Sabtu, 08 November 2008

Obama wins historic US election on Nov, 4th 2008

Barack Obama speaks to jubilant crowds at his victory rally in Chicago

Democratic Senator Barack Obama has been elected the first black president of the United States, prompting celebrations across the country.

"It's been a long time coming, but tonight... change has come to America," the president-elect told a jubilant crowd at a victory rally in Chicago.

His rival John McCain accepted defeat, and called on his supporters to lend the next president their goodwill.

The BBC's Justin Webb says the result will have a profound impact on the US.

He says the American people have made two fundamental statements about themselves: that they are profoundly unhappy with the status quo, and that they are slamming the door on the country's racial past.

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McCain: 'We must work together'

Mr Obama appeared with his family, and his running mate Joe Biden, before a crowd of tens of thousands in Grant Park, Chicago.

Many people in the vast crowd, which stretched back far into the Chicago night, wept as Mr Obama spoke.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer," he said.

He said he had received an "extraordinarily gracious" call from Mr McCain.

He praised the former Vietnam prisoner-of-war as a "brave and selfless leader".


OBAMA GAINS
Ohio
New Mexico
Iowa
Virginia
Florida
Colorado
Nevada
Indiana

"He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine," the victor said.

He had warm words for his family, announcing to his daughters: "Sasha and Malia, I love you both more than you can imagine, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House."

But he added: "Even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. But America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there."

Hours after Mr Obama's victory was announced, crowds were still celebrating on the streets of Washington DC and Mr Obama's hometown of Chicago.

From red to blue

Mr Obama captured the key battleground states of Pennsylvania and Ohio, before breaking through the winning threshold of 270 electoral college votes at 0400 GMT, when projections showed he had also taken California and a slew of other states.

Then came the news that he had also seized Florida, Virginia and Colorado - all of which voted Republican in 2004 - turning swathes of the map from red to blue.

Projected results have yet to be announced for the states of North Carolina and Missouri, which are believed to be too close to call.

However, at 1100 GMT, Mr Obama's share of the popular vote stood at 52.3%, compared with Mr McCain's 46.4%.

The main developments include:

* Mr Obama is projected to have seized Ohio, New Mexico, Iowa, Virginia, Florida, Colorado, Indiana and Nevada - all Republican wins in 2004.
* He is also projected to have won: Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Delaware, Massachusetts, District of Columbia, Maryland, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, Rhode Island, California, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon.
* Mr McCain is projected to have won: Montana, Alaska, Kentucky, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Kansas, North Dakota, Wyoming, Georgia, Louisiana, West Virginia, Texas, Mississippi, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, South Dakota.
* Turnout was reported to be extremely high - in some places "unprecedented".
* The Democrats increased their Senate majority by five seats, but fell short of the 60 needed to stop blocking tactics by Republicans. They also increased their majority in the House of Representatives.
* Exit polls suggest the economy was the major deciding factor for six out of 10 voters.
* Nine out of 10 said the candidates' race was not important to their vote, the Associated Press reported. Almost as many said age did not matter.

Several states reported very high turnout. It was predicted 130 million Americans, or more, would vote - more than for any election since 1960.

HAVE YOUR SAY I find myself strangely emotional about this. I want to go wake up my neighbours and hug them Amy Scullane, Boston

Many people said they felt they had voted in a historic election - and for many African-Americans the moment was especially poignant.

John Lewis, an activist in the civil rights era who was left beaten on an Alabama bridge 40 years ago, told Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church: "This is a great night. It is an unbelievable night. It is a night of thanksgiving."

Besides winning the presidency, the Democrats tightened their grip on Congress.

The entire US House of Representatives and a third of US Senate seats were up for grabs.

Obama's victory speech

President-elect Barack Obama has made his first speech

Democrat Barack Obama has become the first African-American to win the White House. Here are his remarks to a huge crowd in his home city of Chicago:

CHANGE HAS COME

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voices could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

PARTNERS IN THE JOURNEY

A little bit earlier this evening I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.

I congratulate him, I congratulate Governor Palin, for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the vice-president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years, the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both more than you can imagine, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House.

And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure. To my sister Maya, my sister Auma, all my other brothers and sisters - thank you so much for all the support you have given me. I am grateful to them.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best political campaign in the history of the United States of America. My chief strategist David Axelrod, who has been a partner with me every step of the way, and to the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

VICTORY FOR THE PEOPLE

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.

It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; it grew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organised, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from the Earth.

This is your victory.

THE TASK AHEAD

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.

There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for their child's college education. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

REMAKING THE NATION The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree.

And above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for 221 years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

ONE NATION, ONE PEOPLE

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity.

Those are values that we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours: "We are not enemies, but friends… though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection."

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president too.

AMERICA IN THE WORLD

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

To those who would tear the world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you.

And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

A HISTORY OF STRUGGLE

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the colour of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes, we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes, we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes, we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbour and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes, we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "we shall overcome". Yes, we can.

A man touched down on the Moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes, we can.

THIS IS OUR MOMENT

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: yes, we can.

Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

Barack Obama is 44th president of USA

Hebat and fantastis ... I just can't believe that. He is the first African America who become the president of USA. G sering becanda ama Wendy, kalo Obama menang 24 dong :p. Di film serial 24 khan president nya selalu Africa American. Entah film ini terinspirasi oleh Obama ato Obama yg terinspirasi oleh film ini hehhehehehe ...
he also has a wonderful victory speech. Terharu jg waktu bacanya. But, we'll see. Dia jd president di masa yang sangat tidak menguntungkan. Amerika resesi, gara2 kredit perumahan bermasalah. Udah gitu Amerika terlibat 2 perang, yg ngga bisa dibilang America menang. malah kyknyakalah nich ... samalah kasusnya kayak Vietnam.
Kalo dia berhasil, dia akan dipuja. Tp kalo gagal, bakalan dihujat deh dia.
G sich berharap dia berhasil. Demi kebaikan dia sendiri. Kalo dia berhasil, besok2 org Africa America lainnya akan lebih mudah jalannya untuk menjadi President.

Happy Bday

Happy Bday to me :p. Today is my bday. Getting old, I am 31th years now. Have to re-think what i wanna do. Suprisingly, I've got a message from Indra. Never expected that he would know my bday. As I remembered, I never told him, he never asked also. But, it's oke. Nothing special anymore. Only sad memory when remembering him. Maybe He already back in track. Already got his proud. Ready to face me again. Have a new job, maybe a new car :p, But I am happy for him. Finally, he got a job that could support him. Just hoping that he won't blew this thing off again.
When I told Evi about this, she seem suprise also. She has the same question with me, how he knew ? No, I don't wanna know, I won't ask also. let it be gone by gone.

Waktu nungguin jam 12, aku berdoa, ritual yang dulu pernah diajarin ama Irwan, nunggu detik2 masuk ke jam 00.01 tanggal 8 Nov., I just pray,asking Lord supaya aku bisa punya integritas seperti Daniel. I also asked Lord, Menurut Tuhan apakah aku pantas untuk menikah ? Kalo iya, gmn caranya ? Abis, g selalu gagal di step awal. Boro2, mo serius, selalu ada aja yg bikin ngga jadi. What I am afraid of is, that I am the one who blew this thing off. Always find for the perfect ones, I knew that no one is perfect ... but I don't know, I just can't accept it. Itu semua adalah suara Tuhan lewat hati nurani g ato keinginan daging g yg nolak semua itu ? G jg binun sendiri.

So tonight, This is my prayer : Aku mau menjadi seorg yg berintegritas, seseorg yang disayang Tuhan dan Manusia, seseorg yg py hati yang takut akan Tuhan, tahu bahwa dia bukan siapa2 tanpa Tuhan. Kalau aku bisan mampu, itu semua karena Tuhan.

Aku jg berharap aku bisa menguasai 2 bhs, Ing n Mandarin. Aku harus benar2 mewujudkannya. I don't how, just hoping that Jesus will help me find the way.

Aku berharap aku bisa ikut terlibat dalam 1 pelayanan alumni yg bener2 bisa berguna untuk masyarakat. Buakn hanya sekedar wacana lagi, tp 1 langkah nyata. Yg mungkin harus kita bangun dari awal, tp sungguh berharap semales apapun nantinya aku, akan ada 1 hati yg terus memanggil aku untuk kembali.

And last wish, I am hoping. If it's God's will, I will get marry nest year. Maybe on my bday, I get marry .... just hoping hehehhehee ... So, doa puasa mesti kenceng nich hehehhehe ...

Bukan untuk minta marriednya , tapi untuk tau kehendak Tuhan untuk aku. Aku sudah cukup jauh dari Tuhan sekarang.
I have to go back.