amazing photos--they bring back the same emotions I had on election night--good stuff.

Thanks for posting these. It's a balm for the soul. A miracle. During the evening I felt a sense of decompession, the return of accessibility and the possibility of inclusion. We hope, again. Well done, well done.

From some local Buddhist friends:

To: The World
From: The USA
Subject: technical notice

Dear World,

The United States of America, your quality supplier of ideals of liberty and democracy, would like to apologize for its 2001-2008 service outage.

The technical fault that led to this eight-year service interruption has been located, and the parts responsible for it were replaced Tuesday night, November 4. Early tests of the newly-installed equipment indicate that it is functioning correctly, and we expect it to be fully functional by mid-January.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the outage, and we look forward to resuming full service --- and hopefully even to improving it in years to come.

Thank you for your patience and understanding,

-- USA

Additionally, there will be an ample supply of insufferability.

GR8T KODAK MOMENTS!

insufferability

Indeed. Those little pre-teen girls are particularly obnoxious, with their unsullied, natural grace and humanity. And Obama's obvious, publicly demonstrated devotion to his family -- utterly insufferable. Then there's the shamelessly proper use of English grammar, the coherent expression of ideas, the flaunting of appropriately chosen vocabulary, the inspiring evocation of ideals, the careful, thoughtful deliberation on major issues. How can one even bear it?

Wonderful photos.

It is clear from the election night photos that neither our new president Obama or his VP Sen. Biden are giddy about the prospects awaiting them. If these pictures are any indication, I think they show an understanding of the gravity of so many situations confronting them. It will take so much, from so many, to move us past this place that we have landed thanks to Bush and Co. (if we can) but I think these new leaders have an idea of that challenge and a plan to meet it.

I compare this to Pres. Bush's SWAGGERING press conference after the 2004 election, proclaiming that he had a mandate (what?) congratulating his 'turd blossom' Rove and stating that "he had political capital and he meant to spend it".

Well, he certainly tried. In some cases, did. And we find ourselves where we are now.

So, for all you bojack readers that espouse Conservative Christianity and Right wing Republicanism, while perhaps disagreeing with the election of this president, I wonder - will you pray for him? Not that he change any view with which you disagree, but for his personal safety? I think those prayers would be appreciated and important. For him and his family.

Those really are great shots. To glimpse behind the scenes election night is really something.

I like the way these shots of him becoming President-Elect change all the earlier photographs. Remember the pictures from the Obama rally of 75,000 we had down at the Waterfront? (At the time it was the biggest rally of the campaign.) Those pictures sure look much more historic now, too.
I liked the comment about the somber mood in the election night pictures given the gravity of the situation. On "60 Minutes" Obama said that sometimes you look at these problems we're facing and wonder where do you start? It was a genuine, honest, sincere comment from a political leader. When was the last time that happened?

It was a genuine, honest, sincere comment from a political leader.

This is a big deal to me, and I wonder at the people who don't or can't appreciate the difference between sincerity and the usual sack of lies. It is also the main reason that I find the prospect of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state distressing. I don't think she has it in her to be honest.

"It was a genuine, honest, sincere comment from a political leader."

What I can't understand is how so many don't notice the absense of such qualities in our local leaders.

For what it's worth, I heard the same unmistakable tone at the Memorial Coliseum rally when he said, "I'm tired of having a President who doesn't believe in science."
We all know Obama gives speeches at a very high level but what I appreciate most is when he goes past the speech and he's completely leveling with you. Then it's not just delivering a speech. It's what he's thinking about at that exact moment.
It's even more powerful when you contrast it with the current President, who's so poor at thinking that he doesn't even know what he just said.