OBAMA WINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was around 11:30 P.M. Tuesday, Nov 4th, 2008. We’ve been watching TV for hours and finally, CNN announced that Barack Obama is the president-elect of the United States of America. For me, a 13-year-old Asian-American boy, I hope this is the symbol of a new epoch in our country. Our nation has come a long way since 1863, when Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth president, freed slaves in his Emancipation Proclamation. This moment belongs to not only Barack, but also the civil rights activists like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr.

How did Barack win this election? I believe that people see Obama as a brilliant and inspiring leader and forget that he is a black man. It did not matter to me what color his skin is because race should not be a factor in making such a major decision. However, during the presidential campaign, some did question his loyalty to our country because of his race, his name, and his father’s birthplace. It seemed very unpatriotic to not vote for him because of those reasons. It is exciting that according to statistics, young voters don’t care what race or gender the candidate is. Obama has energized many new voters with his motto “Change We Need” and his optimistic personality, so there has been record turnout. His ability to raise a lot of money didn’t hurt him either. (On the website Huffington Post, there’s a video of over 1000 students at Penn State University lining up to vote.)

What does all this mean to me? The fact that an African-American, a minority, a person of color was elected as our leader shows that in America, anyone can hold the highest office. We elected Obama because he is the right person for the job. It gives hope to kids like me that we can have a career in politics, and that while there is still racism, our country can evolve out of it.

Palin-Biden Debate

Biden-Palin debate.

Palin is clearly memorizing her phrases, you can tell because she's not really thinking. When she is uncomfortable, she shifts her body language and goes back to her catch line.

Biden is a very seasoned candidate. He always has a point.

McCain Speech and Sarah Palin

I was watching the McCain speech last night, and have you noticed that he always repeats his major points. When McCain speaks, it's repetitive. For example: "we will know their names, we will know their names," although repetition is a critical form of speech rhetoric, it gets boring after a while. Also, it's ridiculous that John McCain canceled the CNN interview because of the Campbell Brown's interview with Tucker Bounds. CNN is completely able to ask questions about Sarah Palin's past. Sarah Palin, although supposedly a great governor, tried to censor books when she was a mayor. The city censorship was just like China, and she tried blackmail the librarian who wouldn't get rid of the books!

USCL and the Republican Convention

This is day 2.

Last night, the Boston Blitz beat the Carolina Cobra's 3-1. Larry Christiansen got a really fast draw against IM Lev Milman on board one. Denys drew Oleg Zaikov on board two. Returning player from 2006 Charles Riordan got a critical win against Fide Master Ronald Simpson as White.

Ronald Simpson just played 17... Nf6. Can you guess what Charles Riordan played?

For the solution, click here.

On the last board, Marc Esserman made his debut to the USCL with a win against fellow National Master, Craig Jones. Right now, Boston is tied with the Miami Sharks and the Queens Pioneers. Miami beat the New York Knights so they have 0-2 and Queens beat the New Jersey Knockouts which are 1-1. The USCL adds two new teams to the division every time, last year, it was New Jersey and Queens which has a 1.5/2 record against New Jersey. If you want to view the games from last night, click here.

Last night was also day 3 for the Republican Convention in Minnesota. Former Governors Mitt Romney, Rudi Giuliani, and Mike Huckabee spoke. Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, also spoke. I noticed that whenever they spoke, they all did two things. They never mentioned Bush, and they always talked about McCain serving his country more than Obama. Now that doesn't make sense to me. For some reason, people think that the person who has the greatest sob story will serve his country the most. Please comment.