In what’s sure to be the biggest moment from the internet, Obama affably downplays the suggestion that opposition to his administration and its policies is racially motivated.

HOTT LOOK@POLITICS!

Nothing wrong with easing a little tension!

Seeking to downplay accusations that those against his health reform plans are racially motivated, Obama chose to go for laughs on Letterman tonight.

In what’s sure to be the biggest moment from the internet, Obama affably downplays the suggestion that opposition to his administration and its policies is racially motivated, deadpanning, “I think it’s important to realize that I was actually black before the election.”

It’s a nice laugh line, only helped by Letterman ably playing the straight man and asking back, “How long have you been a black man?”

Obama also does a bit of policy pushing, lightly touching on the economy, unemployment, and his strategy in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Still, he knows how to end strong, ending with a bit on how Malia and Sasha Obama are handling living in the White House: “They basically just goofed off all summer, which I couldn’t do.”

“I guess it means I’m running for president. So thanks for the endorsement.”

By John Charles Reedburg

Maybe she can teach Monica Lewinski a thing or two.

And this time around, it’ll probably be on tape. LOL!

PARIS HILTON who was thrust into the US presidential election campaign in an ad by Republican candidate John McCain, on Tuesday gave president-elect Barack Obama’s performance so far the thumbs up.

“I think Obama is doing a really good job. Maybe it will be my turn one day but for now let’s leave it to Obama,” the famed hotel heiress told reporters in Madrid when asked if she planned to run for president one day.

In August McCain, 72, launched an ad that dismissed his Democratic rival as nothing more than a celebrity candidate which used images of Hilton and another blonde celebrity, pop star Britney Spears.

Hilton, 27, quickly responded with rebuttal ad where she appeared lounging in a bathing suit in a pool chair talking about “that wrinkly, white-haired guy” who used her image in his campaign ad.

“I guess it means I’m running for president. So thanks for the endorsement white-haired dude,” she added in the ad, which ended with a shot of an American flag and the name “Paris” superimposed over it.

Hilton’s mother Kathy called the ad a “complete waste” of time and campaign money. Kathy Hilton and her husband Rick both contributed to the McCain campaign before it ran the ad featuring images of their daughter.

Hilton was in the Spanish capital to promote a new social networking Internet site.

More than three out of four Americans approve of how Obama has handled his transition so far, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll published on December 2, nearly a month after his historic November 4 election win.

“Obama can restore peace and the world’s confidence in the United States”

By John Charles Reedburg

And so we heard.

Washington, D.C. (CNS) – Colombian superstar SHAKIRA will join the line up of other stars to perform at the President Elect BARACK OBAMA’s inaugural celebration to be held in Washington D.C. January 20th, 2009.

The Columbian singer has always shown her support for the President Elect and publicly endorsed him back in October saying, “Obama can restore peace and the world’s confidence in the United States,” reports Peruvian newspaper El Comercio.

However the Obama camp has neither denied nor confirmed the reports for the biggest star-studded event ever. The gig of 2009 will take place January 20 on a wintery field in Washington.

By John Charles Reedburg

This will definitely make you — LOL!

Politics makes so much more sense in 8-bits (1:07).

By John Charles Reedburg

Yes she can.

MICHELLE OBAMA will be the first African American to serve as first lady in the White House. What are her goals for the years to come? Katie Couric reports.

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Lawyers has pored over the administration’s records for months

The President-elect visits the White House Monday for a private meeting with the man he’s succeeding.

By John Charles Reedburg

President-elect BARACK OBAMA will be targeting — and almost certainly looking to overturn — more than 200 executive orders President Bush has issued in his eight years in office.

Chicago, IL – It will be all smiles at the White House Monday when Barack Obama pays a visit – but behind the handshakes is friction over his plan to reverse many of President Bush’s edicts on controversial matters like abortion and stem cells.

Obama’s legal eagles have targeted more than 200 unilateral Bush moves made in the past eight years for overturning. A team of lawyers has pored over the administration’s records for months, preparing for the changes.

By John Charles Reedburg

How Hott! – was the candidates threads in the 2008 election?

CBS News contributor LAURA SCHWARTZ analyzed fashion trends set during the presidential campaign, from Sen. BARACK OBAMA’s shoes to Gov. SARAH PALIN’s skirt suits.

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By John Charles Reedburg

As one man prepares to fulfill his destiny, the tension is overwhelming, the sense of expectation immense.

Patience: BARACK OBAMA listens intently as John McCain gives his concession speech on Wednesday morning.

Cloistered in a stark Chicago hotel room, and living up to his nickname ‘No Drama Obama’, he appears contemplative and often serious as he watches a giant TV screen showing John McCain delivering his concession speech.

These fascinating behind-the- scenes pictures show the historic moment Barack Obama learned he had been elected as America’s first black president.

Fateful viewing: Barack Obama leans forward and wrings his hands as he watches John McCain give his concession speech on television during election night

Down time: Perhaps conserving his energy for his acceptance speech, Mr Obama leans his head back with his feet up on the table next to wife Michelle

Support: Mr Obama holds his mother-in-law Marian Robinson’s hand

Confirmed: Mr. Obama and his vice president Joe Biden shake hands as they romp to victory

Congratulations Mr. president. But there is still a long road ahead.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do now”, says one woman

By John Charles Reedburg

It’s hard times for everybody. Stop whining! Be happy that the man won.

Obama’s campaign exclaims that most of the payment issues that brought hundreds of upset campaign workers to the Indianapolis office Wednesday have been resolved. Campaign spokesman JONATHAN SWAIN says a few people showed up Thursday and made arrangements for payment by mail. A few hundred people stood in line for several hours Wednesday waiting to get paid for working in the final days of the campaign. Many of those people said they were underpaid for the number of hours they worked.”

Volunteers in other cities are experiencing the same problem. Some imply that they are experiencing a post-campaign letdown, whether they were winners or losers on Election Day.

“I’m really sad it’s ending,” said Obama volunteer Stephanie Chan, 21, a senior at University of California, Berkeley. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do now.”

Alan Kennedy-Shaffer, 24, of Mechanicsburg, Pa., already misses the campaign trail. He took a semester off from law school at William & Mary to work on the campaigns for President-elect Barack Obama, Mark Warner and Bill Day.

It’s so hard to know what I’ll do with myself now that the campaign is over,” he said.

After weeks, months or years with a single-minded mission, many dedicated campaign workers and volunteers are feeling lost. Some are left looking for jobs in a tumbling economy.

It’s unclear whether the young voters who favored Obama were mobilized for the long haul, said political scientist Michael Leo Owens. But mental health professionals say the best way for them to combat letdown is to make a commitment to get involved.

“I think both sides have a lot of opportunities to keep their momentums alive,” said Dr. Charles Raison, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University School of Medicine.

Mary Ann Akers predicts that “she would certainly be a front-runner in any race.”

By John Charles Reedburg

But why?

She may not have won the election, but SARAH PALIN isn’t taking a ride on the Bridge to Nowhere. She might just have a shot at Washington after all — in the senate.
If Stevens makes it to the senate, it becomes highly likely that his colleagues will be tossing his wrinkled ass out like so much garbage.

Here’s how it works. TED STEVENS is currently clinging to a narrow lead as ballots continue to be counted in his senate reelection campaign. As you may know, Stevens was recently found guilty of corruption charges and no one thought that as a convicted felon he could retain his senate seat. Beyond all reason, he is winning.

If Stevens makes it to the senate, it becomes highly likely that his colleagues will be tossing his wrinkled ass out like so much garbage.

And then Alaska has a vacant senate seat. What happens then? Glad you asked.

When a senate seat becomes vacant, it’s generally up to the state’s governor to appoint someone to that seat. But Alaska has had some problems with that. A few years back, former Alaska governor Frank Murkowski pissed off the state legislature by appointing his daughter to the senate seat he vacated.

After that, the state legislature passed a law requiring a special election to be held to fill vacant senate seats.

Fast forward to McCain/Palin losing and Ted Stevens winning.

It’s no secret that Sarah Palin has her eye on a 2012 presidential run. And staying in Washington might help her grease the wheels. (It’s hard to reach those D.C. wheels from Alaska.)

So Stevens’ win creates an interesting opportunity for Sarah Palin. She could go from Governor Sarah Palin to Senator Sarah Palin. And I’m guessing she likes the sound of that. The pitbull-in-lipstick has made no attempts to hide her national ambitions. Washington Post “Sleuth” Mary Ann Akers predicts that “she would certainly be a front-runner in any race.”

You can debate whether it’s better to be governor or senator. But at the end of the day, only one delivers the kind of national experience and beltway access that makes people start seeing you as a viable presidential contender.

The situation keeps Alaska interesting for all of us political junkies going into post-election withdrawal. So it’ll be fun to keep an eye on this.

What do you think? Should Palin compete for the senate seat, or stay on as governor?

From one great man to another:

5 November 2008

Senator Barack Obama,

Chicago

Dear Senator Obama,

We join people in your country and around the world in congratulating you on becoming the President-Elect of the United States. Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place.

We note and applaud your commitment to supporting the cause of peace and security around the world. We trust that you will also make it the mission of your Presidency to combat the scourge of poverty and disease everywhere.

We wish you strength and fortitude in the challenging days and years that lie ahead. We are sure you will ultimately achieve your dream making the United States of America a full partner in a community of nations committed to peace and prosperity for all.

Sincerely,

N R Mandela Photo by Getty

Oprah: “It feels like America did the right thing”

By John Charles Reedburg

I had an emotional reaction to this historic event. Why no one’s writing an article about me. I’m jealous.

Oprah Winfrey wept tears of joy, Leonardo DiCaprio said he was proud to be an American and several hip-hop music stars said SEN. BARACK OBAMA’s election as the first black U.S. president fulfilled the dreams of America’s youth.

Celebrities played a large, and sometimes controversial, role in Obama’s election campaign, organizing fund-raisers, performing at rallies and campaigning on his behalf.

Republican candidate John McCain used Obama’s popularity with actors and musicians during the campaign to mock the Illinois senator as little more than a celebrity himself.

But when Obama was declared president-elect on Tuesday, his A-list supporters spoke out again.

DiCaprio, in Rome for the Italian premiere of his movie “Body of Lies”, told reporters on Wednesday he had stayed up all night watching the election.

“I couldn’t be more proud of my country right now and proud of being an American … I feel overwhelmed and I feel a tremendous weight has been lifted from my shoulders,” the “Titanic” star said.

Talk-show host Winfrey, one of America’s most influential women, campaigned with Obama last year. On Tuesday night, millions of TV viewers saw her in tears among the tens of thousands gathered in Chicago for Obama’s victory speech.

“It feels like America did the right thing,” Winfrey told CNN. “It feels like there’s a shift in consciousness. It feels like something really big and bold has happened here, like nothing ever in our lifetimes did we expect this to happen.”

Hip-hop music and fashion mogul Russell Simmons said Obama’s election was “a clear reflection of hip-hop politics.”

“While many older Americans, who marched and struggled so hard so Senator Obama could run for president of the United States never dared to believe in his candidacy’s real potential, young people, particularly the hip-hop community, had faith and their imagination became our reality,” Simmons said in a statement.

R&B singer Usher told Access Hollywood, “Barack Obama doesn’t represent a color. He represents change.” Black music producer and singer Sean Diddy Combs said, “I felt like my vote was the vote that put him into office … And that may not be true but that’s how much power it felt like I had.”

People magazine, typically a place to read about Hollywood stars such as Katie Holmes and Britney Spears, put Obama on its front cover in a special edition marking his election.

Actor George Clooney said in a statement it was “time to begin unifying the country so we can take on the extraordinary challenges that this generation faces.”

And poet Maya Angelou, 80, author of the influential book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, said she could barely talk without weeping as she remembered all the African-Americans who had struggled for civil rights in the past.

By John Charles Reedburg

Is it me? Or is that cutout of Sarah Palin in the photo above creepy as hell? LOL!

Republican presidential candidate John McCain concedes defeat to Sen. Barack Obama and urges all Americans to unite under the new president-elect.

That remains a challenge

By John Charles Reedburg

I always knew that I’ll see this day. I always knew.

On Feb. 12 of next year, Americans will celebrate the birthday of their most important and most beloved president. ABRAHAM LINCOLN entered the world on that date in 1809 in a cabin near Hodgenville, Ky.

His bicentennial would be an important occasion under any circumstances. But it will carry even greater symbolic significance because of something scheduled to happen three weeks earlier: the inauguration of BARACK OBAMA as president of the United States.

Obama’s victory is one of those events that reveal how far the nation has traveled. When he was born in 1961, African-Americans risked death merely to register to vote in some Southern states. The pivotal civil rights and voting rights laws had yet to be enacted. Yet today, the nation is willing to entrust its future to a man whose father was black. His election is a moving vindication of the ideals on which this nation was founded.

There are other reasons to celebrate the election of this citizen of Chicago—the only one ever elevated to the White House. Obama won by appealing to a deep yearning for national reconciliation and unity that spans partisan divides. From the moment he captured national attention with a stirring speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention to the last day of this campaign, he reminded us that amid our often-contentious diversity, we are one nation joined in a common mission.

Skeptics often questioned his approach, insisting that it made him look weak and was doomed to fail. But even when he was losing primaries to Hillary Clinton, even when Republicans painted him as an anti-American socialist, Obama retained the composure and intelligence that he has always shown under pressure.

While ably defending himself and pointing out his opponents’ shortcomings, he declined to descend into angry invective. By winning, he raises the hope of a more civil polity. His moderate tone may also ease the pain felt by John McCain’s supporters, who will be waiting to see whether his administration is as inclusive as his rhetoric.

The electorate chose Obama partly because he offers a different approach from the incumbent president—such as leaving Iraq, raising taxes on high-income earners, expanding health-insurance coverage and helping distressed homeowners. It would be a mistake, though, for Democrats to assume they have a broad mandate to enlarge the federal government.

Most Americans are ready to give Obama a chance to show he can deliver needed improvements. The financial crisis has also made them open to ideas they would not have considered before. But their motivation is pragmatic, not ideological, and the new president will be judged on results rather than intentions.

In that way, 2008 is reminiscent of 1980, when the American people took a leap of faith on Ronald Reagan in disenchantment at the failures of his predecessor. As Reagan did, Obama offers a temperament and deportment that help to defuse worries about his ideology. Like Reagan, he faces immediate challenges that will test him and the nation.

America’s political rancor won’t instantly disappear.

Pollster Peter Hart recently found that one-third of each candidate’s supporters have come to “detest” McCain or Obama so thoroughly that they couldn’t accept him as president. Hart asked a Wall Street Journal reporter, “How do you knit a nation back together with this kind of animosity?”

That remains a challenge. But Obama could not have dared to run for president if he didn’t believe his fellow citizens could overcome the pitfalls of the past and the present to achieve a better future.

Change is going to come.

“Tomorrow, we gonna shock the world”

By John Charles Reedburg

All I have to say is, “Power to the people.”

Philadelphia, PA — The newest scare tactic in this election is all over DIDDY’s shirt: VOTE OR DIE! It’s one day before the election, and celebrity Obama supporters are pulling out all the stops. Hip-hop moguls like Diddy, JAY-Z, MARY J. BLIGE and RUSSELL SIMMONS attended a rally at the intersection North Broad Street and Susquehanna Avenue in Philadelphia to encourage the masses to vote tomorrow.

“Tomorrow, we gonna shock the world and show up in record numbers, are you with me Philly?” Sean “Diddy” Combs asked.

The stars drummed up some record numbers at the rally as well, with about 4,500 people at the party. Jay-Z revved up the crowd with this speech:

“How many people in here registered to vote? I ain’t telling y’all what to do, I’m telling y’all what I’m going to do. I’m going for Barack Obama, that’s what I’m doing. This is one of the most important elections of our lives. Rosa Parks sat so Martin could walk. Martin walked so Obama could run. Obama’s running so we all can fly. Let’s get fly tonight, New York City! He’s not telling them what to do? Debatable. In any case, there were some more not-so-subtle messages, but the fans seemed willing and eager to receive them.”

By John Charles Reedburg

There’s nothing wrong with being candid and truthful.

USHER had one thing on his mind while preparing to take the stage Monday night – politics. It may have been the second performance in his “One Night Stand” tour, but it was also the night before the US Presidential election.

“I voted” Obama said

Senator and Mrs. Barack Obama vote at the Shoesmith School Gymnasium in Chicago, Ill.

By John Charles Reedburg

This is how you lead by example.

Chicago, IL — Democrat BARACK OBAMA joined the nation’s earliest voters today as people around the nation began lining up to cast ballots in a historic election pitting Republican John McCain against the man seeking to become the first black president in U.S. history.

“I voted,” Obama said, holding up the validation slip he was handed after turning in a ballot at his Chicago neighborhood’s precinct. In Delaware, Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden went to the polls with his elderly mother.

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By John Charles Reedburg

OK, folks. There might be some truth in this message.

The final weeks of the campaign season have seen the launch of a new political action group, a shadowy cabal of adorable oldsters called the “SwiftJews for Truth.”

Look out, America…there might be more to Bubbe and Zayde then they would have you believe. LOL!

DMX says, “What the f–k is a Barack?!”

By John Charles Reedburg

Hip hop has done a great job in getting a younger generation who usually don’t vote registered and out early to the polls. Yet does the negative lyrics in some hip hop songs really help Obama’s stride for socio-economic and progressive change?

On Oct. 23, the hip-hop elite congregated in Atlanta for BET’s annual Hip-Hop Awards. For the most part it was the typical industry extravaganza involving the hottest names, rappers capable of selling a million CDs in a week to a demographic stereotypically seen as young and rebellious but apathetic.

This year, however, things at the Black Entertainment Television event felt different – way different.

In the past, many hip-hoppers were content to shuffle cynically around major elections. But the nomination of BARACK OBAMA has yanked the hip-hop generation into the mainstream of American electoral politics. From presenters to performers to winners, from Russell Simmons’ blinging Obama T-shirt to Salt-N-Pepa’s tribute to the Democratic candidate’s wife, Michelle, the hope for change personified by Obama appears to have special resonance in hip-hop culture.

And, given hip-hop’s vast reach that could have a huge impact on the vote.

MTV reports that around 95 per cent of the hip-hop world supports Obama’s candidacy. As rapper TALIB KWELI wrote on his blog, “I have two beautiful children, and Barack Obama is an incredibly positive influence on them. I want them to know they can be anything they want.”

The genius of Obama’s campaign is that the senator has managed to galvanize the hip-hop community, traditionally shamed for promoting a cross-section of societal ills, without alienating the rest of America. That’s in part because Obama – who has said he listens to JAY-Z and KANYE WEST – hasn’t pandered to the hip-hop world, criticizing its misogyny, among other things. “We’re all consumers of this culture,” he told hip-hop journalist Jeff Chang in a Vibe magazine interview, “and there’s nothing wrong with us sort of saying, `You know what? Some hip hop is terrific and powerful and some of it is junk.’”

Still, hip-hop’s affinity for Obama hasn’t been embarrassment-free. Take New York rapper and actor DMX, who by March still hadn’t heard of the politician from Illinois. “What the f— is a Barack?!” he barked in an interview with the hip-hop magazine XXL.

“Where he from, Africa?”

In July, the senator’s campaign denounced rapper LUDACRIS for his underground song “Politics (Obama Is Here),” which called George W. Bush “mentally handicapped,” pitched the b-word at Hillary Clinton, and imagined the physical crippling of John McCain.

But many other hip-hoppers understand that when it comes to Obama’s campaign, they have to be judicious. In the most recent Vibe, Atlanta’s CEE-LO, he of Gnarls Barkley fame, asked hip-hoppers to “allow Obama’s work and the fruits of his labour to manifest.” Houston’s Scarface was even more pointed, stressing in Vibe, “Hip-Hop needs to shut the f–k up right now to get Obama elected.”

The Net is awash in pro-Obama MP3s, from lyrical shout-outs by prominent emcees such as Chicago’s Common to props from suburban Pennsylvania’s Caucasian newcomer, Asher Roth.

Asian emcee Jin’s “Open Letter 2 Obama” came across corny, but Obama’s team posted it to the campaign website as a free ringtone download. OutKast’s Big Boi collaborated with John Legend and MARY J. BLIGE on “Sumthin’s Gotta Give,” which has the three working in an Obama campaign office in the video. And challenging the Democrat to keep his promises after he enters the White House, NAS raps on “Black President,” “I think Obama provides hope and challenges minds. Of all races and colors to erase the hate.”

Even YOUNG JEEZY, who shook hands with John McCain on Saturday Night Live, dedicated his track “My President” to Obama. “He was cool,” Jeezy said about his meeting with Senator McCain. “He wasn’t Barack.” The Atlanta native says he spent a pocketful clearing his criminal record so he could register and vote for Obama. “He’s a strong-minded person,” Jeezy explains of his choice, “and at the end of the day you could really tell he’s passionate about making some type of change.”

“Obama has inspired the hip-hop generation like no political candidate ever has,” says JEFF CHANG, author of Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation. “He understands the issues we face from nearly an insider’s point of view.

He is taking the positions that the hip-hop generation overwhelmingly favors–on the war, on the economy, on education. But lastly, he literally embodies the hopes of a new majority, one that is racially progressive.”

Two Philadelphia beat-makers who produced ‘The Obama Song’ talk about the track and where hip hop is headed. Produced by CASSIDY HARTMANN of Pennsylvania for MTV’s Choose or Lose Street Team ‘08 at chooseorlose.com.

Mr. Jean lets us into his new world order

By John Charles Reedburg

All eyes and ears.

WYCLEF JEAN addresses the world about what he’ll do if he was in the oval office. It’s all about world peace through the eyes of hip hop.