Oh my god, y'all

[Pagusel]

So, I'm not going to talk politics, because that's against the rules, right? This has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with this one really great guy I like and it's not about government or voting. Barack Obama is like Santa Claus and Sakyamuni rolled into one super-cool dude. I am so excited for him to personally show up at my house and give me a high five and probably something like a magic closet that provides me with any outfit I can THINK of. Pretty much. I'm just really excited about this neat guy and all his totally non-political success. Maybe even if I can't get married in California now, which SUCKS (I am totally not being political here, but merely talking about my marriage situation), I could marry Barack Obama. But I wouldn't, because his wife is such a great lady too and they should have the greatest straight marriage EVER.

And also, guess what? A majority of people KNOW how cool he is, which turned out well, in a non-political way. And it's a holiday in Kenya now! A TWO-DAY holiday! Happy Kenyan Holiday!

I sincerely promise this post involved no cocaine. I am high on Ba-ROCK. (no, but I'm not high at all. Really.)

[Geldenwing]

Dude, girl, I love that guy. I asked him if I could borrow some sugar. He said I could borrow his dreams.

[Jasmina Apsara]

I have a crush on him in the worst way. He has the beauty and the brains. (He also has a classy wife and adorable kids.)

He recently said, "Yes, we can!" And I agree.

[Jaspenellar]

I just hope I have the option of keeping my job in three years time... of course job security is probably on the minds of a lot of people regularly, related or not to politics. I just sincerely hope too that we don't become a great country with a reputation like France... (reputation != politics, right? just mildly poking fun at... )

[Maeve]

I say we could probably talk about politics as long as we don't start yelling at each other about who's right and who's wrong.

But I am so thrilled that Obama won. I think it has sent a great message to the rest of the world, and I am definitely hoping for some new changes to this country that will reinvigorate it. Americans are on a downward spiral that we need someone like Obama to shake us out of!

And I'm sorry you can't get married. When I heard about that I was so angry...

*Ahem* And so I don't seem to be talking about politics did you guys see the South Park episode? Lol, they are so ridiculous.

[Frug]

Oh we've broken the no politics rule a dozen times in chat anyway. It's just been too big a deal. This election was so huge it was almost unbearable even up here in Canada. Our federal election was so short, so dwarfed by the American one, that I didn't even see a single debate on Canadian politics. Hopefully nobody gets offended by the rampant Obama support here, and this one thread will be the only exception.

I'm impressed by Obama not because he's intelligent, eloquent, and apparently honest. There are plenty of people like that around. What's impressive is that he somehow swam through the bloody shark tank of American politics and made it out alive. He must be a tough motherfucker.

Dev expressed a worry about his job too. We have a bunch of military folks here. I really hope it doesn't affect you negatively too. That would blow.

[Devon]

yes. it would.
This is why I voted for McCain.

[Frug]

Hopefully the economic climate improves in a way that helps everyone in general.

[Geldenwing]

Dev, I do have to ask 'cause I'm curious - why is there a perception that Obama is going to threaten military careers? He's actually expressed a desire to increase, not decrease, registered troops. I'm just curious about why the perception is that he's a threat to y'all's jobs.

[Devon]

Because of the cut of military funding. That's everything from mousepads to income. Plus if I become a civilian contractor (doing the same thing now, except civilian) our household will fall into the bracket in which he would like to increase taxes. I mean that's not the only reason I don't want him in office, but it's a big one.

[Geldenwing]

Here's hoping everything goes well for you guys.

[Pagusel]

Here's hoping everything goes good for all of us. Fears about job security are something everyone faces, in all sectors. Sound bites from fringe liberals on the street have maybe convinced more moderate people that the Democratic party echoes the "OMG the army kills babies gut the military NOW" sentiment . . . but not even my super-liberal local congressman "Baghdad" Jim McDermott feels THAT way. Just remember that you should never ever believe anything said about one candidate by his opponent--it will ALWAYS be a distortion. I watch The News Hour on PBS because it doesn't involve yelling and it doesn't have questionable funding sources.

Basically what I'm saying is don't worry, Barack Obama is a cool dude who is concerned about everyone's job security, and the only thing to worry about I guess is that he doesn't feel all that sorry for people who make over $200,000 a year. If that freaks you out, then I'd respect his ability to change your mind on it better than my ability.

Funny thing--so do you all outside of the states know about how in the later half of October, accusations of Obama being a socialist came up, on account of his wanting to "spread the wealth around" (i.e. taxes on aforementioned income bracket)? Biden was asked by a sassy news reporter "Now can you explain to us how Obama's plan isn't SOCIALISM?" and he just looked at her kind of confused and said "Is . . . that a joke?" For the record, Obama has never voted for or drafted any legislation supporting the government controlling the means of production or the means of distribution. Anyway, I guess a lot of people in the states think that taxes mean socialism. But yeah, that's, um, wrong.

[Orban]

I'm in Australia, so the election probably didn't have the same profound effect on me as people living in the US.

However I have to say that I'm cautious about whether idealism and the type of 'change' he is proposing will necessarily solve the very real problems the world faces.

But he seems like a reasonable person, and he likes to surround himself with bright advisers, so let's hope he lives up to the high expectations that everyone has placed on him.

[Gia Rilan]

Here in Russia people either knew a bit about why I was excited on Nov 6, or they had no clue. When I said 'Obama won,' one lady thought that I was talking about a sports team of some kind in the states. Russians don't much care for politics, their own or others (at least in Siberia, where I am. In Moscow and St. Petersburg I think it's very different).

They were a little interested, but not all that much. Especially the older Russians. Some of my classmates knew what I was talking about, and they laughed at my Obama 08 pin. But mostly, no.

So the fact that I was glued to the TV watching the Russian coverage (what little there was) of the election totally confused my host family.

[Devon]

Good. And tell your ruski friends to keep their subs running. Sheesh. Ya can't be havin fires on them and killin people like that. It's just not good business.