Watch the Obama Inauguration here LIVE!

Ah, you just gotta love technology! Thanks to the fine folks at Hulu, you can watch history being made, live, here on my blog.

Congratulations President-Elect Obama

Regardless of your political affiliation, it is hard to deny the history made with the election of Mr. Barack Obama. Despite his relative youth and inexperience, his overwhelming victory at the polls spoke of our country's need for something new. While I don't agree with a lot of his politics, he is still my president, and as stated so eloquently by my friend Nicole on her blog, there's no way I am moving to Canada! I must admit it is encouraging to see so many of my fellow citizens happy and hopeful again, even if that hope might be short-lived.

After 2 years of endless campaigning, I think we can all agree that Mr. Obama deserves a nice respite before assuming the office of President. Only 71 days until the inauguration, and unfortunately, there's not going to be much rest for the weary.

The above photo was taken by my wife at Obama's first political rally in Austin, Texas, held on February 23, 2007. She went with a few friends (all who are proud conservatives) who went to the rally mainly because they were just curious about who this person was, and they all had to admit afterwards that the man had charisma in spades and was going to be a strong contender for the Democratic nomination. Now, almost two years later, I tell Vanessa that this is probably the closest any of us will ever get to the POTUS!

Below are a few links to some cool articles/photos/references regarding the new president.

Behind the scenes on election night (photoset from flickr.com)

The next President of the United States (photos from The Big Picture)

Newspaper Frontpages from around the World, Nov. 5, 2008

One of these ones is not like the others...

Barack Obama: The 50 facts you might not know

change.gov

Proof of the Cult of Obama: Obama-gazines

Pictured above are the latest issues of some magazines I subscribe to: Men's Health (Nov. 2008), Time (October 20, 2008), and MIT Technology Review (Sept/Oct 2008). Guess what they all have in common? That's right, they all have cover stories on the 47 year old senator from Illinois! Yes, the media infatuation continues! Seems like he doesn't need to be spending any of the $150 million he raised last month (over $600 million total) on things like this, when the media already scrambles to put the Obama "brand" on anything possible. Don't believe me? Walk into your local bookstore and scan the magazine section, then get back with me. I would be very interested in seeing how many magazine covers McCain has been featured on versus how many Obama has been on.

Consider the issues in my photo. Men's Health? Yes, I agree, Obama is a man, so I guess he qualifies to be on the cover. I suppose it is better than the usual cover of male models with chiseled abs and bulging biceps. But check out that tag line - "Strong and Fit!" Wow, not too subtle eh? Especially when considering the "Old and Weak" alternative, right? How about Technology Review? Published by MIT since 1899 (almost as old as Senator McCain!) the cover tag line is "How He Really Did It". Did what? As far as I know, as of the publication date of the magazine, the election had not been decided yet! And Time, the oldest newsweekly in the United States, seems to have Obama on the cover every week.

This post is not meant to be an indictment of Mr. Obama. He is very accomplished, seems to be a natural leader, and is quite eloquent. If I had to choose between listening to Dreams of My Father spoken by Mr. Obama, or Faith of My Fathers, spoken by Mr. McCain, I'd choose Obama's sonorous voice over the nasally pitch of MCain everytime. And there's no doubt, if Mr. Obama is elected president, it will be a historic event, the first man of color to be elected to the highest office in the land. Perhaps such an event would prove that race is no longer an issue, and that a person's character and honesty and belief is what really matters. Sounds dreamy, right? Sounds like real change, right? Former Secretary of State Colin Powell seems to think so, calling Obama a "transformational figure" while endorsing him for president today.

I appreciate his life-story, I think he is quite likable, and because he is younger and a person of color, I can definitely identify with him more. But here is my main concern: I am worried that Senator Obama is going to be elected president solely because of America's love affair with all-things celebrity. Senator Barak Obama is a rock star. Senator McCain is not. I remember reading about the first televised presidential debate, between JFK and Nixon, and how many analysts felt that because JFK looked better on camera, that translated into people thinking he would thus make a better president. Perhaps that is not the best example, based on what happened with Nixon later on, but it still makes a strong point about the need for star power. McCain made a valiant effort at fighting back with his own choice of celebrity, but she has proven to be no match to the Obama love affair, even with her latest appearance on SNL.

The 2008 election is not about who has better economic policies, who would make a better world leader, or who has more experience. Really, it's about who will sell more magazines at the newstand. And frankly, that's just plain sad.

Super Two-sday!

Our wonderful boy turns 2 today! Goodbye baby blues, and hello terrible twos! We threw him a little birthday party this past Sunday in San Antonio, with family and a few close friends.

As usual, he received a ton of gifts from his proud grandparents. The gift that he will be using the most in the near future is his new Fun-to-Learn Potty! See the look of dread in Benjamin's face in the photo to the right.

Here are the lyrics to one of the happy songs it plays after a succesful #1 or #2 -

Look at me!
I can use my own potty
And it makes me feel so very proud
When everybody cheers out loud!

I will be the first to admit that I don't think proud would be my first feeling if people started cheering after I walked out of the bathroom at Starbucks. Hopefully Benjamin will not be too traumatized by this toilet.

Today also marks the day that Texas and Ohio will decide who will be the Democratic candidate. A couple of weeks ago, the University of Texas hosted the CNN debate between Obama and Hilary. We decided to check out the scene on campus that day. It was pretty crazy, like a political College Gameday! The Obamicans and Hillarites were going at it!

Later that night, we went home and watched the debate. Most pundits believe the Texas debate was a draw, with neither side landing a knockout punch. In other words, a waste of time.

But now, onto the real question of the day - Who is the birthday boy's choice? Who will Benjamin endorse? The video below reveals what he thinks of the candidates...