Obama might be the first black US President

[firefox]

The countdown is on in the United States presidential election which has captured the attention of the entire global audience like no other in recent times.

My whole household is anxiously waiting for the victory of this man.

Do you think he will win the elections? i really hope so, to proof to the people of the whole world that the Americans are democratic to the word.

[camry32]

what date is the US election??

[Shaneburger]

Obama might be the first black US President

and can't wait for the day that we have a Prime Minister based on merit :D

wait a minute, I think my kids have a better chance to be the President of US than Prime Minister of Malaysia!

[kwchang]

Date is 4th November and since USA is 12 hours behind, I think you can watch CNN or BBC from around 9pm on 4th Nov, in time to catch the start of the voting day.

By the way, I do not see him as a coloured man but rather someone who had been well mannered, cool and calm ... a far cry from politicians that scream on the rostrum. He is obviously highly educated and intelligent.

I hope he makes a landslide.

[burntan]

US citizen can have a dream..... Boleh land citizen can only dream.

[USJ27Resident]

wait a minute, I think my kids have a better chance to be the President of US than Prime Minister of Malaysia!

but then again... if you or your kid converts... then join UMNO... finds a cupboard full of money... heck, you (or your kid) could just become the PM of Malaysia... hell, who knows; might even get a brilliant son in-law or daughter in-law from Cambridge to help wayang the nation... :D

[msiablueskies]

but then again... if you or your kid converts... then join UMNO... finds a cupboard full of money... heck, you (or your kid) could just become the PM of Malaysia... hell, who knows; might even get a brilliant son in-law or daughter in-law from Cambridge to help wayang the nation... :D

haha....apa masuk yang dalam you tu bro... :D :D :D

[firefox]

Please no malaysian politics we will keep it clean.

Obama is heading towards The White House :)

[mykern]

If you all watched CNN yesterday evening, the reported said that early voting indicated around 59% voted for Obama. Still, the electoral process depends on the number of delegates each state carries as the 59% is just the total figure.

[simon_tan]

You can track election results here

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/president/

as KW mentioned, Nov 4th is election day, but results (baring any recount) should only start to come in later in the day..

[AllUrban]

Also note that the president is selected based on the number of electoral college votes, not the actual popular vote....and the electoral college does not meet until after the election (2 weeks iirc).

Basically, the candidate that takes one state by simple majority gets all of that state's electoral college votes...so the candidates must attempt to win states that have large populations (and hence, large numbers of votes).

In 2000, George Bush lost on the popular vote and he and Al Gore were head to head in the electoral college votes with Florida as the last state to be decided. Because of political interpretation issues, Bush received the 50% +1 of the popular vote in Florida and thus received all of the electoral college votes from that state....which allowed him to win the election.

So the events of a lifetime may not be decided on 4th November

Cheers, m

ps. without any political judgement here...you should really see the beginning of Michael Moore's Farenheit 9-11 where he focuses on the scandal in 2000. It is really absured to see Al Gore exercising his last duties as Vice President - presiding over the US Senate. Gore himself (as presiding officer of the senate) refused to accept motions and petitions from Senators who wanted the election results revisited...

m

[AllUrban]

because it may have happened before.....

Fraud fears grow as voters throng polls (http://www.thestar.com/news/uselection/article/527973)
From electronic evil-doing to padding the election rolls and suppressing the student vote, citizens who remember the infamous "hanging chads" of the 2000 election that put President George W. Bush in power are biting their nails over a range of alarming possibilities for falsifying the fate of the world's most powerful country.

Millions are casting ballots early to avoid being shut out on election day, when line-ups are predicted to be the longest on record. But, experts warn, there's no assurance the vote they cast will be their own.Cheers, m

[jimijamison]

If by some miracle, McCain wins, what will happen to the world economy? I predict disaster.

If however, if the frontrunner wins as anticipated, will he be able to fix the world economy? Maybe he stands a better chance.

[simon_tan]

Here's a left leaning blog site that is quite popular - 4M hits a day -

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

or an alternative right wing site

http://www.drudgereport.com/

Happy reading..

[AllUrban]

Obama or McCain, who do you want?

Global Electoral College: Results | The Economist
The results are in, and the winner of our global electoral college is Barack Obama. View the table below to see how the world voted. The results can be organised by region and re-ordered by clicking on the column headings. Click here to read our analysis:
http://www.economist.com/vote2008/index.cfm?mode=leadershipboard

Cheers, m

[expat1609]

If by some miracle, McCain wins, what will happen to the world economy? I predict disaster.

If however, if the frontrunner wins as anticipated, will he be able to fix the world economy? Maybe he stands a better chance.

may the miracle be racism ?

nobody would stand up and say that loud, so the surveys will look alright for obama, but voting is anonymous...

would not bet one cent either way, but somehow feel it's not gonna happen for obama

[yankeat]

I just read this article from Time.com.
I'm so surprised that even in America, they are plagued by problems such as phantom voters, confusing regulation, long queues, etc etc!!! I thought these just happen in countries such as ours.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1853246_1853243,00.html

[Fabe18]

I just read this article from Time.com.
I'm so surprised that even in America, they are plagued by problems such as phantom voters, confusing regulation, long queues, etc etc!!! I thought these just happen in countries such as ours.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1853246_1853243,00.html

Every country has its unique problems.. Just like every household has its issue, and as an outsider, we normally only see the bright side of things.

[kwchang]

...I'm so surprised that even in America, they are plagued by problems such as phantom voters, confusing regulation, long queues, etc etc!!! I thought these just happen in countries such as ours...
This is one reason I took the Arus Politik out of the Forum - we were having too many people whacking the Malaysian system as if we were primitive uneducated sakais who only know how to cheat. It is eye-opening to note that there are in fact more ills in the American system. I note that they are not even ready logistically for the numbers of voters - as opposed to the orderly and jam-free voting centres that we enjoy back home. The US is currently using so many voting processes and they are open to abuse and failures, especially if they are computerised and electronic.

[firefox]

Todays the day, will the americans make a the right choice for a change?..by tomorrrow we would know if true democracy has prevailed.

[simon_tan]

Here's wishing Obama all the best !!!

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[AllUrban]

This is one reason I took the Arus Politik out of the Forum - we were having too many people whacking the Malaysian system as if we were primitive uneducated sakais who only know how to cheat. It is eye-opening to note that there are in fact more ills in the American system. I note that they are not even ready logistically for the numbers of voters - as opposed to the orderly and jam-free voting centres that we enjoy back home. The US is currently using so many voting processes and they are open to abuse and failures, especially if they are computerised and electronic.heheheh I guess whacking the US is so fun, we can find any way to do it...even picking on their voting processes....

KWC, they arent prepared because Americans generally dont vote...because of a huge lack of incentive to vote. Douglas Adams wrote - all the politicians are lizards, and the robots dont like the lizards but they vote for the lizards because if they dont vote for the right lizard, the wrong lizard will get in.

Well, for many, many years the American "robots" stopped voting for any "lizard"..."right" or "wrong" because no matter who won, it would still be "lizards" ruling "robots."

In America voting is also quite comprehensive and challenging. You have to vote for candidates (from President to Sherriff to dog catcher) and page after page of legal propositions from local laws to funding for public projects ... it is no wonder that people are generally uninterested unless there is a huge economic/social crisis.

To give you a sense of comparison, imagine on March 8 you were voting for:

*Prime Minister
*Dewan Rakyat member
*Dewan Negara member
*State Menteri Besar/Chief Minister
*State ADUN seat
*Local Mayor
*Local Councillor
*Police ASP and OCP and Fire Chief for Subang Jaya
*Local Dog Catcher
*Waste Management Coordinator
*Committing RM5 billion to the LRT project or any of 5 alternative projects
*Approving or disapproving the extension of the Subang-Kelana Link and flyover projects
*Approving or disapproving the construction of MPSJ Libraries
*Approving or disapproving funding for local schools, roads, parks, etc.

etc etc etc

do you think it would be a quick and orderly process if you had to look at all of those things while voting? And how quick and orderly can it be with a voting population of more than 100 million registered voters (4x Malaysia's population) plus 7 time zones - Atlantic, Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, Alaska, and Hawaii (compared to Malaysia's 1 time zone)

Well, anyways....Americans are facing an economic crisis and they are facing a sea-change in the presence of Obama. Hence, Americans are getting involved and their only incentive is to make their country better...kind of like March 8 in Malaysia.

Cheers, m

[gtl]

We support Obama..........he sounds more convincing.

[JollyRoger]

God knows the US n the world needs a leader like Obama.
McCain is just another hawkish, a conquer n divide clone like GBush who in less than 8 yrs in office managed to squander n turn billions in budget surplus [fm the Clinton admin.] into a deficit that will exceed a Trillion vy soon.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aLx_ufXAnIqE&refer=home


If the polls n early voting is a reliable forecast, Obama shld have no problem garnering the 270 electoral votes n become the president elect very soon.
http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/calculator/

Hopefully the americans will do exactly what the aussies did to the other GBush clone.

A landslide for Obama!

[QuietStorm]

We support Obama..........he sounds more convincing.Me, too. :) My guess he'll be America's 1st black president ! :D

[chin_wan]

I'd vote Sarah Palin cause she's hot!

[coleslaw]

obama will be the next president..only hope is he serves the full term and no repeat of JFK scenario.

[robertec]

I am sure everyone is excited to be witness at history in the making.

But what I saw this morning when a local TV presenter was waving the American Flag whilst making a report at a leading hotel in KL is rather silly.

Are we all suddenly Americans for the day or what?
=
=
=

[kwchang]

Currently, Obama is heading for a possible win (207 to 135 electoral votes and still counting...). He had also won key states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio which McCain needs to capture for any hopes of winning the Elections.

McCain is however picking up electoral votes in a large number of states which are still counting the votes. The results can be close

[lady-o-leisure]

Habis!! Decided! Obama wins! hehehe

[blues]

I am sure everyone is excited to be witness at history in the making.

But what I saw this morning when a local TV presenter was waving the American Flag whilst making a report at a leading hotel in KL is rather silly.

Are we all suddenly Americans for the day or what?
=
=
=

this is a result of american media.......everyone excited.

[chewie]

received SMS that Obama had won. Obama 297 and McCain 145.... and to win the presidency, one needs 270

[geordie]

Quote from civil rights leader Jesse Jackson:

"Obama winning means America's getting better. We are more mature. We are less anxious around each other".

When will Malaysia get 'there' ?

[chewie]

geordie... the answer to your question is 'man man tang' or slowly wait... :D :D

back to the topic.. read part of its biography, he did stayed and studied in Jakarta for a few years when he was 4...then at 11, he went back to US to study... :) maybe he is good in is Bahasa Indonesia...

Hope to see a new America soon...

[umadavid]

1.01 PM

Obama 338
McCain 156

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/election.president/index.html

Democrates needed 51 to control Senate, they have 56
Democrates needed 218 to control House, they have 220

[coleslaw]

Quote from civil rights leader Jesse Jackson:

"Obama winning means America's getting better. We are more mature. We are less anxious around each other".

When will Malaysia get 'there' ?
it took US about 300 yrs ..today, history in the making, is the 1st black president.
so it will be a long wait!!!...

[Sugarfree]

When will Malaysia get 'there' ?
it took US about 300 yrs ..today, history in the making, is the 1st black president.
so it will be a long wait!!!...Afraid we won't be here to see a Muthusami or Wong Ah Beng as PM of Boleh. :p

[firefox]

My thread should now read Obama is the first black president of USA "I will change the world" he says.

What great news for the whole wide world. Its a miracle! my hats off and congragulate the ppl of USA for giving him a chance.

[Mayang]

At this rate, USA may have an Asian president in the not too distant future.

[simon_tan]

Obama sent out mails minutes before appearing on stage: Here is what he wrote:



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

As an IT person, it is simply amazing how much technology was used in this campaign. As an outsider, it is truly amazing to witness and watch this whole election process.

[coleslaw]

wah..
simon, you got an email from obama ka?
** deep bow** :D

[simon_tan]

It's not hard to imagine the size of Obama's campaign mailing list... look at the crowds in most of his rallies.

[HTCHONG]

Democrates needed 51 to control Senate, they have 56
Democrates needed 218 to control House, they have 220

The advantage Obama has is that he has both House and Senate controlled by the Democrats BUT he has lot of challenging issues in front of him.

[Blue Jasmine]

obama....in america...in malaysia?

they say he wins partly because of the new generation...i hope here will be likewise....hope to see some new faces sometimes...

[Sugarfree]

obama....in america...in malaysia? they say he wins partly because of the new generation...i hope here will be likewise....bj, dream on. :c

[MasterQ]

hope moderatorator dont come in and remove this claiming it is politics when thing got interesting

[tsd]

this whole topic is politics... :D

[JollyRoger]

Democrates needed 51 to control Senate, they have 56
Democrates needed 218 to control House, they have 220



The advantage Obama has is that he has both House and Senate controlled by the Democrats BUT he has lot of challenging issues in front of him.


True, the Democrats have a majority in the senate, but Republicans have filibusters on their side.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filibuster

Technically, the Democrats needs three fifths of the senate [60 out of 100] to prevent filibusters.


On the other hand, after witnessing Obama's acceptance speech n previous debates with McCain,
can't help but be impressed by his demeanor, leadership and orator skills.
He shld be able to sway enough moderate republicans to get bills passed.
Just like the way he manage to raise record amounts of financing thru the internet,
getting thousands of volunteers n getting people out to vote for him.

[Blue Jasmine]

this whole topic is politics... :D


opps..better change direction then...talk about obama as a person then...he seems like a humble guy...

[kwchang]

It is OK ... if you leave out local politics in the discussion.
Obama is a world-wide interest currently, not specific to local politics.

[AllUrban]

Are we all suddenly Americans for the day or what?hahah why not...on St. Patrick's Day (March 17) everyone is "Irish" so why not be Americans on this historic day.

There is so much good intent in what America is, as a country and an identity and a concept...there is no reason why we cannot all be "American" if we celebrate the best values that they have.

But Obama as the "1st Black President" is media hype especially since he is "half-black and half-white" and x % Indonesian as well....

Here is another interesting thought...a little bit more than 3 years ago Barack Obama went on the Oprah Winfrey Show and she made it clear that he was a force to be reckoned with and that the represented what was great about America.

Is there anything that Oprah doesn't know?

Cheers, m

[coleslaw]

Is there anything that Oprah doesn't know?

Cheers, m
maintaining her weight loss!!! :D

[AllUrban]

maintaining her weight loss!!! :DSeriously asking for trouble
:D

You Don't Mess with the Oprah

Cheers, m

[keny]

it took US about 300 yrs ..today, history in the making, is the 1st black president.
so it will be a long wait!!!...



300 years ago,negro came shackled as slaves. their number keep increasing and get into every aspects of USA.

In Malaysia at 2020, 90% population will be of one race.

Maybe, UK decision to chase out 30,000 Msian can help bring back brains of those who lost hope and fled this country.

[bslee]

There IS a difference. His dad is Kenyan..East side of Africa, whereas most AfroAmericans are likely to have their roots from WEST Africa and the ones enslaved.

[palmdoc]

So the US for the first time has a son of a pendatang as President? Big deal.
We've had the son of a pendatang as Pee Em for over 20 years!

[isarahim]

hope moderatorator dont come in and remove this claiming it is politics when thing got interesting
Only Malaysian politics are sensitive; politics not anywhere near Malaysia are not sensitive.

This sounds like a joke...but in fact it's dead serious. People do not get ISA:d for having views on politics in USA or Europe or China or India.

[isarahim]

Maybe, UK decision to chase out 30,000 Msian can help bring back brains of those who lost hope and fled this country.
There are perfectly legal ways to emigrate to the UK for a Malaysian. These 30k people where chased out not because they're Malaysians but because they were there illegally.

[isarahim]

In Malaysia at 2020, 90% population will be of one race.
This is fundamentally incorrect.

[isarahim]

bj, dream on. :c
It's not but a dream. It is happening.

[keny]

This is fundamentally incorrect.

come on,go to any LPPKN offfice, they can give you the data. plus minus 10%. i'd heard in many social science seminars and included in thesis.

[simon_tan]

Now that the election is over, for some very interesting behind the scene campaign stories, Newsweek is publishing a 7 part series looking at the campaign of Obama, Hillary and McCain...nice juicy bits regarding Palin's spending more than the reported $150k on cloths...etc...

http://www.newsweek.com/id/167582

Enjoy..

[AllUrban]

So the US for the first time has a son of a pendatang as President? Big deal.
We've had the son of a pendatang as Pee Em for over 20 years!I believe that Obama's father was just a student studying in Hawaii, when he met and married Obama's mother.

I dont think that he was ever an immigrant to the US.

Besides, from everything that has been said, his grandparents are his major influence and they were Americans.

Cheers, m

[kwchang]

Remember our stand on politics? I had removed some comments on Malaysian politics in this thread. sorry folks, this thread is on Obama, not on our politics. Thank you

[USJ27Resident]

Only Malaysian politics are sensitive; politics not anywhere near Malaysia are not sensitive....

buddy, actually only malaysian politicians are sensitive... sikit sikit melenting... sampai Mods everywhere have to be cautious... even accidental politicians now oso very sensitive... since being elected... :rolleyes:

just because... ahhhh! actually why bother... my next vote goes to... :rolleyes: sama sama all these politicians... when want us to support, vote,.. punya manis the cakap... after getting the support, vote.... like morning mist.... everytime - hilang... AND when we comment or voice our displeasures - we get ... "zapped" :eek:

note/disclaimer: NOT intended for any particular politician, but as they say - siapa makan cili, terasa... :p

Ok, back to Obama... lets see him change America [ from the current paranoid, security crazed, budget busted country to a healthy budget surplus country like what Clinton left them with... ps: keep the interns away :p ]

[simon_tan]

Looking at the aftermath of the US elections, as an IT person, this paragraph makes me smile:

taken from http://www.newsweek.com/id/167865/page/5

"At the end of August, as Hurricane Gustav threatened the coast of Texas, the Obama campaign called the Red Cross to say it would be routing donations to it via the Red Cross home page. Get your servers ready—our guys can be pretty nuts, Team Obama said. Sure, sure, whatever, the Red Cross responded. We've been through 9/11, Katrina, we can handle it. The surge of Obama dollars crashed the Red Cross Web site in less than 15 minutes."

[blues]

simon,

did you receive any email from(obama ?) re michelle obama dress that sparks fashion debate with red and black victory dress ?

[tesdniMa]

Feel free to

Send a Message to President-elect OBAMA.


http://www.avaaz.org/en/million_messages_to_obama/

[firefox]

Quoting from a black citizen in usa on the win of Obama " The amercians have grown up" Where do we stand on this.?

[kwchang]

REMINDER - please stay away from local politics in the Forum. Check the new site in our Arus Politik

[Sentinel]

:rolleyes: sama sama all these politicians... when want us to support, vote,.. punya manis the cakap... after getting the support, vote.... like morning mist.... everytime - hilang... AND when we comment or voice our displeasures - we get ... "zapped" :eek:

note/disclaimer: NOT intended for any particular politician, but as they say - siapa makan cili, terasa... :p



USJ27R, you should not delve into local politics lah, Chang has warned you twice already. If the politician you referred to has cabut, just remind him the next time he come around to ask for help.

I am also waiting to tell him off in front of the Chief Minister of Penang, you know me, I say I will mean I will....

[bugbear]

I must congrat Obama on his great victory in the recent election. Although, I am glade to note the emergence of the first non white president of the United State, I am also weary of a democrat dominated house of representative as well as the senate. Liberalism in US will take on a whole new meaning and by that I mean issue of morality. At the same time, I am hopeful that Barak will be a breath of fresh air and a much needed change in the way the US looks at the world.

[AllUrban]

Information from the US Embassy about Obama Inauguration Day


Electronic copies of this 17 page booklet is accessible at http://usembassymalaysia.org.my/lincoln/LRCBriefObama.pdf


Inauguration Day and Related Materials

Available as of Jan. 13

1. One-pagers: "The Obama Administration" and "Inauguration Day" on INFOCENTRAL

2. America.gov: Collected materials on the inauguration, including background articles and photo galleries (http://uspolitics.america.gov/uspolitics/government/inauguration.html)

3. Publication: Barack Obama: 44th President of the United States (http://www.america.gov/publications/books.html#obama).

4. eJournalUSA: U.S. Presidential Transitions (http://www.america.gov/publications/ejournalusa.html)

5. INFOCENTRAL: Statements, fact sheets, biographical information, and links to White House, GAO and other USG web sites providing information on the Transition (https://infocentral.state.gov/info-topics/democracy--human-rights/democracy/democracy/transition)

6. Webchat: James Lindsay of the University of Texas and John Fortier of the American Enterprise Institute on the transition and the new administration (http://www.america.gov/multimedia/askamerica.html#010909) (Jan. 15, 2009, 9 -10 am EST).

Inauguration Eve (Jan. 19)

7. America.gov: Staff-written article on Obama's weekend activities; new front-page photo posted between 7-8 p.m.

Inauguration Day (Jan. 20)

8. America.gov: New feature photo (Obama being sworn in) updated @ 12:30 p.m.

Inaugural speech transcript posted as soon as available

Staff-written wrap of the day's events by COB

Post-Inauguration (Jan. 21)

9. Podcast: Embassy Helsinki DVC with political consultant Gary Nordlinger on the new administration. (11 a.m. EST)

10. America.gov: New article highlighting "person on the street" comments; New photo gallery.

11. Video: A montage of "person on the street" reactions and the atmospherics in Washington on Inauguration Day, using as few words as possible. (Online by OOB Wednesday, January 21.)

Post-Inauguration (Jan. 21-Jan. 23)

12. eJournalUSA: A special edition of eJournalUSA on the Inauguration of Barack Obama. The journal will include the inaugural speech, photos of the event, and short biographies of the president- and vice president-elect. (Delivery: COB Friday, January 23.)

13. INFOCENTRAL will have a PowerPoint presentation on the inauguration. (Delivery: COB Friday, January 23.)

14. Publication: "Obama in His Own Words" -- a pocket-sized compilation of the new president’s notable pre-presidential speeches, and his Inaugural Address, will be published in an abridged and easily accessible format. (To be published online very quickly after Inauguration Day; translations and print copies following soon thereafter.)Also, perhaps we can change the title of this thread to "Barack Obama, # US President" or something else.

Cheers, m