Yes we did!!

Shortly before Obama took the stage to give his acceptance speech, I received this in my email --

Carol --

I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.

We just made history.

And I don't want you to forget how we did it.

You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change.

I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign.

We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next.

But I want to be very clear about one thing...

All of this happened because of you.

Thank you,

Barack

Hear hear! A toast is in order. (raises glass) Here's to hoping that we can move forward as a nation working together to find a way to embrace peace and the ingenuity that made us such a great country in the first place.

Yes We Can and Yes We Just Did.

There is hard work ahead but United we stand. I've enjoyed the debates here but now I have a screenplay to finish that has reeaally suffered over the last few weeks!

Nice talking to you, boys. :) (and girls!)

Arugula for everyone? Yea. In a year or two we will all be grazing, gathering and hunting for grubs. I hope there is Arugula growing out there.

Good luck with the Screenplay Merris.

Congratulations to Obama. It really is a historic day and I wish him and the country well. Maybe now that arugula will be more readily available here... I remember what Reagan did for jelly beans. :)

I hope it does because Arugula is great!! I think I am going to use it to replace lettuce on my hamburgers.

Congratulations to Obama. It really is a historic day and I wish him and the country well. Maybe now that arugula will be more readily available here...I remember what Reagan did for jelly beans. :)

That is very gracious of you considering some of your previous posts; you are clearly a better person than I thought, and I'm not sure I would be as gracious as you if your candidate had won.

I have a new found respect for you despite our political differences.

As for Arugula, can someone explain to me what type of drink this is as I'm not a drinker of alcohol (with the exception of a single beer once every six months; usually at some social event).

I will raise a Canada Dry - The Champagne of Ginger Ale's for this toast to our next President :D

As for Arugula, can someone explain to me what type of drink this is as I'm not a drinker of alcohol (with the exception of a single beer once every six months; usually at some social event).
:D

Arugula is a green found in a lot of salads . It has a very peppery taste.

http://fruitseasons.com/wp-content/uploads/Arugula.jpg

That is very gracious of you considering some of your previous posts; you are clearly a better person than I thought, and I'm not sure I would be as gracious as you if your candidate had won.

I have a new found respect for you despite our political differences.

Thanks Tex. He ran a good campaign and made history, I can't argue with that. It doesn't mean I'll be quiet now... but I'll give him this day. ;)


As for Arugula, can someone explain to me what type of drink this is as I'm not a drinker of alcohol (with the exception of a single beer once every six months; usually at some social event).

I will raise a Canada Dry - The Champagne of Ginger Ale's for this toast to our next President :D

I take it you don't get much arugula down in your parts either.

I for one never liked arugula too much . My garden grows Boston Bibb very well (yes I can) and when I purchase it I get Romaine .

Thanks Tex. He ran a good campaign and made history, I can't argue with that. It doesn't mean I'll be quiet now...but I'll give him this day. ;)



I take it you don't get much arugula down in your parts either.


My bad :o

I looked it up, apparently I missed this part of the campaign :D

"Finally, Obama took up the arugula matter. At a July campaign event at a farm in Adel, Iowa, Obama responded to farmers' concerns about falling crop prices by saying that American farm policy should focus more on supporting the production of specialty foods that are in increasing demand. "Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and see what they charge for arugula?" he said. Several articles in the national press seized on the comment as a sign that Obama was out of touch and too cosmopolitan for Iowa tastes -- after all, the articles noted, there are no Whole Foods stores in the state.

At the fair grounds in Independence on Thursday, Obama was talking again about the need for diversifying crops beyond heavily subsidized staples like corn and cotton -- and used the opportunity to confront the grocery gaffe. He recounted the ridicule he'd received, citing it as proof of the media's pettiness. "They said, 'Oh, Obama's talking about Arugula in Iowa. People in Iowa don't know what arugula is,'" he said, to laughter. "People in Iowa know what arugula is. They may not eat it but they know what it is."

No mention, though, of Whole Foods" - Washington Post

So while it may not be native to Texas, I will raise a head of Romaine in a toast to our new President :p

I like Romaine it's fancy looking and has a nice crunch.

It's OK Tex, I had never heard of arugula until I watched My Blue Heaven with Steve Martin as Vinnie. He went into a market for the first time and said "I haven't had arugula in six weeks." The manager asked "what's that?" Vinnie said, "It's a veg-uh-tuh-bull!"

I just read a clever post (http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8870) on this... yeah, I can even give credit to libs when they're funny.


"I predict the Arugulites and the Iceberg People will wipe each other out, leaving the crafty Romainians, whose shrewd divide-and-conquer strategy will lead to a long period of hegemony for the Romaine Empire."

Speech I love My blue heaven!!

That is very gracious of you considering some of your previous posts; you are clearly a better person than I thought, and I'm not sure I would be as gracious as you if your candidate had won.

I have a new found respect for you despite our political differences.

As for Arugula, can someone explain to me what type of drink this is as I'm not a drinker of alcohol (with the exception of a single beer once every six months; usually at some social event).

I will raise a Canada Dry - The Champange of Ginger Ale's for this toast to our next President :D

Steve's always been a better guy than he comes across as :D

No seriously, although I disagree with most of what he says, I for one have actually found most of Steve's posts, although almost always negative and unashamedly biased (who's aren't I suppose), respectful enough for a board of this nature. He is certainly passionate about his country and beliefs which is hard to fault in my book.

Do I think he will support Obama even if he does a great job? No not really. Not one bit I suppose. But I do hold out some hope that he is as fair as he says he is.. :D ;)
Time will tell hey Steve??

Steve's always been a better guy than he comes across as :D

No seriously, although I disagree with most of what he says, I for one have actually found most of Steve's posts, although almost always negative and unashamedly biased (who's aren't I suppose), respectful enough for a board of this nature. He is certainly passionate about his country and beliefs which is hard to fault in my book.

Unashamedly biased, yessirree.


Do I think he will support Obama even if he does a great job? No not really. Not one bit I suppose. But I do hold out some hope that he is as fair as he says he is.. :D ;)
Time will tell hey Steve??

Believe it or not I give everyone a shot. I said from the beginning of this I liked Obama (do one of your famous searches, NK, it's there) even though I don't agree with his political views. I'd rather have had Hillary than Obama, or Richardson and I actually hope he plugs Richardson into his cabinet. I'll be watching though, I won't forget the things he's promised any more than I'll forget the eight years of hell we've gotten from the anti-Bush crowd :D

Unashamedly biased, yessirree.



Believe it or not I give everyone a shot. I said from the beginning of this I liked Obama (do one of your famous searches, NK, it's there) even though I don't agree with his political views. I'd rather have had Hillary than Obama, or Richardson and I actually hope he plugs Richardson into his cabinet. I'll be watching though, I won't forget the things he's promised any more than I'll forget the eight years of hell we've gotten from the anti-Bush crowd :D

It must be a relief for you; always on the defence for the last 8 years. Now you get to switch sides and be on offence and the people who voted for Obama will have to defend his Presidency like I imagine you did for most of George W. Bush's term; or at least the ideals of the Republican party, Conservatism or the policies of any of the aformentioned.

I hope the Democrats, Republican's and Independants that supported Obama and the Democrat House and Senate members will call a pig a pig when they see a stinker from the Democrats. Although I voted for Obama and I am for universal health insurance; I'm not a fan of wasteful government. I hope that some of the social ideals that the Democrats campaigned on can be achieved in a bipartisan fashion. My preference is for the private sector to deliver these ideals; or a combination of private and public solutions.

It is my opinion that when the private sector fails, government steps in. I hope the private sector creativity of the Republican's can be married to the social consciousness of the Democrats for the good of all American's rather than just for profit or to the advantage of special interests.

If I stick around here, it will be fun to see if I am defending the new administration, or agreeing with you when you object... ;)

I actually hope he plugs Richardson into his cabinet.

The AP report I cited claimed he was considering Richardson for Sec State. Yesterday the name of Senator Lurch Kerry was floated . I think he would be a disaster. We all remember from 2004 his "global test" .

I actually hope he plugs Richardson into his cabinet.

The AP report I cited claimed he was considering Richardson for Sec State. Yesterday the name of Senator Lurch Kerry was floated . I think he would be a disaster. We all remember from 2004 his "global test" .

He could send him to France to be a thorn in Sarkozy's side...

http://www.crunchgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/john_french_kerry.jpg

I actually hope he plugs Richardson into his cabinet.

The AP report I cited claimed he was considering Richardson for Sec State. Yesterday the name of Senator Lurch Kerry was floated . I think he would be a disaster. We all remember from 2004 his "global test" .

I think he's going to surprise everyone and offer John McCain a position. Perhaps Secretary of Defence? Now that would be reaching across the aisle :eek:

I would be pleasantly surprised if that happens. I would also suggest thinking outside the box and selecting Michelle Rhee as a special advisor for education . Both candidates praised her innovations in the DC school district during the campaign.

It must be a relief for you; always on the defence for the last 8 years. Now you get to switch sides and be on offence and the people who voted for Obama will have to defend his Presidency like I imagine you did for most of George W. Bush's term; or at least the ideals of the Republican party, Conservatism or the policies of any of the aformentioned.

I’d much rather be relieved that the Dems didn’t have all of congress and the White House … but I can’t wait to say “I didn’t vote for this mess.” :D


I hope the Democrats, Republican's and Independants that supported Obama and the Democrat House and Senate members will call a pig a pig when they see a stinker from the Democrats. Although I voted for Obama and I am for universal health insurance; I'm not a fan of wasteful government. I hope that some of the social ideals that the Democrats campaigned on can be achieved in a bipartisan fashion. My preference is for the private sector to deliver these ideals; or a combination of private and public solutions.

I hope all of them will call a pig a pig, but I have my doubts that either side’s perception of what a pig is will change. I appreciate that you would rather the private sector deliver, and I also realize there is a role for government to play in regulating some things and delivering assistance when needed. I’m afraid however that old saying that people vote with their pocketbooks will hold true, and a whole lot of Obama supporters are counting on him delivering the goods, which means more entitlements.


It is my opinion that when the private sector fails, government steps in. I hope the private sector creativity of the Republican's can be married to the social consciousness of the Democrats for the good of all American's rather than just for profit or to the advantage of special interests.

I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree here. It’s my opinion that the private sector does much better when the government gets out of the way, even though as I said before I do believe government does need to be an overseer in certain areas. But, the Democrats have no lock on “social consciousness,” they just have different ideas on what that means and how to achieve their goals.


If I stick around here, it will be fun to see if I am defending the new administration, or agreeing with you when you object... ;)

It’s going to be interesting, I’ll say that much. It’s already been fun watching some who have gone ballistic over the idea of uniting behind Bush for the good of the country tell us to do the same for Obama. Gee, I wonder why didn’t they didn’t like the idea of unity before Democrats gained control of everything? ;)

It’s going to be interesting, I’ll say that much. It’s already been fun watching some who have gone ballistic over the idea of uniting behind Bush for the good of the country tell us to do the same for Obama. Gee, I wonder why didn’t they didn’t like the idea of unity before Democrats gained control of everything? ;)

I'm sure the country united behind G.W. in 2000, and were glad to have the sex scandal of the Clinton years behind them. It's always rosey in the beginning and Obama hasn't had a chance to screw up yet like George eventually did; I think that's when people started going ballistic ;).

I think the alternative to high ideals is much more depressiing however realistic it may be.

So yes, the jury is still out on the uniting thing until we actually see some policy or Obama has to deal with another new crisis; then I wonder if your group will go ballistic and say shove the uniting crap "Obama is screwing things up" so that they can position themselves for 2012 the same as the Dems did with Bush leading up to this 2008.

Sadly, I think the political environment is more about making the other guy look bad than any real objective review of their policies or decision's.

Unity; aw... nevermind, my cynical side is showing. It would be a miracle. Do you believe in miracles?

It's already been fun watching some who have gone ballistic over the idea of uniting behind Bush for the good of the country tell us to do the same for Obama. Gee, I wonder why didn't they didn't like the idea of unity before Democrats gained control of everything? ;)Hello Steve:

Unity, schmoonity! What makes us great is that we can YELL at each other, and have knock down drag out political barroom fights, and call them elections.

We're MUCH better off that way. So, I don't want you to unite (gag)! I wan't you to scream your bloody head off. Please.

excon

Unity; aw...nevermind, my cynical side is showing. It would be a miracle. Do you believe in miracles?

I voted for McCain didn't I? :D

I voted for McCain didn't I? :D

I'm not sure you did, perhaps you are a Democrat operative planted to energize the Democrat base? ;)

Oh, and well done!

Excon

Bingo there is 100 % unity in oppressive governments.

I'm not sure you did, perhaps you are a Democrat operative planted to energize the Democrat base? ;)

Oh, and well done!!

Hey, all I have to do is show up here and it energizes the Democrat base.:D

Excon

bingo there is 100 % unity in oppressive governments.

If a sports team wins the Championship it's in part because the players are on the same page, they are united in their cause and their approach, each doing their part.

Seems to me that isn't oppressive at all. Teams who are divided rarely accomplish anything because the players are too busy with there own self interests and don't care about the team as a whole, they are only concerned about their own self promotion.

Unity, schmoonity!! What makes us great is that we can YELL at each other, and have knock down drag out political barroom fights, and call them elections.

We're MUCH better off that way. So, I don't want you to unite (gag)! I wan't you to scream your bloody head off. Please.

LOL, Obama's magic wand has no affect on me. I gave him and his supporters yesterday to enjoy their victory... I'm sure I'll be back to "screaming my bloody head off" soon :D

Texas Parent
The reality is that this country has had very vocal and very passionate opposing visions of itself since it's origins . It's the American way. I would in no way stifle it . I welcome it. Bring it on ! It is much better than shooting at each other .

If a sports team wins the Championship it's in part because the players are on the same page, they are united in their cause and their approach, each doing their part.Hello again, Tex:

I don't know...

I would agree about being united behind the goal, and buying into the head coaches methods...

But, beyond that, I doubt there is unity. Certainly there's competition among the players. There's competitive ideas about how to run the offense. I'm sure there are other coaches on the team who voice their ideas. I doubt any great coach would want his underlings to keep quiet.

A team like THAT could certainly BE a winner. But, I don't know if I'd call them "united" in the sense that you think they are. I don't think they sit around and sing kum bi yaa in the locker room. They're united in PURPOSE, but NOT in methods.

In the first place, we're not built that way. Any organization who tries to make us that way will fail miserably.

I again assert, that the CLASH of ideas, and the louder the better, is what makes us great.

excon

Hello again, Tex:

I dunno....

I would agree about being united behind the goal, and buying into the head coaches methods....

But, beyond that, I doubt there is unity. Certainly there's competition among the players. There's competitive ideas about how to run the offense. I'm sure there are other coaches on the team who voice their ideas. I doubt any great coach would want his underlings to keep quiet.

A team like THAT could certainly BE a winner. But, I dunno if I'd call them "united" in the sense that you think they are. I don't think they sit around and sing kum bi yaa in the locker room. They're united in PURPOSE, but NOT in methods.

In the first place, we're not built that way. Any organization who tries to make us that way will fail miserably.

I again assert, that the CLASH of ideas, and the louder the better, is what makes us great.

excon


The head coach is the leader, and if he is a good one, he will listen to all his assistant coaches who have listened to the players input. He will allow competition of ideas and decide which to run with. Important in his decision is can the idea he has chosen be implemented, will he have the support of the majority of the coaches and players? Will they buy into it, will they become united in seeing it through to it's conclusion. So it's not the best idea at times that wins, but the idea that most people support which has elements of the best idea. Other times, the leader implements the best idea but one that isn't overly supported, it is at that time the coaches and players have to decide; do they believe in their leaders judgement and will they support this direction to it's conclusion? It is at this moment where players (Democrats, Repulican's all American's) decide to unite, or divide.

An example is the cost and access to healthcare insurance (especially for the unhealthy, you are too big a risk; there is no profit). The situation is a mess; I think even Republican's would agree and the government has tried to reform it for over 20 years with little or no progress while it only gets worse and more people suffer. It's time we united over doing something about healthcare and compromise on the methods and ideology, but get something done, rather than the status quo of nothing getting done at all.

Yell and scream all you want, stand up for you ideas, but in the end, when the decision is made by your leader; do you help, or hinder it's implementation. Will you help the team win, or will you sulk and either overtly try and make the team loose, or will you through your apathy make it harder for the team to win?

To me, that is Unity or lack thereof.

Hello again, Tex:

I don't think we disagree. Or maybe we do. I don't know.

Let's take healthcare. I think we ARE united about reforming it. But, the Republicans have an outlandish idea, and frankly, I don't believe the Democrats have a better one.

Given the above, we're NOT going to agree about methodology. The only way it's going to happen, is if either the Dems or the Republicans have the POWER to make it happen. I don't know if any compromises are possible.

DOING it, is what's possible, and the dems can now DO it. That's fine with me. Ain't going to be any coom by yaa over universal health care.

excon