give a thought for those who didn't live to see this, but should have.

[ulysses]

Be at peace, friends. The night has been long, but the dawn is here.

:toast:

[H2O Man]

1. Nominated.

I have been thinking along those same lines.

Enjoy this day.

[lamp_shade]

2. Peace and sunshine, Toot.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

3. I'm thinking of Wellstone...Paul led to Dean, Dean led to Obama. The dream lives on.

It was reading Wellstone's excellent 'Conscience of a Liberal' that made me give up my jaded third party ways and believe in a real effort to bring progressive change to both the Democratic party and the nation

[ulysses]

6. Molly Ivins...generations of African-Americans who wouldn't have dreamt it...

George Wallace...:evilgrin:...

[lamp_shade]

4. Some may disagree, but I wish Tim Russert was here. n/t

[MassLiberal]

18. me too

[lamp_shade]

31. Ann Richards

[kath]

49. Oh, Jeebus H. Christ.

educate yourself a bit. Read.

[Curtland1015]

5. Thousands of great Americans died dreaming of this day.

Brave men and women who never gave up hope.

God bless them all.

[SeattleGirl]

7. My mom.

She passed away in February of this year.

She would have voted for Obama.

My vote for him is dedicated to her.

[lamp_shade]

34. Mine too. She passed away a year ago 11/1. She would have loved this day.

[Democat]

8. Studs Terkel and Ida Goldberg, RIP

So sad they didn't make it to see this election, but what a life they lived.

[watrwefitinfor]

9. Medgar Evers

has been on my mind a lot lately.

And those freedom riders, black and white, who gave their lives for the right to vote. A right which still isn't secure.

Wat

[Democat]

10. Kurt Vonnegut, RIP

The man changed so many of us with his writing. I don't know if Obama read Vonnegut's books, but I would be very surprised if he didn't.

[kenziemom06]

11. Today is my father's 71st birthday...

He passed away 20 years ago, but he marched with Dr. King in
Washington, and was a Freedom Rider before that, and taught me
what it means to judge people based on the content of their
character, not the color of their skin.  Today would have been
one of the happiest days of his life, just all of the hope and
possibility in the air, and I know his spirit is here.  Wish
he was here in person, though.  

[MassLiberal]

16. It's good luck that today is his birthday

Peace to you.

[xenussister]

27. That's so beautiful

All of these stories and tributes are beautiful. I'm a newbie here, I've been jumping from place to place to place reading political and election news and message boards. This is the most moving thread I've come across. Thank you all.

I think my mom would have liked Obama, but I was so young when she died that we never talked politics.

[yardwork]

53. Welcome to DU!

[renate]

58. welcome to DU!

:hi:

Today is kind of bittersweet, in a way, isn't it--thinking of the people who would have been so happy to see this day, especially Obama's grandmother, but also Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Molly Ivins, Paul Wellstone... well, really, we could go all the way back to the days before the Civil War, really, to slaves and abolitionists who wouldn't be able to believe that this is happening.

Knowing how joyful they would be to see this makes me even happier, on their behalf. This is truly a wonderful day for reasons beyond the end of the Bush regime and the restoration of government for the people.

[Berry Cool]

12. I like to think my mother would have liked Obama

and that if her life had lasted longer than it did, and she was living it now much as she did before she died, watching a lot of television and being depressed by the majority of things she saw on it, he would have been a ray of sunshine to her in that she would have believed he was a smart person who could make a difference in this country. I like to think she would have seen some FDR in him. Because some FDR is what we need.

[nuxvomica]

13. My dad, who passed nearly two years ago

Having been born and raised in upstate NY by Sicilian immigrants, I don't think he had ever met an African-American before enlisting in the Army. During World War II, while commanding a troop train that ran from Shreveport to Fort Dix carrying war veterans on their way to discharge, it had stopped in a Southern town for dinner and he argued with the restaurant owners to let the African-American soldiers eat in the dining room. It was a clash between Army regulations combined with my father's then naive assertion that "these men had fought for our country" and deserved every privilege in it, and the law in the Jim Crow South. The soldiers themselves broke the impasse, offering to find a place to eat in the "coloured" part of town and refusing their meal vouchers, which were "no good there."
He hadn't told me this story until he was dying. I think he was ashamed he hadn't done more and I think he was ashamed of his country that it had even occurred. He had seen up close the great wound that has hobbled this nation since its birth. Now it seems that there's a possibility of it healing and the air today is thick and heavy with such ghosts.

[yardwork]

55. My former father-in-law, the son of eastern European immigrants, would have felt the same way today.

I'm sorry that he didn't live to see this. He was a strong liberal Democrat and would have been very happy to see Obama elected.

[These Eyes]

66. My father (passed in 1991) told me a similar story…

He said that he was on a train, on his way back to Mississippi, after fighting in WWII. He and other black soldiers couldn't get anything to eat because of Jim Crow laws. He said that he asked a black man who was walking down the street where the "colored" section of town was. He was able to get some fruit and a couple of loaves of bread and that's all they had to eat. By the time they arrived home, most of them were sick.

I've been thinking about him a lot during this campaign. He would have been so excited to vote for Obama!

[Dinger]

14. Paul Wellstone

[MassLiberal]

15. My dad, who's been gone since 1992

He would have turned 80 on October 13, and he died way too young. A loyal, hardworking, kickass Dem, he would have been incredibly charged up about this election. He had me holding signs for Humphrey at the polls in the '60s (I was a kid) and always used to say, "You CAN fight city hall." He worked hard for Mike Dukakis, when the Duke was governor of Massachusetts, and our house was always overflowing with voting lists and hosting organizational campaign meetings for various candidates.

My dad taught me what it means to be a Dem.

[IndianaJones]

17. Richard Pryor. nt.

[Democat]

19. Rosa Parks also died between 2004 and this election

:patriot: RIP :patriot:

[WritersBlock]

20. My Mama.

She'd have loved Barack.

[blondeatlast]

50. My mom did and my dad would have. tomorrow, I hope to share the wonderful news with her at her grave

I saved an Obama sticker for her flowers...

What a great day this promises to be!

[blondeatlast]

51. My mom did and my dad would have. tomorrow, I hope to share the wonderful news with her at her grave

I saved an Obama sticker for her flowers...

What a great day this promises to be!

[stuntcat]

21. my grandmother and my dad

especially Grandma, she would have loved it!

[stuntcat]

22. and Nina Simone

O8)

[cjsmom44]

23. MLK JFK RFK

Definitely Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy....

[Connie_Corleone]

24. My mother and Grandfather.

My grandfather went through a lot of hell in the South, even when he got out of the Navy after WWII. He would've been amazed at what's about to happen. He would love every minute of today.

[abburdlen]

25. Jesse Helms

I know it's poor taste to put his name along side the others listed but part of me wishes he could have seen Obama win North Carolina.


As it is, I'll have to resign myself to imagining him spinning in his grave.

[watrwefitinfor]

46. What a great photo of Obama in the Gantt t-shirt!

Do you suppose he campaigned for Harvey? I lived in Charlotte when Gantt was mayor, and he did so well for Charlotte. Was heartbroken when he lost the senate race.

That seems so long ago...

Wat

[abburdlen]

48. the state sure has changed

it's one of my favorite Obama pics. In The 1990 NC Senate campaign was the first time I got involved in politics and vividly recall the wild-eyed hope then crushing defeat in that election.
Obama was still at Harvard at the time so I doubt he actively campaigned for Gantt but seeing him sporting the same t-shirt I was wearing nearly 2 decades ago brings a smile to my face.

[yardwork]

56. I'll say a prayer for Jesse. Maybe he's seen the light.

[Window]

26. Abraham, Martin and John, and all those between and after; especially

Barack's mom, grandfather and dear Toots. All my ancesters.



The Blood Of Jesus!!!!

[grace0418]

28. My dad died in December of 1999, so thankfully he didn't have to live through

BushCo either. My dad was not perfect by any means, but he was a staunch Dem. He would've loved this. He really would've.

[TwilightZone]

29. Ann Richards

I would have loved to hear her thoughts on an Obama presidency and the end of the Bush administration.

[Forkboy]

30. I can think of 4,189 people.

[yardwork]

57. Rest in peace, all of you sons and daughters of the country.

[ulysses]

68. yes, indeed. nice call.

[ThatsMyBarack]

71. And counting....

I thank them for their service. :patriot:

[all.of.me]

32. They are watching from another place. They won't miss a thing. nt

[Virginia Dare]

33. I'm thinking of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. today...

he is the man who paved the way for this to happen in this country...and so many suffered and died before him, I'm thinking of them as well. I'm thinking of my parents who were shunned by their neighbors in the 60's for having black friends and inviting them into their home. I'm thinking of so many people, but especially our children and grandchildren, who will have a totally different view of the world than we did.

:patriot:

[grannylib]

35. My dad, who would be so proud today, and my daughter, gone 10 years and 10 months today...

I know they are both watching and rejoicing, along with my dear father-in-law...and with Barack's beloved Toot, and MLK, and RFK and Medgar Evers and Goodman, Schwerner and Cheney...all the folks who fought so hard to ensure that this day would someday come!!

[Democat]

36. Hunter S. Thompson left us in 2005

Another great one who should have seen this day.

[RT Atlanta]

37. Dr. and Mrs. King

Would have smiles on their faces today.

[lukasahero]

38. This one's for alarcojon

He would loved to have been a part of this.

[Bushwick Bill]

39. Great Uncle (My Grandpa's Bro) Voted Tuesday, Died Thursday.

Here's to ya, Uncle Leo. :toast:

[ramapo]

40. Says it all

Simple and to the point. I could write paragraphs about how I feel today but ulysses' 14 words couldn't have said it better. Thanks

[crazylikafox]

41. My Dad, a community organizer in the '50's.

He's been gone for 17 years now, but I still cried when I thought of him as I voted for Obama.

[Bertha Venation]

42. Martin Luther & Coretta Scott King

RIP

[Waiting For Everyman]

43. My husband is one less Obama vote, he passed away this year.

A VN combat vet, 100% disabled for 25 years, 100% Democrat. We wouldn't have even been able to buy our home 12 years ago if it wasn't for help from Senator Barb Mikulski. She was there every time the VA tried to do him in, which was roughly a dozen times over the years. I'll be taking him along with me in spirit though, when I go vote in about an hour. He hated McC for sealing the records of the left-behind POW/MIAs. He'd be very happy if there's a thorough McC thrashing today.

This vote's for you, Dave! Double!

[PVnRT]

44. Indiana is going blue for khephra

Mark it down.

[ronnykmarshall]

45. My brother,

[No Elephants]

47. "I may not get there with you...." I have lived to see a new milleniums and, by tomorrow, I will

have lived to see an African American elected President. Praise God. Only problem? He just may be overqualified!!!

[spanone]

52. george carlin

[Javaman]

54. Emmit Till. nt

[SweetieD]

59. My dad and my grandma would have loved to see this day!

My dad especially. He was very politically aware.

[ljm2002]

60. Molly Ivins tops my list...

...RIP, beautiful soul.

On the other hand, people who *did* get to live to see the day, include Gore Vidal, who years ago predicted that George W. Bush would leave the office as the most despised president ever. You nailed it, Mr. Vidal, and good on ya!!!

[cyndensco]

61. Thurgood Marshall.

A true fighter and hero.

[democrank]

62. DU`s Monkeyman

~RIP~

[Blue_Tires]

63. my grandfather:

born in D.C. after his people moved up from south Georgia, served in WWII, and settled in Charlottesville...he died on the 4th of July 2007 and even that recently, he never would have dared to dream what has happened in the 16 short months since then...

[LisaLynne]

64. My dad. nt

[Haole Girl]

65. Here comes the sun!!

:toast:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZtQh5EIgWQ

[luvs2sing]

67. My mom, although I'm sure that by now...

she's tracked down her hero, Molly Ivins, and they're having the time of their after-lives watching it all unfold. O8) O8)

[ismnotwasm]

69. K&R

[ThatsMyBarack]

70. *Harold Washington!*

You know, Chicago's first black mayor. He died the day before Thanksgiving in 1987. O8) :patriot: