Thanksgiving

We made our Thanksgiving donation this year and a family will have a traditional Thanksgiving turkey and all the trimmings courtesy of our family. It was a small gesture but it makes a difference. When Thanksgiving comes around, we always want to make a contribution, we have good ideas like helping out at Island Harvest, the Food Pantry, but we always want to do more. Those of us who can should give as much as we can because we are human, times are tough and we need to help each other.

Enjoy your family, think about the world, and have a different thought than you usually have, be grateful for life and all that it offers and most of all, enjoy your day off. I know I will!

We All Need Our Own Personal Bailout Plan

This year we are hosting Thanksgiving. It has been about 4 years since we have done the grand host; our parents, siblings and their kin all arriving to dine and scare the bejesus out of us. It will be fun but it does remind us that the desire to stay home for Thanksgiving takes too much work. Getting ready goes beyond the shopping and the food; there has to be change in the house. All of the dingy items that have been calling out for replacement now want their due;  we went to Ikea last Saturday and Sunday trying to spruce up for a moderate cost. 

I went into Linens 'n Things to find some "going out of business" bargains and still their prices were so hefty that the bargains were not meaningful enough to me. Yesterday, they shut their doors for good. Circuit City is right behind them and many more retailers, I'm sure, after the holiday shopping season seals their fate one way or the other; survival of the fittest is in full swing. I have to say that I am amazed by the sheer amount of empty brand new strip-mall retail space that was built and unfortunately finished this year; the builder with permits in place, a plot to build and a building to construct had to continue with the plan even as the tide turned against him/her. So many builders were caught in the frenzy of construction, they did not stop to research their audience. So many retailers rushed to build stores to accommodate the legions of shoppers who really were just borrowing cheap money to shop. 

The economy is bloated simply because it is currently built on excess, all of those growth numbers and accompanying statistics were just a figment; anticipation of a rate of continued business that simply was unsustainable by any measure. The downside was completely forgotten and the contingency plan buried under a mountain of cheap money therefore the economy has a heck of a lot of weight to shed; we have to allow for survival of the fittest to define success again. All of the over-expansion in this decade would have been limited if we actually realized that none of us was making any more money yet we were buying bigger houses and more stuff,  and we had remembered the lessons of the generation before us, maintaining a healthy fear of debt. Too many of us were lulled into a level of consumption that it is a comfort zone that we wish not to abandon; we want to lose nothing and we expect to feel no pain.

The reality is we all need our own personal bailout plan; plan that you might lose your job, plan that you might lose your benefits, plan for a rainy day, if you don't have a budget make one now, prepare for a sustained recession because that is where we are right now. We can worry all we want, we can't change what is happening but we certainly can have a plan in place to help ourselves get through it.

What is Good for the Goose is Not Good for the Gander

What a difference a weekend makes. This is starting to become a familiar refrain in the financial market milieu - on Friday a bank or major financial institution is on the verge of collapse, then the  government decides over the weekend whether they are "too big to fail," and lo and behold, on Monday, the biggest bailout you've ever seen is rolled out with surety - the taxpayer is once again convinced of the "rightness" of the bailout and the stockmarket rallies on the news as the government goes on the hook again for the "good of the economy." 

There I was lamenting on Friday over the death of my bank and now it has been super-revived by the government, I should have known that it wouldn't be allowed to fail. As I was caught up in the rain dance of the Automakers, praying for their own shower of cash, I was starting to be lulled by the actual possibility that the government spigot was slowing to a trickle. Oops!  

When major (and well-respected) economists jump into the fray to declare why the major financial institutions cannot fail and why the Automakers should be allowed to fail and why one or the other outcome is good, better or best for the ailing economy...you start to wonder what parsing words are left to convince the conspiracy theorists that Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Mr. $500,000,000,000 golden parachute Wall Street investment banker, is simply not helping his friends. You do start to wonder whether the claims that the "rich" are simply carrying out the biggest heist in the history of the United States, having found the most effective umbrella, TARP, no less, (what are the odds?) to transfer taxpayer dollars into their coffers. All of this unfolding under the gleeful and ever watchful eye of the outgoing President who, many say, is simply completing his final, grand, mission.

As the Citi Sleeps

As I watch my bank die, I ponder all of the consequences of it as I have now grown accustomed to its stellar online services and being a beneficiary of its free services. I for one am not sure how I will survive without my free interbank transfers which I use on a regular basis. I have had accounts at many banks over the years, but no one has had as great a website as Citi. In addition, they have long combined all accounts, whether asset or liability, banking, brokerage, credit cards and savings, to figure your total worth to them which in turn determined your monthly checking account fees. Both my husband and I came into our marriage with varying forms of Citi accounts that once combined practically guaranteed that, for the most part, we would enjoy free checking, a nice benefit for us poor folks who would never qualify otherwise since we would never have the rather hefty account minimums required. 

Over the years we have been fortunate to save quite a bit in fees. Odd things would happen though, if we paid down our credit card, this would reduce our stake dipping us into to monthly fee territory or when we moved our brokerage account to a discount online broker dipping us into monthly fee territory again. Then one day, our mortgage having been sold multiple times eventually landed at Citi. At first I was not excited to have that much exposure to Citi after they had gone through a rather irksome period a while back when they seemed to snub their noses at their less than wealthy account-holders. I even cancelled my citicard because they p'd me off. But I was back on track when it came to light that by merely linking our mortgage account to our checking account, the amount of our worth to Citi would guarantee free checking for life so I changed my tune pretty quickly though having to see the entire mortgage amount staring me in the face everytime I log on sometimes is a little disconcerting. 

Now the powerhouse Citigroup stock is less than $5 and they are thinking about selling themselves. No amount of Saudi investment and countless billions in bailout funds has been able to help them stave off the devastation caused by that 3-word financial instrument that keeps rearing its ugly head; credit swap derivatives. They will be the bane of our existence because they are difficult to understand and impossible to comprehend. And ironically, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's decision to jettison the fundamental intent of the TARP bailout by not purchasing those toxic assets from banks dealt another decisive blow to the Citi umbrella. 

What will happen if they choose to sell themselves in part by spinning off vital assets like the credit card business or the mortgage business? What will happen if they choose to sell themselves in whole? Whatever happens, the world will change for me, spinning off any assets will reduce by stakehold, my worth to Citi or if Citi sells itself and ceases to exist, I will have a new bankmaster. In any event, I will most likely lose my free checking privileges. 

Boy, it can be very easy to start protecting the monster when it serves your purposes. If I was on the other end of the stick, I would surely be spouting off about how they deserved their fate in varying degrees of negative yada, nay-yada. But now as I watch my bank fail, I realize that they have somehow been good to me and I will be sad to see them go especially when I have to start paying those monthly fees again.

Observations On Another Down Day

The stock market woke up today, fresh from another delusional rallying stupor, looked around and noticed that the economy is bad and tanked over 400 points...again. It keeps sinking when it recognizes reality and rallying for no other reason than it is tired of sinking. Citigroup stock is at $6.45, GM at $2.79, Ford at $1.26 and so on; what more indication do we need to convince ourselves that things are not so good? 

More companies are on the brink of requesting bailouts and those who already got them still whine for more. So we ask our Treasury Secretary, where did all the money go? and he decides not to tell us. The only place where that $350,000,000,000 infusion of bailout dollars trickled down into is the pockets of the CEOs, upper management and shareholders in the form of dividends. This is what happens when all of these financial corporations get capital infusions in return for shares - business as usual. Except this time around they are not lending us any money at all. Who are the fools as we watch the economic disaster continue to roll out its red carpet before us while our hard-earned tax dollars wind up in the hands of the connected few? 

All we see are so many stores going out of business and though we are initially shocked by the revelations, we consumers begin circling like hawks. We look around and scoff at the huge beckoning signs, "up to 30% off original prices," "nothing held back," and the ubiquitous "everything must go," as we turn our noses up at the paltry bargains, most of which are priced only 10-20% off. We mutter to ourselves and to our fellow shoppers that the bargains are not so good, one shopper asked me "where's all the stuff for 30% that they promised? For a nation of shoppers who have been handed coupons for the last few years regularly giving us 20-30-40% off the item of our choice and enticed by the seemingly endless clearance sales offering 40-50-60% off, we are not so moved by a liquidation sale where prices revert back to original prices with a puny amount off. We shoppers have all been trained to seek better bargains. We all want to buy something but we are afraid to spend too much.

The only thing I've learned about spending lately is the opposite of the lessons I have been adhering to: be prudent and wise, save for a rainy day, don't spend what you can't afford and do what you can to suspend instant gratification. I am not so sure anymore because all the money I scrimped to save is gone and right now I don't have much money to purchase what I really need. Only the connected few have it the best, when times are good they spend and when times are bad they still spend. Case in point, witness the auto executives flying in on their private jets to beg Congress for our money.

Bankruptcy May Be a Better Deal for Automakers

A serious message for the Unions is coming; the Corporate trough is going to run dry and hopefully they will pay heed before the public trough does too. One of the big 3 automakers is going down, with or without government funds, stranding many Union employees and pensioners. Bankruptcy is coming to one of the big three; the writing is on the wall so why not stop the bleeding and do it now. Ch. 11 is now an accepted form of business restructuring and allows a company to work its way out with dignity than the current embarrasment of begging that we are witnessing before Congress. 

No doubt this will be a bad situation but it is always better to have that operation sooner than later if you want to survive. Begging for a government bailout only delays the inevitable; when a company is burning $5,000,000,000 a month, they shouldn't be saved no matter how revered they are. It will be much cheaper for the taxpayer to help those workers and pensioners who are stranded by a bankruptcy filing than to fear the filing and throw good money after bad. The workers will be given unemployment and other government compensation, benefits will be turned over to the Pension Benefits Guaranty Fund and this one of the three (most-likely GM) will be forced to revamp and retool the company. 

Most importantly, the company will be able to re-negotiate debt and employment contracts and shed its pension and healthcare obligations and most of all change its dinosaur management structure. This company will then emerge leaner and meaner and on par to seriously compete with foreign carmakers who are not crippled by legacy costs and who can manuever through this economic downturn because they are already on the road to the cars of the future. In fact, Congress approved $25,000,000,000 in September to fund energy-efficient vehicle research and manufacturing. So the first car company to choose Ch. 11 and restructure will have access to plenty of development cash to get going. 

Simultaneously, the Unions will get the message loud and clear, the playing field has to be leveled; any identifiable reasons for Union members to be overly compensated and overly benefitted more than any other American worker have long since evaporated. They have managed to hang on and bleed their hosts dry but they need to adapt to survive just like everybody else. They are stronger and more organized but if their host runs out of money, everyone will lose. If they are willing to renegotiate their contracts to be more in line with the type of environment in which most of us work and contribute more to their healthcare and retirement plans in particular then their host and themselves may survive. 

All the Unions have to stand up and come into the 21st century where most of us have been toiling for a decade. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Alan Greenspan stated this fall that he was surprised at the meltdown; he didn't see it coming because he believed in the ability of markets to self-regulate; companies would always protect their shareholders by delivering real profits and accountability. Unfortunately when the greedy get going; there is a stampede. Everyone has to reign in excess including the Unions. 

The State of New York

Probably the most disturbing statistic I read about this weekend is the extent to which New York State depends on Wall Street. Apparently, 20% of state revenue is garnered from the taxes on bonuses paid to investment bankers and capital gains (source: Newsday). Now I knew it was a significant amount but 1/5 of the budget is alot. New York State has a budget of $120,000,000,000 a year. Of course with the decimation of most of the major financial firms continuing to escalate, Citigroup announced layoffs of 50,000 workers today, it is not hard to predict that this stream of revenue will be significantly reduced. 50% is the amount currently anticipated or approximately $12,000,000,000 less. The State is on track to have a $1,500,000,000 deficit this year and a $12,500,000,000 deficit next year.

This past July, Governor Patterson sounded the early alarm and hauled the Legislature in to address an additional $600,000,000 in budget cuts to cover the then-anticipated budget shortfall for this year and at the time projected a deficit of nearly $6,000,000,000 for next year. As we can see, these numbers have more than doubled since July so tomorrow the Legislature is being hauled back in again to address the spiraling budget deficit. From the top - corporations and governments - to the bottom - individuals, we are all saddled with decreasing income/revenue and higher debt. 

Unfortunately, instead of trying to come up with solutions, the advance notice is of Legislators bickering about programs that they do not want to touch, funds for education, healthcare, adminstration, pensions and themselves. Yes, it will be difficult to cut funds for all of these programs, New York spends nearly half of its budget, $59,000,000,000 for public health care costs, Medicare, Medicaid and Child Health Plus, alone. 

These funds represent the neediest cases but for all of those people who are losing their jobs, the projection is over 160,000 jobs across the state this year, the prospect of a majority of those persons paying into COBRA; extending their employer-based healthcare beyond a layoff is slim. Cobra costs are daunting. I have done it. It cost us $1200 a month to COBRA our healthcare costs a few years ago when we decided to go into business for ourselves. Most people will not be able to afford COBRA so that will be more people on the public health rolls. How do you cut the budget here? The other major area is education. None of the Legislators want to cut those funds either; New York State funding helps to keep my school taxes at an unrespectable $7,000 a year. Long Island school taxes are legendary, most of us are hanging by a thread, we couldn't survive a hike in taxes if the state cuts aid. 

So if not, health and education, then where? You have try to cut people but NY State is a union state. The teachers union is 600,000 strong then there is the Civil Service union with 300,000 members and police and transit and service employees and healthcare employees adding tens of thousands more; all the heavy-hitters with generous pensions, healthcare benefits and salary to boot. All of the Legislators owe some allegiance to one or the other of these unions so who will have the balls to cut them? Look, the Congress is arguing over saving GM for precisely the same reason; huge legacy costs will probably crimp its ability to become self-sustaining even if it does come up with the car of the future.

There is no good solution to the state's budget crisis but someone has to pay because there is no more money; most economists have now agreed that we will suffer a deep and protracted recession. So far Governor Patterson has been effective in keeping everything on the table. Instead of bellyaching and intractability, our Legislators should attempt to come up with some budget-reducing ideas that they could swallow; like it or not, we all have to do it.

We Can Make Better Choices

It seems that just when the economic news cannot get any worse and the stock market continues its daily dive, the Dow does an about face; down nearly 400 points, it closed up 550 points today. I kept wondering what the good news was since there has been nothing but a constant barrage of articles detailing how most of America's once solid blue chip companies are all coming apart at their financial seams; crumbling right before our very eyes. Name any company you know and the odds are it is suffering and either laying people off to stay afloat or begging the government for money. Even the U.S. Postal service plans to layoff 40,000 workers, the first layoffs in the entire history of the Post Office.

As jobless claims start to hit old records, it is clear that they soon will set new records. In these tough times, Americans have little money to spend and the only companies that seem to be faring well are McDonald's and Walmart; people are eating health-busting cheap food and are shopping for quality-busting cheap products. We eat, expand, then squeeze ourselves into our Walmart-perfect stretch pants. The implications to our health and the health-care system is a whole other story but at least we can go back to Walmart for their discount flat-rate prescription drugs.

It is like that commercial with the ubiquitous 'as seen on TV guy' selling us on that new glue-like solution to easily mend our clothing and other textiles and that the product is so fantastic, we can actually use it to mend our parachutes (cut to visual of person parachuting out of a plane); are we really too lazy to sit down and mend our parachutes the old-fashioned way (via needle and thread or sewing machine) that we would risk our lives on a $20 bottle of glue? Rice and beans are cheap food too; we can make better choices.

And this is really what it comes down to in the end; we have to stop being lazy and make better choices, about our health, our finances, our lives, our outlook and we have to get our butts out there and do something about it. The next few years are not going to be pretty - the landscape is changing quickly. Some of us will do better than others, those who do, be grateful; those who don't, try harder; and those who can't, thank the Democrats.

Hank Paulson Has Gone "Rogue"

This week, the revelations about Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson changing tax rules and refusing to divulge the recipients of the Congressional bailout funds began to raise eyebrows now that the election is over and we have time to pay attention. Well, today we have our answer.

Secretary Paulson appeared before Congress today stating that he decided not to use the funds for what they were originally intended, to buy up troubled mortgage assets and, in fact, he had decided it was a better idea to inject capital into banks instead in return for preferred stock. Essentially he has spent and will continue to spend the $700,000,000,000 bailout funds in any way that he sees fit. Folks, he has gone "rogue."

Actually, capital investment in banks may be a better investment for us taxpayers in the long run than buying up toxic bank assets but shouldn't he have informed Congress first? He does not have the authority to use Congressional funds for any other purpose than Congress intended or does he?

Originally Paulson appeared before Congress with a 3 page ransom note requesting the money with no strings and even though cooler heads prevailed within the maelstrom and protections were written in on behalf of the taxpayer, the bailout bill was stuffed with so much pork so if Congress got theirs, I guess, Mr. Paulson would get his.

He is only back before Congress because they have to vote on giving him the additional $350,000,000,000 because they only released half of the funds to begin with. He has proposed a new plan for the remaining funds; to buy up other debt securities mainly credit card and auto loan debt that were packaged and sold to investors in the same way as mortgage loans. This also may not be a bad idea but are we sure he will even do what he says since he hasn't so far?

Mr King of the Universe will do whatever he wants with our taxpayer dollars and Congress will allow it. The Congress doesn't know who to give the money to either; everybody wants a bailout. American Express asked for $3,500,000,000 today. AIG already got theirs and then some. GM has been begging for $25,000.000.000 for a week. Personally I don't think AIG should get any more and GM's Union-contracted labor costs are too high and will drain the company regardless. But it is too late, the animals are out of the barn and nobody knows who to save first, the cows, the pigs, the goats or the chickens. So it will wind up as Barney Frank says, that the funds will be given out until they run out.

The Bernanke-Paulson Coincidenza

What do the Chairman of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Secretary really have up their sleeves. The slow trickle of truth unfolds. The Federal Reserve waived the rules today to allow American Express to become a bank so that they can have easy access to Federal Reserve funds whenever they want to. Goldman Sachs became a bank. Morgan Stanley became a bankl We really didn't ask why because Bernanke and Paulson have convinced us that it had to be so; we had to save our financial institutions.

In addition, Treasury Secretary Paulson single-handedly changed tax law section 382 allowing companies to assume the debt of acquisitions thus off-setting their gains and significantly reducing their taxes. This loophole was closed in 1986 by Congress precisely to prevent companies from misusing this statute to circumvent their tax liability. Perhaps the treasury saw the benefit of giving good companies incentive to buy up losing companies but they don't have the authority to change tax law. Wells Fargo used this statute the very day it was unhinged to snap up Wachovia out of Citibank's grip successfully reducing its tax liability by $25,000,000,000.

Amidst off this, Paulson and Bernanke came begging congress for a $700,000,000,000 bailout package to rescue our financial institutions. Basically this gave them a multi-trillion dollar pot of funds to dole out to whomever they want to and now they don't want to give us all of the details for any of it. These Kings of the Universe have plundered the taxpayer, plundered the Federal Reserve and plundered the Treasury with virtually no oversight.

The two highest financial institutions in America have been hijacked by Bernanke and Paulson for in the process of saving our financial institutions, they have undone all of their own regulations. This can't be any accident. This doesn't look good.

How much more are we taxpayer's going to give to the cause?

Well, Obama has seen his office and Mrs. O has seen her house. I must admit that every time I hear the phrase "President-elect Barack Obama" or just plain "President Barack Obama" or "President Obama", a warm tingling runs through me, I still want to jump for joy, I am still so excited...and as we soak up every detail of the transition like our lives depend on it; they do to a certain extent.

Now that the greatest reality show on earth is over and to make matters better, the best person won, the grim reality of the economy takes center stage once again. Last November when the fundamentals started to show deep cracks, there was hope that things would turn around this year, maybe, somehow, but the truth is the economy just keeps getting worse and to impress upon ourselves the sheer magnitude of this downward spiral it is literally sucking the taxpayer's $2,000,000,000,000 investment into the vortex. An investment for which we have no accountability whatsoever and where the bankers and financiers are still getting their trophy bonuses.

Lest we forget the most openly self-gratuitous bunch, AIG executives, spending close to $500,000 at a true 5 star resort (I also went to this resort courtesy of another pre-Chapter 11 company 4 months before it went bust during the 2001 tech bubble) after getting their first round of $85,000,000,000 worth of taxpayer funds. Well wriggle your nose like Samantha, that amount is up to, ta-da $150,000,000,000.

If AIG pulls themselves out of this one then I am a monkey's uncle since we, the taxpayer, have not seen any accounting. So what is the total amount of insured credit swap derivatives we are holding? Ahem, we are the majority share-holder, are we not, especially since the original deal has been repealed and replaced with Warren Buffett-like favorable terms where we get our preferred shares this time around. The truth is the total is too monumental and AIG is wishing; hoping to hang on for another year until things turn around in 2010. Well, join the club, so is GM and everybody else. How much more are we taxpayer's going to give to the cause?

President FDR Obama is expected to do some serious doling; the part that the Republicans fear. Well, now that the Republicans have spent us into bankruptcy, the Democrats will have to practice restraint now or else they are the bad people. Already we have saddled our new President with so much hope that we may have already made his task too great. Can one man save the economy? That question will be answered in season two of the greatest show. Thank goodness for the show.

The Change: President Now

As the realization of the change sinks in we constantly mull the significance in our minds. What does this mean for all minority peoples, their children and themselves, their future, their fortune, their limitless opportunity, now sanctioned, stamped and guaranteed.

Now that the dust has settled, we can survey the landscape and it doesn't look good at all; more layoffs, more economic unrest and depressionary figures that have not been seen for decades. The Dow slides another day not in response to the election as fools may claim but because it has been doing it all year. Granted, excitement about the election underscored a rally on Tuesday but the fundamentals are still bad and we now have no election distraction.

All of this is impressed upon the President-elect has he moves to swiftly elect his aides, staff members and cabinet to assure and calm America that he is still on the boat. Even though his inauguration is over two months away, America really wants him to be President now. Even George W. and Laura want the Obamas to come to DC now; George says "this is your office" and Laura says "this is your house." They wish they could say, "take it tomorrow."

The two plus months to inauguration used to be a rest; the President-elect disappeared for a while, chose his staff and re-appeared to take his oath on the Qur'an, fear not mongers, the bible and off he went to save the world. We must remember that FDR in the same situation had until March before he was inaugurated while Hoover (Bush) presided over continued economic devastation. FDR took the politically advantageous course, he stayed silent, did not show his hand and swooped in to be the savior of America. Obama will have a Press Conference tomorrow so it is clear he will not be driving himself out of the hotel in his gold Toyota Sequoia on his way to Disney Land. Obama, under the tutelage of John Podesta, former head of Bill Clinton's transition team, will field the middle, since Podesta, having learned from his previous over-conceived expediency-busting rollout will push to appease the impatient Americans with worthy choices sooner than later.

Whatever the case the post-election frivolity need not consume me, I now have more time to exist as a human, to accept free tickets to the Northport Theatre courtesy of the Smithown Chamber of Commerce. I had a lovely evening, the first date I have had with my husband in years (we always take the kids) and we could revel in the fact that as minorities we ruled the world, silly though it may be, we were the only ones. We have been in this situation a hundred times before but this time we truly belonged as the suburban educated people that we are unencumbered by race and ethnicity.

I'm not sure if this observation is even necessary because the show was flawless, the production was classy and the performances were 100%. We would have had a ball, regardless.

Faith Restored in America

The outpouring of emotion was so intense: tears streamed down faces in glory, hope, admiration and elation as we witnessed a giant step for humankind. Jessie cried, Oprah cried and even Colin choked up as we celebrated and breathed our collective sigh of relief that Obama's 21 month Presidential campaign ended in such a decisive victory that there was not one shred of doubt to upend. We can ride high on the sheer magnitude of Obama's victory. Faith has been restored in America evidenced by the whole world cheering with us; people of all faiths, nationalities and races dancing in the streets in cities and towns across America and the world.

240,000 people in Chicago turn out for Obama's victory speech.

An electoral margin of 2 to 1 over McCain.

52% of the popular vote.

Many Americans were inspired to vote for the 1st time in their lives.

American children were energized and engaged in the political process.

McCain's speech was gracious and welcoming.

Obama's speech was sobering and commanding.

Sarah Palin was unceremoniously dismissed.

And the stock market tanked again today reminding us that there is so much work to be done.

"They Said This Day Would Never Come"

Its 9:37 Eastern Time and I'm calling it. President Barack Obama. Hallelujah. The only fitting words I can think of are the opening paragraphs of his victory speech in Iowa, Jan 3, 2008.

"You know, they said this day would never come.

They said our sights were set too high. They said this country was too divided, too disillusioned to ever come together around a common purpose.But on this January night, at this defining moment in history, you have done what the cynics said we couldn't do.

You have done what the state of New Hampshire can do in five days. You have done what America can do in this new year, 2008.

In lines that stretched around schools and churches, in small towns and in big cities, you came together as Democrats, Republicans and independents, to stand up and say that we are one nation. We are one people. And our time for change has come.

You said the time has come to move beyond the bitterness and pettiness and anger that's consumed Washington.

To end the political strategy that's been all about division, and instead make it about addition. To build a coalition for change that stretches through red states and blue states.

Because that's how we'll win in November, and that's how we'll finally meet the challenges that we face as a nation."

THANK YOU AMERICA!

His Story

My fingers are crossed, my toes are crossed, my nerves are crossed...I'm not sure I can put together a cohesive sentence. This is the eve of a real opportunity for Americans to step forward into a better era and a better history. Tomorrow, history will be made regardless of which party wins this election. This is the only instance where Barack Obama and Sarah Palin can be mentioned together in the same light; he may become the first black President, she may become the first female Vice President.

It is pretty clear Barack Obama should win this historic round. Barack Obama has run a masterful campaign and he has transcended the realm of mere candidacy to become the leader of a movement; a movement that will shake America out of its hallowed racial barriers towards an America that is inclusive of all and a positive beacon for the rest of the world. As Obama states often, the road will not be easy even if he is chosen to lead, for the America that he deserves to be handed tomorrow will be a mere shadow of its former self, hollowed out by a self-serving, arrogant leadership that has bled it dry of whatever virtue it had left.

To my dear friends, who have walked the walk, talked the talk, and pounded the streets to gather support for Obama; who sacrificed their time and energy to promote victory for the rest of us, may your tireless efforts be rewarded tomorrow and may we all share in the glory.