America is ready for a revolution...

As my plane landed in New York at ~5:00AM today after a red-eye flight back from San Francisco, I opened my eyes and looked through the window. It suddenly sank through what this nation, and the world, had witnessed this week. The Unites States of America had overwhelming elected a black man named Barack Hussein Obama as its next president. I was indeed looking at the dawn of a new era.

On Tuesday night, while packing for my next day's early morning flight to San Francisco, I was twittering away as poll results started trending decisively towards Obama by 9:30PM. I went to bed after my last twitter at 11:03PM - Obama wins! Take a moment to reflect - history is made today!! It was however me who did not get a chance to reflect amidst the last three days of meetings and the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. Until this morning.

Senator Obama's landslide victory is historic and a source of much needed hope on several counts, but I'll let the press and political historians ponder through that. Many feel that the most significant outcome of the Obama Presidency will be the final end of America's Civil Rights movement. I'm not so sure about that. I think Obama's victory is mostly a symbolic proof of the change on the race front that has already been happening in the U.S. for the past several decades. Today, for most part, race is a non-issue for the majority of Americans. The three main reasons why I supported Obama did not include race. Tom Friedman argued the same in his Op-Ed column in The New York Times after the victory. He wrote:

"But my gut tells me that of all the changes that will be ushered in by an Obama presidency, breaking with our racial past may turn out to be the least of them."

My biggest fear now is the loss of the momentum after Obama's victory. The momentum amongst millions of citizens who came out to vote for the first time, hoping for a change, and willing to devote their time, energy, and even careers. The work has just started. That is probably the reason why I thought President-elect Obama was so somber in his victory address Tuesday night at the Grant Park in Chicago (below is the video). While almost quarter of a million Americans cheered and celebrated (some in tears), there were hardly any triumphant or festive signs in Obama's tone or gestures as he delivered an inspiring speech. He apparently canceled the fireworks planned at the Park. The weight of all the expectations and the responsibilities ahead probably robbed Obama of even a brief moment of public celebration with his supporters after a historic victory.




I think this country is ready for a revolution - led by young and old who hope for a change, and want to live a purpose-driven life. The crumbling of the rampant greed-driven, unfettered free market-spurred, investment banking industry (more on that later) is watched by young Americans who are getting ready to make their career choices. A message of hope, inspired by a young leader, is reverberating through the air at the same time. Several long-impacting, critical issues loom in front of them (environment, energy, economy, terrorism, etc.). I think a perfect storm is brewing...the groundwork is done, and the recipe for change is there. Time has come to lay out the mission.

I heard Al Gore speak last evening at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. He provided an interesting factoid. When President John F. Kennedy presented a bold challenge to the American people forty seven years ago - America should, within that decade, land a man on the moon and return him safely home - many derided the dream as lunacy. Eight years later when Neil Armstrong stepped on the surface of the moon, the team that cheered the achievement at the Houston mission control center had an average age of 26 years. Many of those engineers were less than 18 years old when JFK inspired them to "dream" the moon mission in 1961. That's what leaders do.

President-elect Obama, who has often been compared to JFK, needs to now lay out the mission for his eager "troops," who are thirsty to make a difference.

Election day

Today is election day. Please vote.

We just got back home after voting at Ward 1, District 1-2 in West New York. They had moved the election booth at the last minute from its original location (a school) to the lobby of a high-rise apartment building across the street, so it took us a bit to locate it. But otherwise the process was smooth. As newly minted U.S. citizens, we were voting for the first time, but we found the new electronic voting machines pretty simple to use. They could have however posted clear, step-wise, voting instructions at the top of the machine inside the booth. But they had a helper standing right outside each booth for any questions.

We were in and out in ~20 minutes. I'm not an early morning person, but I think going early was a good idea...no lines.

SNL continues to deliver - John McCain & Sarah Palin (Fey)

It's safe to say that the U.S. Presidential election campaign has been the biggest reality show on the TV over the past few months. All three Presidential debates, the sole Vice Presidential debate, Senator Barack Obama's 30-min, prime-time TV commercial this past Wednesday, and candidates' appearances, interviews and sketches during various talk shows have all achieved unprecedented ratings bonanza compared to those from previous elections. These shows have also beaten ratings of regular entertainment TV programming during the same time slots.

No other show in my opinion has benefited more than the Saturday Night Live, a cultural & comedy icon whose ratings otherwise have been on the decline for past several years. Presidential elections, a new breed of talented writers, and Tina Fey have catapulted SNL to a point where it has a perfect opportunity to regain its lost glory in a sustainable manner well beyond the elections. Tina Fey's SNL sketches mimicking Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican Vice Presidential nominee, have been instant hits on the Internet almost every single weekend.

Below is the sketch from yesterday's SNL. It's hilarious. I wish Senator John McCain looked this relaxed during his entire campaign.



Here are my few other favorite election-themed SNL clips.

Gov. Palin and Senator Clinton address the nation:


Gov. Palin and Katie Couric get real and adorable:


Governor Palin pays a visit to SNL:


President Bush endorses McCain and Palin:

Republicans' desperate tactics will be counter-productive

Two leading national polls this week show Barack Obama, the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate, widening his lead over the Republican candidate John McCain. Obama is ahead by 14% (53% to 39%) in a New York Times/CBS News poll, and by 9% (50% to 41%) in a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll.

The McCain campaign, in a desperate effort to halt the slide, has unfortunately adopted tactics to instill fear/hate amongst voters for Obama, as opposed to convincing them why they should prefer McCain. Below is a picture from a McCain-Palin rally in Virgina this week. Their supporters are holding signs to suggest an equivalence between Obama and the Islamic terrorists responsible for the brutal 9/11 attacks in the U.S. This is extremely deplorable.


Source: Chip Somodevilla/AFP/Getty

I doubt such fear tactics, which unfortunately became mainstream during the current Bush administration, are going to work. A message of hope and optimism, especially during the current economic gloom and doom, is what voters need. If the McCain campaign continues down this path, and does not instead focus on selling how their candidate is better than Barack Obama on critical policy issues, we may see the Democratic lead widening even further.

Sarah Palin's Facebook "profile"

This is hilarious. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Jewish Americans for Obama

Released on Rosh Hashana: