I was looking at the paper. The Journal Sentinel said both sides do not believe McCain has any chance at a secretary position, but why would Obama interview him? Any ideas from anyone else?
Obama isn't specifically meeting people for the Secretary of State, he's also trying to get other POPs(people of power) on-board with his agenda so he can hit the ground running after he's inaugurated. He's meeting McCain to talk about bipartisanship according to the New York Times.
Wow just something weird that i noticed today in the paper is that Handgun sales are up 80% since obama won. Gun ammunition is up 48% as well. I guess people are taking the NRA ads seriously about obama raising gun taxes or banning tham all together. The paper interviewed people and most of them were just sayin they want to utilize there right to bear arms before its taken away.
Going along with the last comment, my buddy was telling me about the last gun show that he attended, 1 week after the election. He was telling me that he had never seen a gun show his packed. He told me everyone was buying guns and talking asbout the election. I was surprised to hera thi, i know taht Obama has different views on gun laws, but does every hunter really need to be this concerned? Also my friend was telling me about the amounts of money people were spending and the qunaity of things that were purchased. His dad bought two guns alone. I'm truely surprised that people are getting this shaken up about proposed gun laws, remeber these are proposed not laws in action. I dont know if I want to see the numbers of guns being purchased near the time of the vote for gun laws. What ever happens I hope it works out for us. Go packers boo bears. Peace
Hopefully Mr. Bretzmann posts an article on the Secretary of State proceedings so we can discuss it. As a shameless fan of Bill Richardson, I was excited to see his name as one of the top contenders.
Wow, he honestly did post a new article just as I was typing that last post. Never mind then
Great minds think alike...that makes sense...
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