Finally...

After months of debates, mud flinging, cries of elitism, disenfranchisement in Florida and Michigan, a Wrightmare, eerie assassination talk, re-enfranchisement in Florida and Michigan, and a host of other twists and turns, I can finally say something that I have wanted to for so very long.

Obama wins.

That's right, after having an insurmountable lead since February, the numbers have finally caught up to reality, as Barack Obama has passed the magic numbers of 2,024 and 2,118 delegates after South Dakota and Montana held the last primaries of the season.

In case you missed it last night, here is his amazing speech...



As anyone who follows this blog will know, I love Barrack Obama, so needless to say I am completely overjoyed at this moment. I think, hope and pray, that the United States may just be heading in the right direction. While I live North of the Border, I still could not be any happier, as Canadian Politics has always experienced an "echo" effect to American ones (They vote in Kennedy in 1960, we go for Trudeau in 1969, they get Regan in 1980, we go for Mulroney in 1984, Bush down there in 2000, Harper up here in 2006, to name a few). Meaning, that in some way, shape or form, Change is coming to Canada and I, for one couldn't be happier.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me focus on the near future instead, and where exactly the three major Presidential Candidates will be going from here.

John McCain -- Having clinched the nomination way back in February, McCain has been pretty quiet. After all, he didn't really need to go on the offensive against Obama, since Clinton had been doing a lot of that. He has been able to bide his time, and let those two go after one another.

McCain needs to figure out a game plan from here. What will his issues be? Will he keep trying to distance himself from Bush, or try and cozy up to him? Will he go on the offensive and start attack Obama, in typical Republican fashion? Judging by his poorly timed, and even more poorly executed speech last night, the answers will be: Iraq, distance, and yes.

Don't believe me? Well here is the speech I am referencing, I loved the part where it gets cut away to declare Obama the nominee...



When contrasting it to Obama's speech (shown earlier), it really makes McCain look second rate. Like it or not, speaking and looks matter in an election, and McCain looses out on both of those big time compared to Obama. McCain needs to really step up his speaking abilities in the next few months, or he will be severely outclassed by Obama in the fall debates.

In retrospect, McCain probably should have waited from giving a speech on that night, and given it tonight, or in a few days. He needs to try and downplay the negatives of his campaign, and having people get to watch his speech first, followed by Clinton's, followed by Obama's, really made Barrack seem like the Main Event of the evening, which only hurt McCain.

McCain will need to spend the next few months trying to figure out a running mate, with Tim Pawlenty being the apparent front-runner. However, if McCain wants to downplay the historical aspect of Obama running as an African-American, he should consider Condoleezza Rice, to appeal to both the woman and black vote.

Barrack Obama -- STRAIGHT TO THE WHITE HOUSE BABY!!!!111

Sorry, I had to get the fanboyness out of my system.

After last night, Obama is sitting in a great position. All three made a speech, and his was clearly the best. Instead of focusing on himself (like Hillary did), or on his opponent (as McCain did) he focused on America. This combined with his amazing line directed at McCain saying "I respect his many accomplishments, even if he chooses to deny mine" really makes him seem like the bigger person, and not giving into "Politics as usual" like the others appeared to have.

Combine this with the fact that the GOP's image seems to be fading fast, and things look great for Barrack. However, he does have some interesting choices as to who to pick as his running mate. Sure everyone is talking about Hillary but that can't happen (for reasons I will get to in a moment) with names like Bill Richardson, Michael Bloomberg, Chris Dodd, Kahtleen Sebelius, and Evan Bayh, bound to receive a lot of talk in the coming months.

In the interest of prognosticating, I am going to go with Richardson here, he would really bring in Latino voters, and could bring New Mexico and maybe even Texas onto the Blue sides of things in November, and that sure would change things.

Between now and November, I expect Obama to concentrate a great deal on his grassroots fund raising, which has been spectacular thus far, and to continue his "Nice Guy" image, against the sure fire attacks bound to be coming from the Republican side of things.

Hillary Clinton -- Now here is the real wild card of this whole thing.

While she was mathematically eliminating last night, she still refused to quit. While I do have some respect for her tenacity, I really am sick of her now. While I have been very critical of her a few times before on this very blog, so it may be a bit of a challenge for me to examine this objectively.

Last night should have been about Obama and she tried to make it about her. Don't believe me? Well her is her speech last night...

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Now, I forget which one, but one of the CNN talking heads referred to Clinton's speech as showing "Deranged Narcissism", and I don't know if there is a more apt term than that. She (falsely) claimed that she won the popular vote, which only happens when you don't take into account any of the caucus states and/or the "Uncommitted" votes in Michigan, which is odd since Hillary repeatedly preached that she wanted "Every vote to count".

With her talking about how many votes she got, she really sounds like she is trying to bully Obama into naming her as his running mate. My lord can this ever not happen.

Obama needs to set himself up as a Change Candidate, and someone who has already lived in the White House for 8 years does not represent change at all. Plus, if she can't let Obama have his night when he mathematically wins, can she really let him have four years to Be the Man? Somehow I doubt it...also, there is that little shadow called Bill who would be standing behind the two of them. A good VP needs to be sure to give the limelight to the person at the top of the ticket, and that really is Obama.

I think that the best option for Clinton, would be for her to support Obama, campaign for him, and get a high profile spot in his cabinet. Either way, I really hope that she heeds my advice from my last post on her..."SHUT UP"

One way or another, I am glad that this is finally over, and more importantly, the good guy won. It should be a very interesting five months for the US, and for all of us watching.

Before I send off let me make yet another prediction. In November it will be Obama winning, with the popular vote going 56-44.

Until next time,

G

Until next time,