Today it’s back to reality for us all. But it’s nice to know that the First Family had some downtime too. During their vacation in Hawaii the POTUS Barack Obama and family enjoyed both the beauty of nature and the biggest blockbuster of the moment with a viewing of “Avatar”. Glad to see he’s rested, the battle continues in 2010.

Former First Lady Nancy Reagan (now 87 and quite frail), made a rare appearance at the White House yesterday (in her trademark red). She stood by as the President Obama created the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission, a panel which will design and carry out activities that will mark the 100th year of Reagan’s birth. All I can say is our POTUS is one hell of a statesman. The Reagan years were particularly tough on our folks.

Well turns out it is a good thing that I didn’t have a ticket from my Congressional representative to see the swearing in of our 44th President at The Capital today. I had the misfortune, or shall I saw the fortune to have been dropped off on the more privileged side of the festivities and I saw all those folks in line waiting to get into their perspective sections. I was kind of envious for a second. (I saw the news much later about the gate in the Purple section never opening as well as some mishaps in other sections as well). But I decided to focus instead. Read the full story

This will be an historic Inauguration in a number of ways. One that I wasn’t expecting is that our President-elect will be immortalized in a special edition of the Marvel comic featuring the web-slinging crime fighter. This historic pairing pays homage to the fact that Barack Obama collected comic books when he was a child, and Spider-Man was one of his favorites. This is the first time a President will be featured in a Marvel comic book. The only other time it was considered was after Richard Nixon’s fall from grace. Read the full story

There is no doubt that 2008 was the year of President-Elect Barack Obama (and Future FLOTUS Michelle Obama too). (Or should I say Obamarama as the folks over at the late, great site Sterohyped used to say.) The historic and successful campaign, the controversies (who can forget The New Yorker cover and Barack the Magic Negro), and the smart, skilled way Michelle won over those who had labeled her an ABW (angry black woman). Anyway, this post is not about the Obama’s, instead let’s take a look at some of the other stories that captured our attention (for good or for bad) in 2008. Read the full story

Attention, all you entertainers angling for a spot on the historic Inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama, it looks like most (if not all) of the slots have been filled. Rumor had it that an invitation was extended to fellow Chicago native Jennifer Hudson, but given the recent tragic events that have impacted her family, she may have declined. Or maybe that was wishful thinking on our parts. Instead, it looks like the Inaguration is actually going a more established route. And with royalty no less. Read the full story

On the eve of the election, it seems that journalists are as interested in the reel world as there are in real life. How else would you explain that they’re turning to fictionalized characters to explain Senator Barack Obama’s potential impact as a President. Read the full story

If only the citizens of the world could cast their votes in this upcoming Presidential election. According to a recent poll conducted by the BBC, of the 22 nations queried, all of them would prefer the Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama over Senator John McCain. Read the full story

I can’t say I am surprised that The New Yorker chose to depict Barack Obama as a flag-burning Muslim. Even if the editor David Remnick thinks its satire the message goes over folk’s head. I was watching a CNN report on the elections on Friday where a reporter went around to various cities to take the pulse of its citizens about the candidates. His last stop left Campbell Brown, the reporter and the audience stunned into silence. Here’s what happened: The reporter asked the older white woman why has a life-long Democrat she’s decided to vote for McCain. Her reply was “Because I think he’s a Muslim.” The jaw-dropping statement came from her male friend who said that he doesn’t think a black man could make change. That is, unless he has a cup in his hand.
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One thing became clear to me during this brouhaha involving Senator Barack Obama and the Reverend Jeremiah Wright—there’s some throwback thinking afoot. Remember when the thoughts, appearance and actions of a black man or woman stood as THE example for the entire black race? Well at least it seemed that way. Because in our parents and grandparents generations everyone thought it was a good thing to be “a credit to his or her race” or a “good race man or woman.” Of course we also called ourselves Negro or colored too. We may no longer use those words but their history and meaning are buried in our bones. And the remnants of those attitudes pop up at the most interesting times, like during this election campaign. Now however, this retro thinking is creating some polarizing and pitiful results. Read the full story