A New Dawn of American Leadership

My heartbeat went from zero to 60 in a matter of seconds when I saw the words:

CNN projects: BARACK OBAMA IS PRESIDENT!

What?! No? Yes! Oh my GOD! We did it!

Wait... flip to FoxNews to make sure...

OK! Great, FoxNews projects him as the winner too!

So many parts of me wanted to run laps around the world until I passed out, but after belting out a few good yells all I could do was stand there in awe.

Dude, this is really happening.

Even though it was a semi-warm autumn evening, I had chills man, chills.

Not only do we have a Black president, but he is the right president. He is the face of change. He is the voice of reason. He is an ambassador for Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, disabled, non-disabled...you heard the speech! We are the United States of America! I never fully understood the meaning of "united" until today.

What a proud moment.

What an historic feat.

From fantasy to reality. From the Cosby's to the Obama's. Our dreams have unfolded right before our eyes. Contrary to popular belief, Barack Obama is not a messiah. He will not cure the hate and bigotry in this world. However, Obama's presidential victory puts a spotlight on the thought that: Anything is possible.

Here are a couple Obama nuggets I found today:

• 68% of newly registered voters voted OBAMA! And 93% of registered voters in Washington D.C. voted OBAMA! In Diddy's words -- take that, take that! :)
  
  



• Even Sherri Shepherd from ABC's The View got emotional over Obama's win.
  
  



• I'm a sentimental person. Dates, pictures, momentos -- I love them. Am I the only one who has been collecting every newspaper with Obama on the front page? Check out these frontpages from around the globe.

Stay Classy!

~Crossy~

Obama's X-Factor is....

.....the XBOX 360.

Too busy playing video games to watch the debate? Well Barack Obama is targeting you, the "couch potato" voter who would rather play Madden NFL '09 than flip on CNN.

Barack is already present on various social networks like Myspace, Twitter and Facebook in an effort to get young voters to the polls. But now, for the first time EVER, Obama is utilizing dynamic in-game advertising on games that are updated through the internet on game units like XBOX 360.

Barack has strategically placed ads and billboards in 18 online video games. Video gamers will see Barack ads in everything from every guys favorite (Madden) to Guitar Hero. The ads appear in 10 battleground states with a picture of Sen. Obama and directions to visit voteforchange.com.

I'm not sure who Sen. Barack Obama's PR director is but, uhm, he or she is on point like Stacey Adams. I'm just sayin'...

This election is truly going to be one of the most historical events in my lifetime...and i'm glad i'm going to be a part of it!

I'm mailing off my registration today...(I know, I know, I should've done it a long time ago, but hey, as long as its done, that's all that matters!)

Remember the deadline to register to vote is Tuesday, Oct.21st!

Hopefully Obama's X-factor is enough for you to place an "X" in the box next to Senator Barack Obama for President.


You Decicide. Decision 2008.

Crossy

VP Debate: Biden vs. The Mavericks

It was a showdown in St. Louis, as Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin faced off in the first and last VP debate in just the final five weeks of the presidential race.

Here are my thoughts about both Biden and Palin's performance:

Let me start by saying that every Republican and woman should feel personally insulted that John McCain would even consider Sarah Palin as his running mate. It's insulting to women and our fight for equality, as well as the reputation of the GOP party.

Her responses to the Katie Couric’s interview were simply ignorant. She couldn't identify one Supreme Court case other the Roe v. Wade. She couldn't name one major publication that she reads in order to stay abreast of international affairs. When asked about her reaction to the economic meltdown, after fumbling through a series of talking points, her only audible response was that she feels that health care needs to be reformed.

What???

Diddy summed it all up in this video...

In regards to last night’s debate, I could have done just as well as Sarah Palin, especially if I had some of the best political advisers in the country coaching me for a week prior to the debate. I could not, however, have spoken with such authority, with such ease, and with such composure as Joe Biden did when addressing the important issues of the economy, foreign policy, energy, education, and so on.

Joe Biden spoke with ease because he has experienced the issues for over twenty years in the Senate. Sarah Palin spoke ‘robotically’ because she stuck to her speaking points, which were vague at best, and relied on rote memory and the cue cards that she had studied over the last week. No offense Sarah, but I don’t want a vice president whose understanding of the economy and international politics is based on random notes and speech coaches.

My Grades:

Sarah Palin: D+

Let me explain. Palin's girlish ways were borderline inappropriate and she lacked substance in her rebuttals. Apparently the pitbull is back...

I mean, how distracting was her bobble head, smiling, winking, smirking, and mispronunciation of simple words like "nuclear" or "terror." She set women in this country back 100 years. Seriously!! I don't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat, as an American you should feel disgusted by her lack of knowledge and respect for the voting public.

She over used the word 'maverick', to the point that it lost it's punch.

Hockey moms? Soccer games? Trying to relate with the American people through hockey mom references is not going to get your ticket into the White House.

Nor is it acceptable to make a cheap shot at Biden for not knowing what it's like to be a single mom. He's gone through his own struggles. And we all know about Palin's issues. Oh, and don't forget her claims about McCain helping the middle class. Now that's a joke!

Biden: B+

Here are the areas where Biden excelled:

Unlike Palin, Biden was able to answer each question with an appropriate answer. I love the way he repeated things three and four times to embed the message into the viewers head. He made his words memorable. I also appreciate the way he spoke eloquently about international issues, but still refrained from talking over the heads of the average person at home.

His message resonated the highest during talks of changing the economy and pulling out of the war in Iraq. Biden stole the show during a debate about the environment:

Biden said the cause was clearly man-made, and added, "If you don't understand what the cause is, it's virtually impossible to come up with a solution."

Palin stood firm on her choice to NOT debate the cause. Figures...

Overall Biden's biggest strength was his ability to stick to the facts. He rattled off exact times, dates, figures, dates...I mean I know Biden has decades of experience in politics but he was spitting more facts than Wikipedia. I'm just sayin'...

Coming up: The Presidential debate is Tuesday, Oct. 7th at Belmont University. Tom Brokaw is the moderator. Tune in!

Decision 2008. You Decide.
Crossy

Move Over BET...

Black Entertainment Television, better known as BET. I think at one time, this network was relevant. However, I can't recall exactly when that was. Maybe it was back when Joe Clair was hosting Rap City, or when Dajour and Ananda Lewis hosted Teen Summit. Either way, I can't stand the network. BET does not represent me. Nor does it uplift our youth or teach them anything. If you're bored, College Hill might keep your attention...or there's always Hell Date! Now that's quality television programming!

Here's the good news: The Black Television News Channel (BTNC) has announced plans to start up the nation's first 24-hour cable news network dedicated to the African American community. It's expected to begin in 2009, and will be offered in Philly, D.C, Atlanta, and Baltimore. No love for the West coast I see...but I guess they are trying it out in areas heavily populated with "us" first to see how it is received.

The mastermind behind the BTNC is J.C Watts, a former republican congressman from Oklahoma.

I think BTNC will be welcomed, because it fulfills a certain niche that has yet to be tapped. For those of you who remember, the only news programming BET ever offered was BET Nightly News with Jacque Reid. Now while Miss Reid is a Clark Atlanta University grad, a diva of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, a former CNN news anchor, and gorgeous to say the least - the show was pretty irrelevant. It came on at 11pm and the presentation was simply not appealing. For lack of a better term it looked "BOOTLEG!" Even though the black-owned TV One boasts a substantially better television programming lineup than BET, it still only offers small news briefs throughout the day - which doesn't suffice.

BTNC's move comes right on time. With Senator Barack Obama vying for the title of President in the White house, 24-hour coverage will be essential. Owners of BTNC say it's formatting will mirror the like of CNN and Fox News Channel, but will hold a different point of view. This means not only will there be Black on-air talent, but there will also be talented Black producers, directors, and editors making magic behind the scenes. Let's just hope they pay better than BET! Word has it that I could make more working at 7-Eleven! I'm just saying...

It's a known fact that African Americans exponentially make up the majority of TV watchers. However, news is the one arena where we are underrepresented. It's not that Black folks don't engage in seeking out news, it's just many times the "majority" tend to only pay attention to news that affects them. For example, the Jena 6 movement where everyone wore black for a day, or the presidential debates.

I'm not sure who they plan on recruiting as anchors and reporters for the network, but standby...

My resume is a send button away. ;)

I hear Michael Baisden is also interested in BTNC's effort. Michael Baisden is popular for his self-titled radio show: The Michael Baisden show. His ultimate goal is to host his own late night show. Baisden has not only become a familiar voice on the radio, but he's also a political activist too. I wouldn't mind seeing him do his thing on the TV side. Plus, he'd have a good following that would draw people to tune into the network. Name/face recognition goes a long way.

I look forward to seeing where J.C Watts' vision for the network goes.

Stay tuned...