Obama in Iowa with child – holding a very content child

Palin in Iowa with child – trying to force her autograph on a screaming child

Obama in diner at Iowa

Palin in diner in Iowa

Typical – Michelle & Barack Obama photo

Typical –  $arah and Todd Paylin photo

The American people have spoken – "We want change." 

Not only Americans, but people around the world are celebrating our President Elect Barack Obama!    I have never seen an election that brought so many people together, all colors, all races, all religions.  There were many cheers and there were many happy tears.  There were people hugging loved-ones and people hugging strangers – they didn’t care who they hugged, they were happy!   There were hundreds of thousands of people in the streets celebrating, not only across our nation, but across the world.

At 5:30 this evening (Alaska time) I thought McCain was winning.  I was sick to my stomach.  I called my sister.  She was cussing up a storm.  Then, as we were talking, things started changing, and they changed fast.  The Electoral Votes were overwhelming.  And by 7:00 p.m.  Barack Obama was our 44th president.  I could not believe it.  Alaskans were still voting.  We had another hour to go before the polls closed, and we already had a new president in this historic election.  I sat down and had a six-tissue cry – happy tears, of course.  "My guy" won!

What does Obama inherit on January 20th, 2009 when he moves into the White House – two wars,  the worst financial crisis in a century, a divided nation, global warming, a broken government with congressional game playing, and whatever else George Bush happens to leave in his wake.  Will Obama live up to what he has promised us?  I do believe he will, however, we do have to understand, it will not happen overnight.

Right now Obama has a lot of work ahead of him.  First, he has to pick a competent team to work with him.  Then, he said he will tackle the economy that is spiraling out of control.   He has a country he needs to mend and repair.  He has people he needs to bring together.   And, he has  to mend our international relations around the world that Bush so ineptly destroyed in the past 8 years.  He has to find Bin Laden.  He has to figure out what to do with two wars – maybe more wars.  And, he said he will withdraw most of the U.S. troops out of Iraq in 16 months -  all of this before he even gets to the new stuff he promised.

However, with all of the turmoil going on around us, Obama has given Americans hope – "Yes We Can" come together and work together, no matter what color, race, sexual preference or religion we are.  "Yes We Can" survive all the struggles America is going through right now. "Yes We Can" dig ourselves out of the mess Bush has gotten us into.    "Yes We Can" see the light at the end of the tunnel, and know that we will have a brighter future.
 
Barack Obama opened his speech with the assertion that "if there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy …  tonight is your answer."  [WATCH VICTORY SPEECH]

Obama also said in his speech,  "There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as president, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face."

He further went on to say, "The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there." 

Obama definitely deserves this win.  He worked long and hard for it.  He had run a very postitive straight-up campaign, while McCain and Palin’s campaign was negative.  They hawked all their crude remarks, racial slurs and their fear tactics.  Obama didn’t stoop to the McCain/Palin level – he knew he didn’t need to.  Afterall, he was a "community organizer" at one time.  He knew how to manage and run a campaign smoothly and without being negative and radical.  The American people have sent a message loud and clear.  We are not interested in dirty campaigning; we are not interested in lies; we are not interested in negative grand-standing.  And, American women are intelligent.  We would not vote for "any woman" McCain flashes in front of us.  If McCain had the "right woman" campaigning with him, the election might have turned out differently.  Where did he ever get the lame-brained idea that he was going to get the "Hillary" votes by picking Palin as his running mate.

I will always remember this election as the most memorable election in my lifetime.  The second most memorable election for me was John Kennedy.  And, in some sense, I liken Obama to both John and Robert Kennedy.  Robert Kennedy once said that one day America would have a black president.  How many people of color ever dreamed they would ever see this day in history come true?   Their dream finally came true.  

I would like to thank everyone that helped "Alaska Hockey Moms For Obama."  Those of you who sent articles.  Those who gave feedback.  Those of you who were loyal readers, and those who forwarded our blog information onto others and got the Alaska Hockey Moms message out to friends and relatives in other parts of the world, especially the Lower 48.  We met many fine people – other bloggers, both Alaskans and others from around the world who have accessed AHMFO.   In less than 2 months our blog was a little shy of one million hits – we might reach that mark by tomorrow. 

I truly would like to thank Sarah Palin for "not blinking" and accepting John McCain’s invitation to be his running mate.  Palin is the best thing that happened to the Democratic party in this election.  Frankly, Obama still would have won the election whether Palin was on the Republican ticket or not, however, we might have had to wait a couple hours longer to find out. 

So, I guess Palin will be coming home to a "new Alaska."  She has been vetted now, and Alaska will definitely keep a closer eye on her.  Who knows, we might get a bunch of new Alaskan blogs going up here to keep the Lower 48 apprised of what Sarah is up to after she gets back, in case she threatens to run for the U.S. senate or president – you never know with that girl.  She has a lot more investigations and "gates" and lawsuits to tend to upon her return, so that should keep her occupied for the next couple years.

Alaska Hockey Moms for Obama" was created to keep the American people informed about what’s going on in the campaign, especially up here in Alaska.  Many Americans are misinformed by John McCain, Sarah Palin,  and the Republican campaign, in general.

Check the current polls.

Hello from Alaska:

Well, it’s finally time to get out and vote tomorrow.  This has been a long time coming, and it is finally here.  We see the long lines on television and we shake our heads.  What’s their problem? Why can’t the ballot systems in all states be the same?  It would sure make life easier on everybody.  Why can’t the long-line problem states have more polling places accessible to their voters?  Are those states discouraging voters from going to cast their votes?  I voted on Wednesday – I was in and out of the polling place on Fairbanks Street in Anchorage in 10 minutes, at 11:00 a.m. 

If you are voting in Alaska, you might want to visit the State of Alaska Division of Elections Website. 
Alaskans seem to take election information pretty seriously with a remarkably user-friendly State Division of Elections website. Replete with schedules, how-to’s, and candidate/party overviews, the site even furnishes visitors with three different choices for unofficial election results. Playing the "comparison game" between these three will make for some good clean fun on Tuesday night.

The Anchorage Daily News has a story, "Tuesday is your chance to help shape the future of the US."
 
Also, an interesting article I found about, "What equipment will Americans use to cast ballots in 2008?"  It is interesting to see the systems other states use to cast their ballots.  Alaskans are lucky to be one of the top 18 states to have a secure ballot system in place.  Some seem pretty archaic – i.e., New York.  You can see the Verifier Map for detailed information on voting systems used in each state and county in 2008 and recent elections. See also information sheets and demonstration videos about individual voting systems.
        
Then there are several scary articles and videos for you to read and/or watch.   Information about what has happened in past elections, what can happen tomorrow. 

Mudflats has an excellent article and video on "Take Back Your Vote," and a link to "Video The Vote."

And, Dan Rather has a short segment for you to watch on voting machine problems.  And there are many scary problems out there.

Robert Kennedy, Jr. appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show two weeks ago and he talked about how voting machine security is easily compromised; the problems with break-downs and the integrity of voting machines.  After listening to Kennedy I wanted to learn more, so I found this article. Kennedy is also mentioned in "The Vote Grab: Voting Machines Are Unreliable and Inaccurate."

Let’s see, what do we have about Palin? 

Oh, yeah – surprise, surprise – Palin is costing us more money.  She sure is an expensive lady – "IF" elected, how is McCain going to keep her in the White House without raising taxes?   

Looks like Palin has her Alaskan "executive secretary" or "executive aide" or "executive babysitter," (Kris Perry seems to wear many hats) traveling around with Palin, babysitting, making a few calls, keeping Todd company.  And who is footing that bill to the tune of about $1000 a day?  Oh, yeah, Alaska is!  Looks like another "gate" opening up for Palin. 

And then Alaska’s very own Celtic Diva has a list of all Alaska’s corrupt politicians (9 have plead guilty or have been convicted; 2 are indicted and awaiting trial; 4 are under investigation.)  There seem to be 15 politicians so far – 14 Republicans and 1 Democrat.  And there will be more coming down the pike soon. Oh my goodness, and guess who made the list?  None other than that "cute little governor" of ours, Sarah Palin, "bless her heart." 

Shannyn Moore has a repeat article on: "LIFE BEGINS AT RAPE: Ask Sarah Palin."  It’s an article that is a must read, especially for women who are thinking about voting for Palin. 

We just received the fourth and final video from the "Wasilla Project".  "Sarah Palin: The Email Scandal."  A message from The Wasilla Team:  "We hope that this series of videos have helped people to understand a bit more of who Sarah Palin is and some idea of what she might be like as a Vice President or even President. Today, as we launch the description of our 4th and final video, we’ve hit 100,000 views on YouTube."  Go to the archive portion of Alaska Hockey Moms For Obama to see all four videos.

And, of course, we need to end this election season with some entertainment.  A hockey mom sings, "Don’t Speak for Me Sarah Palin."  The "highlights" of Palin’s campaign – "Sarah Palin’s Greatest Hits."  And a cheer for McCain/Palin.

And, last, but not least, an ADN article: "OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT."  Palin’s rise captivates us but our nation needs a steady hand.  (Palin’s rise captivated a few Alaskans – well, maybe some – oh, okay, I’ll admit it, she did captivate one or two Alaskans.)

There are many websites in Alaska trying to get the truth to the Lower 48 and Hawaii about Sarah Palin.  I encourage all of you who have computers to log onto the Anchorage Daily News and many other Alaska websites to learn about the true Sarah Palin.  Everything I have stated above can be researched on line, through legitimate governmental and Alaska news websites.  Read about all the damage Palin has done to our government, to our state and to our people.  Other Alaskan sites to visit are:  Mudflats; Andrew Halcro; Celtic Diva, Shannyn Moore, AlaskaReal, Progressive Alaska, and many more.

Obama’s grandmother, family ‘rock’, dies on election eve

In a tragic twist to his White House campaign, Barack Obama announced on the eve of election day, that the grandmother who brought him up had died, aged 86…. [read the story here]