It would be most interesting to know what Yab-bot, who worships property speculation and landlordism, despises renters, opposes legislative protection of workers' wages and conditions, supports endless expansion of Australia's climate-changing mineral export industry and limitless immigration, knows about Barack Obama of which the rest of us are unaware.

Nobody's negativity is going to spoil
this day for me...

Guess what? I received a reply from the
man himself to my email!

Wow!

I sent Barack Obama an email (from his official site)
right after his election win. His email was then still
available. I congratulated him from Australia, and expressed my
joy at his win.

I never expected a reply.

Today, I got it! And it was signed - Barack Obama, and not
by some aide. It was written in his eloquent style,
and I'm going to have it framed! (My mum's jealous).

Anyway, I'm over the moon ...

Oh what a feeling!

Foxy

That is wonderful - it'll probably be the last time Barack Obama will ever have the luxury of time to make a personal response.

I'm still luxuriating in the feeling of hope and change as well, reality will no doubt place limits on what can be achieved, however we know now that sometimes good people are placed in power; that the presidency of the USA is not just limited to the business elite.

Foxy, I am delighted for you!

Do bear in mind however, that it is possible that Barack wrote
one letter to his hundreds of thousands of fans and that one of
the staffers simply changes the name each time, in response.

That does not deter from the fact that what Obama is showing,
is his amazing ability to inspire and unite people in hope and
when people are inspired in hope, they go out and achieve.

Just look at those many smiling faces out there!

Quite a difference to the republican strategy of dividing
and conquering and using fear as a driver to achieve their goals.

I went to an election party where we drank ourselves stupid on champagne and cheered and danced and reveled.

Humanity should never get too cynical to appreciate perfectly realised symbolism when it slaps us in the face. I heard a beautiful vox pop from the streets of Somewheresville, USA on SBS yesterday: "Rosa sat so King could walk, and King walked so Obama could run."

Whatever happens, the election itself is already a victory for civil rights, for tolerance, for multiculturalism. Obama wasn't elected because he is black, he was elected because the US reached a point where the best man got the job, despite being black.

Jesus, even McCain sounded impressed that he now has an African American president.

Yabby,
The only historic feature of the president elect is that he is African-American. Don,t like that term either, prefer American of mixed heritage.

I have not preference for either Republican of Democrat, but did not see brilliant things from previous Democrat Presidents, or Republicans for that matter.

How Obana does the job only time will tell. But, of course, I wish him well.

Bit surprized that your comments are not more practical.