Scott Brown, Senator elect

A Senate seat long held by a Democrat has passed to a Republican:

Scott Brown, a little-known Republican state senator, rode an old pickup truck and a growing sense of unease among independent voters to an extraordinary upset Tuesday night when he was elected to fill the Senate seat that was long held by Edward M. Kennedy in the overwhelmingly Democratic state of Massachusetts.

By a decisive margin, Mr. Brown defeated Martha Coakley, the state’s attorney general, who had been considered a prohibitive favorite to win just over a month ago after she easily won the Democratic primary.

With all precincts counted, Mr. Brown had 52 percent of the vote to Ms. Coakley’s 47 percent.

What will this mean for the president, especially with the fall elections looming in the distance? What were the people of Massachusetts trying to tell America on the eve of Obama's one year anniversary as POTUS? Will a man who rode on the winds of change became change incarnate?

the President's speech to the children

This is the most dangerous speech in America right now. Or the most controversial speech, at least.

So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

This is what was getting some people so riled up? These words were making some people plan to have their children stay at home, adding an extra day to their Labor Day Weekend? President Obama's speech seems pretty good to me: stay in school, be strong, and work for your community and country.

And, yes, I agree with Al.

a truly historic day

It's a day where we remember this speech, given two score and five years ago...


And, it's a day where a man of African descent accepts the nomination of a major political party for the presidency of the United States.

Obama finally makes his choice

The world finally knows who Barack Obama wants to be a mere heartbeat away from the presidency. Senator Joe Biden of Delaware. It seems a bit odd that America's first biracial presidential candidate, a self-proclaimed 'citizen of the world,' would pick the same kind of person that so many others have done: a white guy. Picking a woman would probably have pleased the many Hillary supporters, but then again, they may have been unhappy with anbody whose name wasn't Hillary Clinton.

I guess Obama reallly didn't mind being called "bright" and "clean," huh?

Speaking of interesting choices, Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz (which is still on my bookshelf, unread), will be praying this coming Monday night at the Democratic National Convention. He gave an interview about his agreement to pray here.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln

Had he survived Booth's bullet and lived to this day, President Abraham Lincoln would be 198 years old. That's a lot of candles on the cake!

In his honor, I will direct you to this post by the eponymous Matthew Yglesias (love that first name!) on Lincoln, a certain ridiculous statement by Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol, and a modern-day senator from Illinois.

Speaking of Lincoln, if you haven't picked up a copy of Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, get to your local bookstore now!

More on Lincoln:

• biography from the White House website
• biography from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
• The Lincoln Institute
• Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
• Speeches: Farewell Address 1861, First Inaugural Address1861, Gettysburg Address, Second Inaugural Address 1865, Last Public Address
• Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library