Those of you with lives might not have realized that there were several elections held yesterday two days ago throughout the nation. The big three were gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia and a special election for Congress in New York’s 23 District. An amendment to ban gay marriage was also up for a vote in Maine after the legislature had approved it a few months earlier. How did they go?

Republicans won in Virginia and New Jersey and same sex marriage (SSM) was defeated in Maine. In a complicated race, a Democrat won the NY election by beating out a Conservative Party candidate.  (Elsewhere in New York, Mayor Bloomberg was narrowly reelected despite spending $100 million or what would amount to $166 per vote) The reaction has been mixed. Some say this is a sign of a Republican revival while others say the races were determined by local issues and were not a referendum on President Obama.  So what to think?Maine

The verdict is simple. When given the chance to actually vote on it, Americans reject SSM. This now marks the 31st time it has been defeated at the ballot box (including liberal states like California). People can and do make excuses about why (money, religious groups, voter turnout) but the fact is that most of the indicators in Maine should have favored SSM yet couldn’t carry it to passage. If there’s been a clearer political message than this over the past few years I haven’t seen it.

Virginia and New Jersey

Republicans won both governor’s offices which is impressive considering NJ has been a Democratic Stronghold while Virginia was seen as the feather in the Democrat’s cap and a model for future expansion. The Virginia results weren’t unexpected since all the polls showed the McDonnell (R) winning  easily. He actually won in a landslide (59%) and carried important swing counties including some of the DC suburbs. What is most impressive is that the GOP also won the Lieutenant Governorship and the Attorney General race, both in convincing fashion. It was a dominating night for Republicans in the Old Dominion

New Jersey was a much closer race but also much less of a swing state. The interesting thing to note here is that the incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine lost despite spending a lot and the personal help of Obama. The message the Republicans should take from this is that incumbents can be defeated if they run challengers who have concrete alternatives. If this worked in New Jersey, there is no reason it can’t be duplicated in the Rust Belt.

New York

The story behind this one is hard to explain. Basically, the GOP nominated an extremely liberal candidate (Dede Scozzafava) over a relatively conservative one (Hoffman). Hoffman then ran for the Conservative Party and began to poll very well. So well that Scozzafava dropped out a few days ago and endorsed the Democrat (Owens). Owens won last night by around 5,000 votes. This was a district the GOP should have been able to hold on to if it hadn’t undergone the “civil war” between Hoffman and Scozzafava. It will be interesting to see if they pick more conservative or liberal candidates in upcoming swing districts.

Overall

The main story line has to be the role of independent voters in the governor elections. CNN reported that independents in NJ broke for the GOP with 60% with even higher numbers in Virginia. If that trend holds true in later elections, Republicans will sweep swing states. Less worrisome for Democrats is the fact that the first time voters who propelled Obama (blacks, and young voters) didn’t turn out for these elections. This is bad for them, but shouldn’t be an insurmountable challenge, especially in the 2012 elections.

The interesting question is what has happened to the Democratic 50 state strategy. These results seem to suggest that it is having a hard time surviving while the Dems focus on liberal policy. If the Democrats want to avoid losing a lot of recently-taken seats, they must find a way to reconcile liberal legislation and moderate members. That will be a challenge.

So Republicans were able to were able to take advantage of favorable conditions and win several important races. I would even have called the VA gov. race a “must win” to get on a role for mid-terms next year. But I don’t see this as an endorsement of the GOP so much as a willingness to trust them and being sick of incumbents. Look for increased fund raising success for Republicans and maybe a few moderate Democrats getting cold feet on far left projects like health care reform and cap-and-trade.

The Elephants aren’t back yet, but this was a big step towards getting there.

Election results are coming in, and I fail to see how Repugnican wins for the governorships of New Jersey and Virginia are some harbinger of a big Repugnican comeback in 2010, as the media are speculating. There are a lot of purple areas of the United States that routinely go to both Democrats and Repugnicans — including Virginia.

Preliminary results for Maine’s same-sex marriage measure are 52 percent against same-sex marriage and 48 percent for same-sex marriage, The Associated Press reports as I type this sentence.

I hope that those percentages don’t end up as the final result, since here in California a year ago, anti-same-sex-marriage Proposition H8 passed 52 percent to 48 percent… We gay men and lesbians (and other non-heterosexuals) don’t need such deja vu…

Still, however, 48 percent is almost half, and that’s a lot of progress on the issue of same-sex marriage during my four decades on the planet.

As the hateful, bigoted, ignorant old fucks finally kick off, that 48 percent will go above 50 percent. It’s only a matter of time.

It’s great news that the Democratic candidate, Bill Owens, has won the U.S. congressional seat for New York state that the right-wing Repugnicans made such a to-do over when they threw their weight behind the stupid white male Conservative Party candidate and forced out the female moderate Repugnican candidate (who then endorsed Owens, hilariously; hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!).

It was that election that the Repugnicans especially seemed to have tried to make into some sort of referendum on Barack Obama and the Democratic Party, so it’s deeply gratifying that Owens is the victor — especially since, as The Associated Press notes, the U.S. congressional seat that Owens won “has been strongly Republican for decades.”

While I’d love that election to be the bellwether for 2010, that’s just one election — something that the media don’t seem to grasp, because that’s just not very dramatic, is it?

Well, the fight for freedom continues and both parties are scared. However, the Republican Party is taking another disastrous step in the wrong direction. The current problems with the party have nothing to do with the success and ideas Ron Paul has inspired within a younger generation. To continue to attack him and his ideas is futile. It sends the message to a rather smart, savvy, and intelligent group of younger individuals you are completely opposed to promoting individual freedom.

You want the younger Vote?

There simple steps

1. Start to address and support many of the issues Senator Paul has raised

2. Stop attacking the only person in your party that has consistently stood for Freedom.

3. Recognize quickly the party needs to return to the core principles of “conservatism” as defined by individuals like Barry Goldwater and other libertarians.

I cannot speak for other younger voters, but each and everyday on issues that deal with individual freedom you’re losing the fight and it will eventually cost you another election. I’m not completely set on voting for democrats, but if they continually present themselves as the party that will most support individual freedom, i may have to accept the lesser of the two evils.

1. Peace (No Wars, No policing the World, No more entangling alliances, that further jeopardize the safety of US Citizens)

2. Get Rid of the Religious Right and this “Family Values” bs. Get it through your head most individuals do not support these wackos, because they have no right imposing their belief of morality on individuals, that pose no threat to their individual freedoms!

The concept of “Family Values” and maintaining a nuclear family is a great idea and most younger individuals do not disagree with this goal, but to continually attempt to legislate and reduce citizens freedoms behind this concept is going to further alienate and distance younger voters. (Don’t listen to the religious right anymore they do not have a monopoly on morality!)

3. Abortion is also a losing cause its controversial and may garner a few younger votes, but the majority of younger individuals believe the government needs to stay the heck away from deciding what they do to their bodies.

4. Also supporting US Military Personal that continually advocate for more troops and more war is not going to win votes (this goes for both parties)

5. Start letting the American Public know your position on issues that will greatly affect future generations. WE ARE SICK OF PEOPLE CONTINUALLY PUSHING THE DEBT BURDEN ON OUR GENERATION! I want to know what the Republicans plan to do about Social Security? How do you plan on either eliminating or fixing the program? Start to advocate an option that allows individuals to opt out!

6. As a bonus find a true leader that intelligent younger conservatives can respect! (Sarah Palin is just not good for the party. She has caused more harm than good. Mit Romney may be a Moron, but im interested in the issues not his religion, he’d be a much better person to promote than Palin. If the Christians cannot accept or tolerate those with different religious views then purge them from the party.)

These are just 6 things off the top of my head. The republicans and your talk show arm are just going about this in the wrong way!!

To be honest I’m going to side with Michael Savage and say, “The Republicans need a Barrack Obama type younger candidate to promote individual freedom and inspire the younger conservative base”

Soilders

Like Florida, and unlike Ohio, Pennsylvania’s political geography can be divided into three. The industrial southwest is reddening, the populous southeast is bluing, and Pennsyltucky remains, as James Carville memorably described it, “Alabama without the blacks.” (Actually, Pennsyltucky is a fair bit less conservative.)

The following section will concentrate on Philadelphia, the region upon which Democrats draw the most votes.

Philadelphia the City

Although cities always vote Democratic, different cities contain different political characteristics. Not all big cities are liberal (see Houston, Phoenix), nor are all liberal cities are big (see San Francisco, Boulder).

Fortunately for Democrats, Philadelphia is both America’s sixth largest city and one in which four out of five inhabitants regularly choose the Democrat. It is, moreover, a city which has become bluer for eight straight elections.

(A note: All my statistics are taken from http://www.uselectionatlas.org/)

Philadelphia’s decades-long movement towards Democrats has corresponded with six decades of population decline; white flight has gradually weeded out Republican voters. Machine politics – characterized by such practices as street money – continues to play a major role in elections.

Demographics underlie Democratic strength in the city (as they do throughout American cities). A full 44.8% of the city’s population is black, a heavily Democratic voting bloc. Latinos (another Democratic voting bloc), while fewer than elsewhere, comprise a solid 11.8% of Philadelphia.

A large majority of Philadelphia’s white voters must vote Democratic, too. In 2008 Obama took 83% of the vote, in a city whose non-Hispanic white population was 39.0% according to the census. Assuming minority turn-out proportional to their actual population, and assuming every single non-white person voted Democratic, then at a minimum, 56.4% of Philadelphia whites supported Obama. Under a more realistic assumption (e.g. 90% non-whites voting Democratic), 72.08% of Philadelphia whites would be supporting Obama. (The equation to get this is simple: 83.01 = 0.90*61.00 + x*39.00).

Philadelphia’s white vote revolves around two factors: liberal whites moving in through gentrification, and long-standing white ethnic communities. The former voting group – often young, single, and gay or gay-friendly – is liberal by orientation; the latter group, a consequence of long-gone anti-Catholic sentiment, still votes Democratic on economic issues but is slowly treading Republican.

All in all, Philadelphia’s existence constitutes an enormous advantage for Democrats. For the past three presidential elections, it has been around 60% more Democratic than the nation as a whole. If George W. Bush had won 80% of the vote in 2008 (and John Kerry had won 20% of the vote), he still would have lost Philadelphia by 3.60%. That is a shocking (and sad) statistic. As long as Republicans keep on losing the city by 4-1 margins, they’ll have a very difficult time winning Pennsylvania as a whole.

Finally, notice how – for the first time in history – Philadelphia’s suburbs now lean Democratic. That shift, which I will cover next, should disturb even the most confident Republican.

 Bruce Walker in the American Thinker thinks so: 

[O]n November 3, 2009, both political parties will know quite a bit more about the strength and consistency of these trends toward the Republican Party.  While voters in New Jersey and Virginia are choosing their governors, voters in those states will also be electing state legislatures.  If Republicans, who only control one of the four legislative chambers in those two states now, make major gains and maybe capture a legislative chamber in Virginia or New Jersey, that is very good news for Republicans.  Virginians will also be electing other statewide elected officials, like Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General, Republican victories, and particularly the size of Republican victories, will tell a great deal about whether Virginia is a Red state once more.

 

But the careful political eye will look at state legislative races on November 3^rd in other states.  Alabama, Michigan, South Carolina, Georgia, Missouri, New Hampshire, and Washington will all have special state legislative races on the first Tuesday in November. If Republicans do well in these races, then a general Republican trend will receive powerful new evidence.   Republicans, to be sure, will need to stand for something positive and principled.  But right now it seems that the average Obama voter in 2008 is, today, apathetic, troubled, and wavering.

 

Moderate Republicans: our winter of exile is over. Charlie Cook, a noted political strategist whose political analysis is seen as Scripture for many in Washington, is out with an article in the National Journal warning Democrats that rode Obama’s coat tails into Congress and represent moderate or Republican districts may find those same coat tails smacking them in the face in this election.

However, the buried message for moderate Republicans is that the opportunity for our brand of real Republicanism is here. These 48 districts that Democrats may lose- many of which are more purple than blue or red- are filled with voters that are discontent with the direction Washington leftists are headed, but don’t want the strict adherence to religious extremism of the far-right. The answer is moderate Republicans who can offer real, sound financial solutions to counter the Democrats “spend big, tax big” mantra and turn purple into red.

Its important that moderate Republicans are supported and that the moderate Republican blogger movement works together to promote these candidates. We want our readers to tell us about opportunities you see, and candidates you know of that we should be looking at. Moderate Republicans are the answer to the Republican Party’s extremist woes. Tell us how and who you think will change the face of the GOP for us.

Boca Raton Liberal Examiner: The Two Faces of Charlie Crist

Posted using ShareThis

Op-Ed, E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post, 5/4/2009

On many questions, President Obama’s approach is full speed ahead. On immigration reform, he prefers to take things one step at a time. There really is no alternative.

The Obama administration has particular worries of its own. Obama won last year with overwhelming support from Latino voters who helped him carry such swing states as New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada. Latino political leaders are appropriately insistent that the president keep his promise to fix immigration and end a system that, in Obama’s words, “keeps those undocumented workers in the shadows.”

But the president’s lieutenants are well aware that Obama also won in swing states where there is less sympathy for a path to legalization (Indiana, North Carolina and Ohio) and do not want to throw immigration reform into an already combustible legislative mix.

Read more…

Misc.

* The claim that ‘independent researcher’ Dr. John Casson has discovered six new plays by William Shakespeare (alias Sir Henry Neville alias Christopher Marlowe alias “Tony Nuts” alias Queen Elizabeth alias Harvey the Rabbit) is all over the place today—but my proof that Shakespeare/Newfield is a time-traveling Lizard Person born 3000 A.D. remains completely ignored by the fools in the MSM.

* (South) Indian Superman. I love this video.

* Gynomite! has sitcom maps of New York City and the U.S. There’s more from Dan Meth, who started it all off with the trilogy meter from not that long ago.

* WSJ.com has the latest bracketological research into the science of upsets. See also: Nate Silver crunches the numbers on Obama’s shameless bias towards universities in swing states.

* Scenes from the recession, at the Big Picture.

* And a short piece at BBC News considers the science in science fiction. Of the four, Paul Cornell’s gesture towards satire seems by far richest to me, especially with regard to its Darko Suvinian disdain for fantasy:

The mundane movement is challenging writers to drop ideas that once promised to be scientific ones, but are now considered as fantasy – faster than light travel, telepathy etc – and to concentrate on the problems of the human race being confined to an Earth it is using up.

But this is as much an artistic movement as an ethical one. The existence of such a movement, though, suggests that science fiction feels a sense of mission.

Unlike its cousin, fantasy, it wants to be talking about the real world in ways other than metaphorical.

One of the problems is that where once there was a consensus view, broadly, of what the future was going to be like – bases on the Moon, robots etc – post-Cold War chaos leaves everyone thrashing around, having to invent the future anew.

Artificial intelligence, aliens and easy space travel just haven’t shown up. They may never do so.

It’s an exciting moment, but the genre needs to be strong to survive it, and see off fantasy’s vast land grabs of the territory of the stranded human heart.

UPDATE: Paul responds in the comments to this notion of disdain:

Just to be clear: I love fantasy as much as SF, but we asked to talk about some of the current issues facing, specifically, SF. I think fantasy’s done really well lately, and that SF has to respond to match it. No anti-fantasy thing going on there with me at all.

An interview with Prof. Chomsky in his office on a potpourri of subjects, centering on anarchism.

Part One – Anarchism (9:00):

Part Two – Anarchism (0:40):

Part Three – Drug War (9:00+more):

Part Four – Elections/Personal Liberty (9:00):

Part Five – Personal Liberty (0:38):

(MISSING)

Part Six –  The Problem of Crime, the Soviet Union, and the Young Marx (9:00):

Part Seven – The Young Marx (?):

(MISSING)

Ever wondered what computer operating system certain political parties prefer?

Probably not. But Market Share by Net Applications has gone out and retrieved that data so you can enjoy a more serene slumber.

Back in January, the Internet usage trend analysis company (try saying that three times fast!) compiled a map of the United States showing Apple’s market share by measuring the usage share of all Macintosh operating systems. Curiously, the map had a striking resemblance to the 2004 U.S. red/blue election map.

It was only a matter of time, then, that the Market Share super sleuths decided to dissect Apple’s sales so far this year in order to predict how the swing states were trending for Mac share. And what did they come up with? Have a look-see.

State                                         Mac Share Change Since January 2008

Colorado                                  14.93%
Florida                                       7.29%
Indiana                                     -1.14%
Missouri                                   -2.13%
North Carolina                           7.99%
New Hampshire                        17.59%
New Mexico                                9.72%
Nevada                                       4.68%
Ohio                                           1.30%
Pennsylvania                               4.09%
Virginia                                   -15.73%

While the numbers show a few states breaking rank from Market Share’s hypothesis (Virginia had to balance its GOP ship jumping somehow), all in all the Mac-to-democrat theory holds water.

Now, if only there were a study correlating abacus users to Sarah Palin supporters…

]]> http://outfoxingkarlrove.wordpress.com/2008/11/22/demographics-shifting-but-gop-isn%e2%80%99t/ Sat, 22 Nov 2008 19:27:23 +0000 cole55 http://outfoxingkarlrove.wordpress.com/2008/11/22/demographics-shifting-but-gop-isn%e2%80%99t/ http://covertzero.wordpress.com/2008/11/19/the-2008-presidential-election-finally-comes-to-an-end/ Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:12:15 +0000 covertzero http://covertzero.wordpress.com/2008/11/19/the-2008-presidential-election-finally-comes-to-an-end/

John McCain wins Missouri, the last undecided state on the map, two weeks after the election. The final count in the Electoral College is 365 for Obama and 173 for McCain.

It looks like Barack Obama won the electoral vote for Omaha, Nebraska – the first time a Democrat has ever won it since the state began allocating votes by congressional disctrict decades ago.

This raises his electoral vote count to 365.

It’s moot at this point, but two days after the election, the AP is calling North Carolina for Obama, putting his electoral vote count at 364. Only Missouri is unaccounted for.

Here is the acceptance speech by Obama after being elected president, just in case anyone missed it like I did. It is an amazing expression of his hopes and plans for America, and I can say that my faith in America has been renewed. So thank you everyone who voted; we can now look forward to what everyone wants – CHANGE!

Here are some other links about Obama’s victory – I found them really interesting, so even though it is 5 am I am going to share them with you anyways!  Sorry there are so many links and photos, I got really overexcited and I can’t sleep – I feel really hyperactive right now…

-> I had an amazing night of celebration and solidarity with people who were elated with Obama’s victory, and this was only in my isolated locale.  Check out the experience of Americans all over celebrating this historical moment.

-> Obama mentioned her in his speech tonight, and she is a new and improved version of “Joe the Plumber.”  Read the amazing story of 106-year-old Ann Nixon Cooper, who talks about the contrast between voting in this election and the dramatic changes she has seen in America over the course of the 20th century.

-> What does the international world and foreign leaders think of the election results?  Well, as one Russian newspaper puts it, “Eight years of hell are over.”  And if the celebrations across the United States are any indication of the spirit of America, then the celebrations around the world are an even better sign of a bright future.

-> We can’t forget about Senator McCain, who made his concession speech early on tonight in Phoenix.  I have to say, I think he came off much better than he ever did in any other speeches or debates – I might even say I was impressed with his graciousness.

-> Why did McCain lose? Okay, this might seem like a question with a glaringly obvious answer, but it doesn’t hurt to have your theories confirmed!  Plus, in a streak of irony, reporters are talking about the “Palin effect” in the video below.

-> Even better, why did Obama win? I know, I know, because he is awesome!!!  But, to my surprise, it is even deeper than that!

-> And, of course, Joe Biden…I won’t even start, I love the man too much to stop…him and Obama and those smiling charismatic faces make my heart melt.

-> Check out this election map to see where each state went…

-> Major change is going on in the Senate and House as well, as Democratic majorities are pulling a huge lead over Republicans in Congress.  Looks like we will have a Democratic White House after all…

-> In another example of a historical election, the first woman was elected governor of North Carolina – much better than Sarah Palin!

Again, thank you America for voting.  No matter who you voted for, this has been an impressive and historically consequential moment for all of us.  And it is because of everyone who went out and voted – in spite of the long lines and other hassles – to make this an election with a record turnout.

Photo Credits Found Over Here.

I’m incredibly excited about tonight. I believe that the best candidate won, and I believe that he has received a mandate to lead. I understand that there will be tension from citizens and politicians alike, and I also understand that the road to true change is long and arduous. I’m still excited and hopeful. I’m not the only one.

I’m still watching the Senate elections, and I’m still watching the swing states. I was wrong about my home state of Florida, and that’s great news. I was seemingly too conservative in my initial predictions think I was close in my initial predictions, at least on the National Level. Obama will take at least 52% of the popular vote. Furthermore, Pennsylvania and Virginia voted blue. North Carolina and Indiana are still open, but leaning Obama. Missouri and Montana are still open, but leaning McCain. He will take closer to 350 electoral votes.

Democrats are still on track to take 58 seats in the Senate, which is a great number for promoting bipartisanship, especially considering the conservative nature of many newly elected members. The gains in the house were smaller than public projections, but most of the contests made sense on a local level. Except for Bachmann. You can check the elections for Flagler County (especially Mosquito Control) here. I was completely wrong about the Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment in Florida, which passed with about 63% of the vote.

I wanted to write tonight not for my own words, but to pass along a few of the text messages and status updates from friends and family. I can’t quite grasp the magnitude of these results at this time, so I’m not even going to try. I’m overwhelmed.

** I’m so happy I could cry! Talk about the land of opportunity!
** America Moves Forward. A New Great Era
** He won’t let us down
** It’s the election we [young people] won
** This is good
** Our generation starting off with a bang. Now Obama has to be as great as we think he is

Also, Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, stated that tonight’s election is, “not a mandate for ideology.” I couldn’t agree more. I am a Democrat who strongly believes in Barack Obama, and I believe the Republican Party needed to lose this election to refocus, which I’ve discussed earlier.

To anyone who missed Barack Obama’s acceptance speech, I would strongly recommend that you find a way to watch it. I’m going to attempt to find some sleep this evening, but I’d like to leave you with some of my favorite lines from President-Elect Barack Obama.

** There are no red states or blue states there are just the United States, and for those of you who didn’t  vote for me, I promise to be your President too

** Our stories are singular but our destiny is shared

** To those who would tear the world down, we will defeat you

** Let us ask ourselves, If our children should live to see the next century… what change will they see, what progress will we have made. This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time…

And an old favorite… **YES WE CAN**

I left for Pennsylvania to vote this morning and had some colorful discussions with my father and grandparents on Obama. See what they had to say HERE and why there was a massive movement pro-Obama.

]]> http://koolweblog.wordpress.com/2008/11/05/obama-nieuwe-president-van-amerika/ Wed, 05 Nov 2008 02:59:33 +0000 redactie http://koolweblog.wordpress.com/2008/11/05/obama-nieuwe-president-van-amerika/

Met grote overtuiging heeft Barack Obama de presidents verkiezing van Amerika gewonnen!Het Amerikaanse volk koos met ruime meerderheid voor Obama, en niet voor Mc Cain.

Barack Obama is zoals verwacht de nieuwe president van Amerika geworden. Hij behaalde tot nu toe 349 kiesmannen tegen de 162 stemmen die McCain kreeg. Inmiddels is Obama gefeliciteerd door bijna alle wereldleiders.

Na elkaar tijdens de verkiezingen nog proberen af te troeven, was het laatste woord voor Obama ”De verandering is gekomen”, dat was de boodschap.

McCain heeft verloren omdat de amerikanen, Bush en de republikeinen even zat zijn. Sarah Palin was toch ook niet de beste keus die je kon maken. Een hoop amerikanen hebben dan ook niet op McCain gestemd vanwege zijn leeftijd. Mocht er wat met hem gebeuren dan is Sarah Palin president. Dat zagen een hoop mensen niet zitten. Overigens heeft McCain tijdens de campagne een paar fouten gemaakt en is wekenlang van het toneel verdwenen vanwege de krediet-crisis.

Er is ook geschiedenis geschreven. Hij is is in ieder geval de eerste zwarte president maar volgens ons ook de jongste ooit.  Ook in het congres zijn er verkiezingen gehouden en beslist in het voordeel van de democraten. Dit maakt het voor Obama een stuk makkelijker regeren aangezien plannen nu makkelijker worden aangenomen en doorgevoerd.

Voor ons europeanen is het even afwachten wat er gaat gebeuren met het buitenland beleid. Niemand weet nog precies wat Obama op dat gebied van plan is. De russen hebben al aangegeven een raketschild te bouwen tegen amerika, In Israel heeft men gematigd gereageerd. ze reageren vanuit de angst dat Obama niet alle acties van Israel op andere landen goed zal keuren. Onder bush hadden ze niks te vrezen en konden ze op grote steun rekenen. Dat lijkt nu wel voorbij.

Obama’s motto is ”niet tegen elkaar maar met elkaar” Hij wil proberen de kloof te dichten tussen verschillende bevolkings groepen en landen. Verder heeft Obama nog een flinke kluif aan de puinhoop die Bush heeft achtergelaten met de economie. Obama heeft vier jaar de tijd om de grootste puinhoop op te ruimen of met een overtuigend plan te komen. Anders kunnen de zaken over vier jaar nog wel eens heel anders liggen.

DH/AvH