President-Elect Barack Obama, along with his wife Michelle, sat down with 60 Minutes for his first interview since winning the election. I just happened to notice the buzz about it on Twitter, otherwise I would have missed it.

Some may consider it fluff, but I thought it was a good chance to see them after the campaigning is done. They seemed relaxed there are touches of humor.

I was able to find parts of it in case you missed it. The color is a bit odd, but it’s the video I found.

UPDATE: If the video is no longer available on You Tube, you can view it on CBSNews.com.

Will.i.am is at it again. I’m sure you remember his “Yes We Can” video that became a “viral” sensation. Well, he is back with “It’s a New Day.” I still get chills thinking about Election night and it’s simply amazing how emotional people have been—myself included. It’s a turning point in American history. But I’ll comment more on my reflections later. In the meantime, enjoy the video—it’ll put a smile on your face.

“The change we need doesn’t come from Washington, the change comes to Washington.”

Don’t miss your appointment with the ballot on Tuesday, Nov 4.

The Chicago Tribune has officially endorsed Barack Obama as the presidential candidate most suited to lead this country during these times of uncertainty. After reading their endorsement, I felt hopeful that there are still people in this country that are able to exercise logic.

Though I don’t base my vote on newspaper or media endorsements, I do find it interesting that this is the first time in the history of newspaper that the editorial board has ever backed a Democratic Presidential candidate. What I find fascinating and amazing is their reason for not backing the Republican Presidential nominee. They compare it to their decision to back Progressive Party nominee Theodore Roosevelt over the Republican nominee William Taft in the 1912. At the time, their decision was “driven by outrage at inept and corrupt business and political leaders.” (If you have the time I would recommend reading the whole article.)

In reference to McCain and the Republican Party, the Chicago Tribune writes…

The Republican Party, the party of limited government, has lost its way. The government ran a $237 billion surplus in 2000, the year before Bush took office — and recorded a $455 billion deficit in 2008. The Republicans lost control of the U.S. House and Senate in 2006 because, as we said at the time, they gave the nation rampant spending and Capitol Hill corruption. They abandoned their principles. They paid the price.

We might have counted on John McCain to correct his party’s course. We like McCain. We endorsed him in the Republican primary in Illinois. In part because of his persuasion and resolve, the U.S. stands to win an unconditional victory in Iraq.

It is, though, hard to figure John McCain these days. He argued that President Bush’s tax cuts were fiscally irresponsible, but he now supports them. He promises a balanced budget by the end of his first term, but his tax cut plan would add an estimated $4.2 trillion in debt over 10 years. He has responded to the economic crisis with an angry, populist message and a misguided, $300 billion proposal to buy up bad mortgages.

McCain failed in his most important executive decision. Give him credit for choosing a female running mate–but he passed up any number of supremely qualified Republican women who could have served. Having called Obama not ready to lead, McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. His campaign has tried to stage-manage Palin’s exposure to the public. But it’s clear she is not prepared to step in at a moment’s notice and serve as president. McCain put his campaign before his country.

In reference to Barack Obama, they clearly state that they don’t agree with all his policies, but they feel he is the best candidate to run the country. And this is where logic instead of simple blind support comes in. Of Obama and his candidatecy the Chicago Tribune writes…

[...] We know first-hand that Obama seeks out and listens carefully and respectfully to people who disagree with him. He builds consensus. He was most effective in the Illinois legislature when he worked with Republicans on welfare, ethics and criminal justice reform.

He worked to expand the number of charter schools in Illinois–not popular with some Democratic constituencies.

He took up ethics reform in the U.S. Senate–not popular with Washington politicians.

His economic policy team is peppered with advisers who support free trade. He has been called a “University of Chicago Democrat”–a reference to the famed free-market Chicago school of economics, which puts faith in markets.

———————–

Obama is deeply grounded in the best aspirations of this country, and we need to return to those aspirations. He has had the character and the will to achieve great things despite the obstacles that he faced as an unprivileged black man in the U.S.

He has risen with his honor, grace and civility intact. He has the intelligence to understand the grave economic and national security risks that face us, to listen to good advice and make careful decisions.

…It may have seemed audacious for Obama to start his campaign in Springfield, invoking Lincoln. We think, given the opportunity to hold this nation’s most powerful office, he will prove it wasn’t so audacious after all. We are proud to add Barack Obama’s name to Lincoln’s in the list of people the Tribune has endorsed for president of the United States.

Source: ChicagoTribune.com

So, the McCain campaign, in their sleazy, nasty way, want to accuse Barack Obama of guilt by association and label him a terrorist. They have been doing this—mainly through Sarah Palin and Cindy McCain—and stirring up fear and hatred among their crowds. Well, let’s turn that mirror on the accusers and see what we find.

Thanks to Keith Olbermann for taking on the task…

Can McCain think clearly? He is letting his “Rove” campaign leaders drag him around so bad he doesn’t know if he’s coming or going. He used to be a likable guy—before he sold his soul to the devil to win this election (at any cost). He needs to slow down. Really. While speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania, he referred to the crowd as, “my fellow prisoners.” If he’s elected president, will he have a “flashback” and have us in another war? This is the person I DON’T TRUST to lead.

From time to time Maureen Dowd says something that I couldn’t have said better. In her Op-Ed column for The New York Times, she raises the question, “When [did] elite became a bad thing in America?” From my viewpoint, I’d prefer to have the leaders of my country to be a bit smarter than me. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want the guy down the street to be president of this country. He might be a nice guy and all and can be president of the block association, but he’s not getting my vote for President of the United States of America. And forget about “Joe six pack.” We all know that “six pack” does not refer to his abs. And since when did we begin rewarding “C” students, and ridiculing the student that worked hard and finished at the top of his/her class? What is it about Republicans—some of which are smart people (I hope)—running toward and praising such incompetence in their candidates? Do they just want to win at any cost? Sarah Palin is sadly just another George Bush in a skirt (and lipstick). McCain’s campaign have nothing to be proud of in selecting her. In an excerpt from her Op-Ed column, Dowd offers her insight:

Being mush-mouthed helped give the patrician Bushes the common touch. As Alistair Cooke observed, “Americans seem to be more comfortable with Republican presidents because they share the common frailty of muddled syntax and because, when they attempt eloquence, they do tend to spout a kind of Frontier Baroque.”

Darn right. And that, doggone it, brings us to a shout-out for the latest virtuoso of Frontier Baroque, bless her heart, the governor of the Last Frontier. Her reward’s in heaven.

At Sarah Palin’s old church in Wasilla, they spoke in tongues. Maybe that’s where she picked it up…

…At another point, she channeled Alicia Silverstone debating in “Clueless,” asserting, “Nuclear weaponry, of course, would be the be-all, end-all of just too many people in too many parts of our planet.” (Mostly the end-all.)

A political jukebox, she drowned out Biden’s specifics, offering lifestyle as substance. “In the middle class of America, which is where Todd and I have been, you know, all our lives,” she said, making the middle class sound like it has its own ZIP code, superior to 90210 because “real” rules.

Sometimes, her sentences have a Yoda-like — “When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not” — splendor. When she was asked by Couric if she’d ever negotiated with the Russians, the governor replied that when Putin “rears his head” he is headed for Alaska. Then she uttered yet another sentence that defies diagramming: “It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there.”

Source: NYTimes.com

Every time I hear John McCain or Sarah Palin speak, all I hear is more of the same past eight years. How many times during the debates did they “claim” that they represented change? And didn’t they “hijack” that slogan from Barack Obama’s campaign before the RNC? The McCain campaign wasn’t talking about change until he announce Sarah Palin as his VP running mate. Compare what George Dubya had to say in 2000 with what Sarah Palin is saying now. It doesn’t sound like change to me. Don’t they know what change means? Are the folks running McCain’s campaign lazy? Or do they just think the American people are stupid? Well, they did manage to convince some folks to elect George Dubya to a second term. Check out the video.

While on Letterman’s show the night after the VP debate, Brian Williams called the Vice Presidential debate as a “play date” between the two vice presidential candidates. They were both there, but they were engaged in two different activities. That was evident by the fact the Palin was giving answers to questions that weren’t being asked. I didn’t know Brian had a sense of humor. The full discussion is presented in two parts.

While Sarah Palin was in NY meeting with foreign dignitaries, she took a little time out to talk to Katie Couric about the current economic crisis.

Maybe it’s just me, but why is she still so “scripted?” She repeats the exact same words like a robot or “Stepford Wife.” Is she using a tape recorder and pushing the appropriate button when it’s time to answer? I know politicians have “speaking points” but the ideal is to at least know your information so that it sounds as if you have a clue what you are actually talking about.

Hang in there Campbell, maybe you’ll get your turn soon.