Campaign 2008

‘All Things Are Possible’

Chicago's Journey: From Washington to Obama.

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On Election Night, some Chicagoans literally danced in the streets, more than a few with tears in their eyes. This hard-nosed, high-stepping city proudly donned its latest moniker: hometown of the first black man elected president of the United States.

It surely beats "Beirut on the Lake." That was the embarrassing nickname the national press gave this city in the 1980s for its racially charged turf wars. To recall those years, it is startling to see the distance traveled by Chicago—and America.

Some 25 years ago, a black man running for mayor of Chicago, Harold Washington, was hooted down the stairs of a Roman Catholic church by a mob of angry whites. Washington won the election in a squeaker. But in five wards on the city's Northwest Side, he carried a scant 5 percent of the vote. When he took office, he was challenged at almost every turn by a rebellious group of aldermen led by Edward R. Vrdolyak. The Council Wars made Chicago a national spectacle for its hostilities over race and the blunt bigotry voiced by whites about black politicians.

Chicago enjoys a loftier image these days, as its residents talk giddily about a new Western White House in Obama's Hyde Park neighborhood on the South Side. Today those five Northwest Side wards that snubbed a black mayoral candidate all went for Obama. The city's white mayor, Richard M. Daley, was an early cheerleader of the Obama candidacy. Even his campaign manager, David Axelrod, is a former Chicago Tribune reporter. The sort of bigotry preached by some of the bare-knuckled white politicians a generation ago has fallen into disrepute. Vrdolyak, incidentally, pleaded guilty earlier this week to his part in a kickback scheme.

Larry Edwards, a 60-year-old rabbi and native Chicagoan, stood on the grounds at Grant Park, the site of the Obama victory party, and remembered the day of rage in 1968, when the police cracked heads of protesters outside the Democratic National Convention across the street at the Hilton Hotel.

On this election night, some young people carried Obama signs in one hand and the American flag in the other. A black woman wore a T shirt that declared THIS IS THE DREAM REALIZED!

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Posted By: sjones2005 @ 11/06/2008 7:49:12 PM

So I guess for the last eight years, you've had a cigarette constantly in your mouth. Well now you can have a pack and a smile and relax.
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Posted By: Krohn @ 11/05/2008 9:07:35 PM

George Soros finally got what he wanted! I have a feeling that his influence is going to extend well beyond the campaign stage. Everybody was touting what a great campaign Obama was running. But he wasn't running it. It was running him. With enough money you can buy anything. You can buy extreme order. George Soros is going to continue coddling Obama through his presidency to make him look good. He will likely be in contact with foreign leaders, buying their cooperation and easing their fears. The Democratic take over of congress was probably engineered long in advance. This also makes Obama's job easier and insulates him from the tough issues that presidents have to deal with in terms of senate battles between Republicans and Democrats. George Soros likely bought Obama an Army of advisors to answer any and all questions. Remember Soros is the financial genious that made his money off of the securities markets. He may have even had a hand in crashing the stock market to favor the Democrats just before the election. There is no way that the most unqualified presidential candidate in history got to where he did without such massive help. Some have speculated that after Obama won the Presidency, the media would turn on him and the honeymoon would be over but there is a broader agenda. Soros is buying up all of these newspapers that are endorsing Obama which is an attempt at a Socialist propaganda state. He will likely retain his control over the large media networks as well. What is the price Obama pays for having his ego stoked? An agenda that makes George Soros the grand puppet master of planet Earth!
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Posted By: MegaDeath @ 11/05/2008 5:24:19 PM

What Obama means to this country is that there is a SUCKER born every minute, and Obama had just proved it by spinning his lies to all of the brain dead voters who supported him. Now everyone, let's see this Obama work his Moses like powers and see him get our country out of debt, out of wars, out of other countries business, out of the United Nations, Out of NATO, out of NAFTA, let's see him create millions of jobs that pay over $100,000/year for all, give FREE GOVERNMENT Medical, Prescriptions and Dental CARE, FREE COLLEGE TUITION FOR ALL CITIZENS, FREE BAIL OUT MONEY TO TAXPAYERS FOR PERSONAL DEBT, let's see if Obama is going to lower fuel cost to $1.00/Gal, FREE VACATIONS FOR APPLYING FOR THE ABOVE PROGRAMS, Free government surplus supplies that are just sitting around in warehouses across the country, free access to all Congressional meetings, free night stay in the white house, free ride on air force one, a free tour at the NORAD site in Colorado, there are just so many things that Obma can do for all of us, if he can keep all of these campaign promises!!!!