Canon PowerShot SD700 IS
ฦ’/3.5
9.975 mm
1/30

Memories from my first meeting with Barack Obamaโ€ฆ when everything was just a big hairy audacious dream…

His words will echo through history.

โ€œPeople are hungry for a different politics, a different language. People are hungry for some leadership in Washington.

To many, politics appears to be a business, not a mission. America is waking up out of a long slumber. Iโ€™m seeing a sense of optimism, a sense of hope rather than fear.

The world is waiting for us to say: weโ€™re back and we want to work with you.

While we are at it, we can close Guantanamo and restore habeus corpus because thatโ€™s how we lead. The strength of our diplomacy has to be matched by the power of our ideals.

On the day Iโ€™m inaugurated, the people in our country will look at ourselves differently, and people in other countries will look us differently.โ€

36 responses to “Passage”

  1. Resh B. Avatar
    Resh B.

    Can’t wait for his speech!

    woo-hoo!

    Reply
  2. msamaclean ยฉ Avatar
    msamaclean ยฉ

    "On the day Iโ€™m inaugurated, the people in our country will look at ourselves differently, and people in other countries will look us differently.โ€ ………
    Damn straight!

    Reply
  3. biotron Avatar
    biotron

    are you in Chicago Steve? hope you have a great night – well done for all your efforts to help this happen ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  4. LA Lassie Avatar
    LA Lassie

    I like this shot, Steve…..

    Helloooooo Mr. President!

    My state, Alabama, went Republican. And I’m a registered
    Republican but voted for OBAMA this election. I liked the
    man from the get-go. So proud that he won!!!

    Looking forward to having him in office. WOW!

    Seen in my Contacts

    Reply
  5. tifotter Avatar
    tifotter

    11.04.08 11pmEST: THIS… is a WONDERFUL moment. A powerful, passionate constituency. A hopeful future. A proud, proud time to be an American.

    Reply
  6. gorgeous bee Avatar
    gorgeous bee

    So awesome.

    I had a talk with my 8 year old son today about how important today was in history. I’m sure he’ll remember this day.

    Reply
  7. Greg Adams Photography Avatar
    Greg Adams Photography

    I agree! SO AWESOME!!! I too am proud to be an American!!!

    Reply
  8. !MimosaMicheMichelle! Avatar
    !MimosaMicheMichelle!

    Congratulations!

    Reply
  9. hvhe1 Avatar
    hvhe1

    Congratulations on a brandnew President!!

    Reply
  10. Gwรชnlyn Avatar
    Gwรชnlyn

    I’ve long wanted to say this. At last:
    [http://www.flickr.com/photos/gustavog/3003929315/]
    Things might have looked very different if he had chosen a viable VP candidate.

    Reply
  11. Resh B. Avatar
    Resh B.

    It’s not exactly scientific but so fun to see that we’re aligned with the rest of the world:

    If the world voted:
    http://www.iftheworldcouldvote.com/results

    Reply
  12. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    A mighty monochromatic map, that one…

    Blue Map

    They should breakout the red states within the U.S. for dramatic effect.

    Thanks for the support from around the world, a flickr phenom that is very moving, given the diversity of geographies of my flickr friends. I can’t quite express how exciting this is, as if the whole world can finally exhale with relief and hope and a spark of excitement.

    I got back from China just in time to see it play out. What a great country to return to!

    Reply
  13. AH in Pgh Avatar
    AH in Pgh

    "While we are at it, we can close Guantanamo and restore habeus corpus because thatโ€™s how we lead. The strength of our diplomacy has to be matched by the power of our ideals."

    America doesn’t torture people, no matter what. God grant that that will be true.

    It’s been an amazing, historic day. I can’t wait to see that family in the White (!) House! May the promise be fulfilled.

    Reply
  14. gorgeous bee Avatar
    gorgeous bee

    Gustavo (et al): Guys, don’t gloat or tease. Be graceful in winning.

    Reply
  15. Gwรชnlyn Avatar
    Gwรชnlyn

    I’m not gloating. I’m truly grateful for his choices.

    Reply
  16. nhr Avatar
    nhr

    A day of relief and celebration for the whole planet (^^)

    I’m also grateful to Palin for showing how caricaturally bad the alternative might have been.

    One concern, however, is that the battered Republican party will shed its moderates and become more and more the sounding board, catalyzer and amplifier of all conservative, extremist, bigoted, racist and exclusion ideologies.

    The foreseeable next few years of economic hardship on Main street caused by the Wall street and subprime fiasco is probably going to grow the ranks of the disgruntled jobless, for whom rightist ideologies will always be a welcoming home…

    Reply
  17. gorgeous bee Avatar
    gorgeous bee

    I doubt that will happen. That’s a significant reason why they lost in the first place. Fiscal conservatism and moral conservatism sound good together but are very different. I’d look for the Republican party to try to distance itself from the religious fundamentalists as well as becoming more moderate in general.

    Reply
  18. TomOwen Avatar
    TomOwen

    congrats on all your efforts Steve

    Reply
  19. PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE Avatar
    PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE

    WOUHOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

    From all around France :
    LONGUE VIE AU ROI……sorry…PRESIDENT !!!!!! ; )

    What a great day this is, to be waking up, in !

    PhotonQ-Longue vie au Roi...President !!

    Welcome back in your new home Steve …. ; )

    Reply
  20. nels1 Avatar
    nels1

    well done America!!!

    here’s a great quote i just came across:

    "Rosa sat so that Martin could march, Martin marched so that Barack could run, and Barack ran so that our children could fly."

    (btw, great image photon!)

    Reply
  21. blind shooting Avatar
    blind shooting

    Congratulations from Estonia!

    Reply
  22. shaky calendar Avatar
    shaky calendar

    We are all so thrilled, here in the UK, congratulations

    Reply
  23. strange_wax Avatar
    strange_wax

    Congratulations Steve, we too in Portugal are celebrating. This a great
    day for America, and a great day for the World! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  24. disgusted celery Avatar
    disgusted celery

    I can’t believe it’s really happening. Hope rather than fear. For the first time in my life, I can believe in the good of my country.

    Reply
  25. interesting advice Avatar
    interesting advice

    Yes we can!

    Reply
  26. megalith_pix Avatar
    megalith_pix

    Should visit America again! Congratulations!! Happy with you.

    Reply
  27. angry shock Avatar
    angry shock

    A happy day for planet earth (let alone the whole galaxy, if you will, the aliens all over i spoke to today were very pleased and relieved with the news, they are even thinking about visiting again soon).

    |-)

    Reply
  28. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    and a probe for all!

    Reply
  29. Happy Tinfoil Cat Avatar
    Happy Tinfoil Cat

    The electoral count was 2:1 which is great, but the really scary part is 49% still voted for the same crap we have endured for eight years. I feel so disappointed in my fellow citizen’s judgment. It’s also telling how the more racist states were way out of step with the rest of the nation. Let’s hope Bush doesn’t give away the rest of the treasury before the Huxtable’s move into the White House.

    Reply
  30. humorous soup Avatar
    humorous soup

    Majority of Australian’s are happy with the outcome. Interesting to see how things go on planet Earth!

    Reply
  31. obskura Avatar
    obskura

    I’m glad the end of the world has been postponed until further notice… ๐Ÿ™‚

    just wondering – is there anyone famous you haven’t met, and anywhere interesting you haven’t been? whenever I see something and go "wow, that’s cool", sooner or later it appears in your photo stream… ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  32. Jens-Olaf Avatar
    Jens-Olaf

    I’v watched the speech in Chicago, awesome, he is not a "populist".

    Reply
  33. Apollo 11 Avatar
    Apollo 11

    The President of the United States is not the CEO of the country. The President is the country’s spiritual leader.

    Unfortunately, on so many levels, 9/11 made Bush such a leader. Obviously, he was never up to the task.

    Obama can make Americans feel good about themselves, at a time when they’re really going to need it. His power as an orator puts him in the rarified air of Clinton, Reagan, and Kennedy. I hope he lives up to his promise.

    Congratulations from up north.

    Reply
  34. Kevin Krejci Avatar
    Kevin Krejci

    ๐Ÿ˜‰ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  35. Jens-Olaf Avatar
    Jens-Olaf

    Why change matters. Andrew Hammel, an American expat in Germany describes exactly how I feel:

    Today I feel as if a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Being an expat while George W. Bush was president generated a constant background sense of unease. You never knew when you would next be verbally assaulted because of the President’s latest action. These unhinged ranters were bad enough, but the sincere, reasonable people were somehow worse. They would explain how they had long admired the United States, spend an enriching year there as an exchange student, kept up with American friends and acquaintances, and maintained a benevolent interest in all things American. They even gave George W. Bush the benefit of the doubt after 9/11. Then the lawlessness, brutality, and glib incompetence began eating away at their image of Bush, and the seeming acquiescence of ordinary Americans in Bush’s acts undermined their faith in the nation as a whole.

    His post.

    Reply
  36. maesk Avatar
    maesk

    On the day Iโ€™m inaugurated, the people in our country will look at ourselves differently, and people in other countries will look us differently.

    Indeed! Or as the New York Times put it:
    "For Many Abroad, an Ideal Renewed"

    Reply

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