I’ve avoided writing about politics here because I get far too worked up about it. As anyone who lives near me knows, I scream & curse at the TV any time I see a republican or tea partier railing against the president.

Although I’m an agnostic and believe we should maintain even-handed neutrality in the middle east, I’m still culturally Jewish. Although the Republicans have always claimed to be pro-Jewish, leave it to Obama to be the first president to actually have a seder in the White House:

When Passover begins at sunset on Monday evening, Mr. Obama and about 20 others will gather for a ritual that neither the rabbinic sages nor the founding fathers would recognize.

In the Old Family Dining Room, under sparkling chandeliers and portraits of former first ladies, the mostly Jewish and African-American guests will recite prayers and retell the biblical story of slavery and liberation, ending with the traditional declaration “Next year in Jerusalem.” (Never mind the current chill in the administration’s relationship with Israel.)

If last year is any guide, Malia and Sasha Obama will take on the duties of Jewish children, asking four questions about the night’s purpose — along with a few of their own — and scrambling to find matzo hidden in the gleaming antique furniture.

That event was the first presidential Seder, and also probably “the first time in history that gefilte fish had been placed on White House dishware,” said Eric Lesser, the former baggage handler, who organizes each year’s ritual.

As in many Jewish households, the Obama Seder seems to take on new meaning each year, depending on what is happening in the world and in participants’ lives (for this group, the former is often the same as the latter).

Since I couldn’t make it to Washington D.C. for the inauguration, I went to a viewing party in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Unfortunately it didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped. We were supposed to watch it on a large screen projection TV, but the projector didn’t arrive until after 11AM. When the projector finally did arrive, they couldn’t get it to work using the cable converter box, so they tried a few other things and finally got it to work just in time for the ceremonies to begin at 11:30. There was no wi-fi in the room, so I wasn’t able to watch with UStream on my iPhone.

I had invited a friend to come along and notified the host last week. When she wasn’t able to make it, I still had to pay for her lunch, which I’m not happy about it.

When the ceremony began, all was forgotten. I totally lost it when Barack Obama took the oath of office.

I had my Nikon Coolpix L5, since I didn’t want to carry the D90, so I was only able to get blurry photos of the low contrast TV screen.

The obligatory photo of me standing next to a life-size Obama cutout.

Lots more pictures here.

This is my final election post for 2008. North Carolina was finally called, bringing Obama’s electoral votes to 364. He did a lot better than I predicted (only 331 electoral votes), which was a very pleasant surprise.

I really did want to move to Vancouver, but with the country finally headed in the right direction, it doesn’t feel right to move out of the country at this time. I would still like to move there eventually (or maybe someplace else in the Pacific Northwest).

These pictures from Callie Shell’s wonderful gallery sum up what I like about Obama. He’s genuinely humble. He cleans up after himself. Instead of buying new shoes, he re-soles his old shoes. He doesn’t have his staff pampering him. He’s about as far as you can get from the “elitist” the Republicans labeled him.

More importantly, Obama is popular outside the US. We’re already starting to rebuild the world’s respect and support after George W. Bush alienated even our allies like France. We need to have most of the world on our side, as we did immediately following 9/11 before Bush blew it. Even enemies like Iran are softening towards us. We’re no longer seen as the world’s bully.

CNN has called the election for Obama! This is a historic moment for America. I’ve never felt this optimistic about our country before.

I did two shifts of canvassing today. This morning I went out alone on a route that covered a fairly small area just off 26th street. Most of the people weren’t home. Out of about 40 I only contacted 4 people. A lot of them seem to have moved & some of the houses looked abandoned.

This afternoon I went out with a few other people to cover a much larger area of over 100 houses. A lot of them weren’t home, but there was a lot of enthusiasm for Obama. Kids started chanting “Obama! Obama! Obama!” when they saw our t-shirts and door hangers.

Since everyone else is doing it, here’s my prediction for tomorrow from CNN’s electoral map calculator. This isn’t an especially optimistic prediction, since I’ve been looking at worst cases with my current gloomy attitude. Starting with the 2004 results, I added Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico, which seem likely to go to Obama. Even with only those states, Obama will win with 271 electoral votes. Add Virginia and he’s up to 284. Even without Florida & Ohio, which are most likely to have vote stealing shenanigans, he could still win, but with those states he’s up to 331.

Uploaded with plasq‘s Skitch!

A really great video.

The Republicans’ politics of hate is toxic to this country. Saying that some parts of the country are un-patriotic and not “real” is not only hurtful, but comes dangerously close to inciting another civil war. When mentioning the name of an American city like San Francisco evokes boos from the crowd, something is very wrong with our country. We need someone who will bridge those divides, not purposely incite hate and divisiveness. That’s why I support Obama.

Madelyn Dunham didn’t live to see her grandson (hopefully) become president.

Dunham passed away peacefully at her home shortly before midnight Sunday night (5 a.m. ET) following a battle with cancer, according to a campaign spokeswoman. She was 86 (the same age my mother was when she died).

“She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility,” Obama said.

“She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances. She was proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring. Our debt to her is beyond measure.”

Obama and his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng asked that donations be made for the search for a cure for cancer in lieu of flowers. A small private ceremony will be held “at a later date.” (via CNN)

People in the Middle for Obama asks regular, moderate Americans, not extreme left or right wingers, why they’re voting for Obama.

Today was the second time I went out canvassing for Obama. Two weeks ago I went out with another volunteer. Last weekend I didn’t feel too well, so I stayed in the office and made calls. Today I was out on my own. The office gives us a list of addresses of Democrats who are infrequent voters. The objective is to make sure they vote.

More than half of the people on my list today had moved or weren’t home. A lot of the houses looked like they were abandoned, most likely foreclosures. We just skip any houses with McCain signs, like this one.

We all need to keep Barack Obama’s grandmother in our thoughts & prayers. Madelyn Payne Dunham, who helped raise him, was released from the hospital late last week, but her health had deteriorated “to the point where her situation is very serious.” Barack Obama is canceling nearly all his campaign events Thursday and Friday to fly to Hawaii to visit her.

Powell said exactly what needed to be said:

It troubled me. You know, we have two wars. We have economic problems. We have health problems. We have education problems. We have infrastructure problems. We have problems around the world with our allies. And so those are the problems the American people wanted to hear about, not about Mr. Ayers, not about who is a Muslim and who’s not a Muslim. Those kinds of images going out on al Jazeera are killing us around the world. And we have got to say to the world it doesn’t make any difference who you are or what you are. If you’re an American you’re an American.

This weekend I’m volunteering at two Get Out The Vote events for Obama:

• Sat. Oct. 11, 11:00 AM – GOTV STRATEGY SESSION (Organizing)
• Sun. Oct 12, 12:00 PM – GOTV STRATEGY SESSION (Organizing)

Both events are at 2040 N Dixie Hwy, Wilton Manors.