I had drafted this whole ‘think piece’ about the issue of race in America, how this milestone did much to bring us forward and mend (but not erase) some of our nation’s racial blunders. I wrote about how proud I was to be a part of this election and my belief that it was a defining moment in our history we should build upon. And then I decided not to post any of it. I think it is a conversation best had between people, and not over the internet.
I will post that I look forward to a fresh face and a new approach in the White House. President-elect Obama has already started filling his cabinet, and it looks like he is going to surround himself with the very best. He’s going to need to- his administration is inheriting a deep and likely prolonged recession and two wars. I believe our nation has elected the right individual to lead us out of these difficult times, and now that the people have spoken, I only hope they have the patience to let the solutions take effect.
Now it’s back to the usual fun photos and recaps…..
So…on election night, I watched the returns come in at an Obama victory party hoisted by my friend Jenn. While voters waited in line at the polls around the entire country, she had been cooking up a storm all day in her kitchen (after voting of course).
Jenn and her very delicious baked brie. Seriously people, you missed a damn good election night party.
We ate (very well), drank (also very well) and watched the numbers come in. Our tensions started to melt away as states turned blue.
Patriotic tablescape
These grilled veggies were amazing. She had roasted them all herself!
Later that evening, I went home and continued watching returns for a few more hours until they officially called it for Obama. I didn’t get a picture of the final result, so here is a picture of my TV from when they called Illinois for Obama.
Since my office is directly across the street from the White House, news outlets like to lease space on our roof as a backdrop for their reporters. In the days leading up to the election, a ‘tent city’ has literally sprung up on our roof. So on Wednesday, I went up there to took a look around. Surrounded by the gorgeous fall foliage, White House looked really beautiful. It was like seeing the place with new eyes. I was lucky enough to get a tour of the White House Press Corps’ tent and take a quick picture from where they usually shoot.
It has been an amazing November. I even snagged a commemorative newspaper as a keepsake of this week.
Now, to all my West Wing fans out there- I thought I’d share this gem of an excerpt from the National Journal:
In an odd way, the selection of Rahm Emanuel as Barack Obama's chief of staff fulfills yet another plot line that unfolded during the final season of NBC's "West Wing," which must have been written by Nostradamus. As aficionados of the long-running show will know, Emanuel is widely cited as inspiration for the character of Josh Lyman, who becomes the chief of staff to the new president, Matthew Santos. And the real conspiracy theorists know why that's important: The Santos character is modeled after Obama. (The writers spoke repeatedly with Obama campaign manager David Axelrod while composing their plot lines.) At this rate, John McCain will be named as Obama's secretary of state. After all, that's how the season ends, with Santos picking his former rival in the ultimate gesture of bipartisanship.
2 comments:
I heard recently that, despite all the perks that come with living in the white house, the first family still has to pay for any food that their private guests consume
Seems so. The cost of feeding personal guests is paid by the presidential family or underwritten by a private donor. I think it is mostly paid out of the President’s salary- there is a setaside for entertaining. Wonder if the RNC paid for the Bush-Obama meting yesterday.
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