By AMY GOODMAN

You could almost hear the world’s collective sigh of relief. This year’s U.S. presidential election was a global event in every sense. Barack Hussein Obama, the son of a black Kenyan father and a white Kansan mother, who grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii, represents to so many a living bridge — between continents and cultures. Perhaps the job that qualified him most for the presidency was not senator or lawyer, but the one most vilified by his opponents: community organizer, on the South Side of Chicago. As Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin mocked: “This world of threats and dangers is not just a community, and it doesn’t just need an organizer.”

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Mayor Pat McCrory:

The Charlotte Observer proclaimed that losing is new for Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory.

While that may be true, he isn’t the first Charlotte mayor to lose statewide. It happened to Richard Vinroot when he ran for governor, it happened to Harvey Gantt when he faced off against Jesse Helms, back when North Carolina wasn’t so blue.

Now that the mayor is unemployed — he gave up his Duke Energy job to seek higher office — and back to being the head of Charlotte full time, though it is a part-time job, what’s next for McCrory?

“My wife told me eight months ago what my future would be here in Charlotte and I’ll announce that later,” the mayor told WCNC-News Channel 36.

A call to McCrory’s press secretary wasn’t returned to Creative Loafing Friday afternoon to discuss what was in McCrory’s future.

One thing is certain — he’s still the mayor. For now at least — in 2009, if he decides to run for reelection again, he’s facing a challenge from At-Large City Councilman Anthony Foxx.

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Commissioner Dan Ramirez:

Ramirez was elected to the Board of County Commissioners twice in an at-large seat, but in this election he lost.

He says that his future plans include making up for the money he lost while he was in office.

“I’m going to work like crazy,” he said in a phone interview today. Ramirez owns a small engineering firm, which he said he’s going to focus 100 percent of his attention on right now.

“It sounds funny, but it is the truth. Fortunately, I have a life and I have a job and I have to make a living and I’ll be putting my time into my company,” he said.

As far as running for office in the future, he said it’s too early to talk about.

“You can never say never, but for the time being I just want to go ahead and take a respite and work in my office and we’ll see what happens.”

And though Ramirez doesn’t think the newly elected commissioners will take his advice, he does hope the board will delay the property reevaluation.

He says this community just can’t afford it right now.

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Creative Loafing is reaching out to election losers.

In a Time Magazine article released today, Sen. John McCain’s aide Mark Salter reflects on Tuesday’s loss.

The morning after John McCain’s defeat, Mark Salter, McCain’s closest aide and biographer, sipped coffee in the courtyard of the Biltmore Resort and Spa while explaining why the national political press had assisted Barack Obama. “On top of everything, we had a thumb on the scale,” he said, referring to the media’s role in refereeing the campaign. “It wasn’t right, but it was what it was.” (See pictures of John McCain’s campaign farewell.)

Salter argued, as he has for weeks in private conversations, that the press was skewed for several reasons. “McCain was the story they had covered. He was a 2000 news story,” Salter said, while Obama was the new guy. He said the press was also swayed by the possibility of America electing its first black President, who could get the country “past the old racial baggage we have lugged around for so many years.” “I understand that appeal,” Salter continued, sounding neither bitter nor upset. “I think McCain probably, as you can tell from his speech last night, felt part of that a little himself. And I think that required the press, then, to start rationalizing McCain into something he wasn’t.”

Salter went on to say that the media wanted to embarrass the shit out of McCain and it’s Obama’s fault.

The changes to how McCain campaigned were forced by the press, Salter argued. “The fact that we didn’t do the back-of-the-bus stuff is only a function that you guys really wouldn’t let us,” Salter said, referring to the media. “Once the cameras demanded to be there, it became, What can McCain say that we can circulate on the hour and embarrass the s___ out of him? So he just couldn’t do it, and it wasn’t a Bush hijacking or anything, it was recognizing reality. We were being mocked by the meta-narrative writers for being undisciplined, lacking a single central message.”

Salter said that McCain would have preferred to campaign in the general election in the same way he campaigned in New Hampshire, but that the press and Obama made that impossible. “I think if we had gotten 10 town halls out of Obama,” Salter said, “it would have come close to that. McCain’s ideal as a general would have been flying around on an airplane with Barack Obama, debating in town halls and having dinner with him afterwards.”

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America has a black president. The day that most people thought they would never see is here. A man of bi-racial descent — an African-American in the truest sense of the word, will lead America for the next four years. It is a sobering moment, because we all know that the honeymoon will end and the real work will begin, but it sure feels nice.

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It’s been a tough year for newspapers. Then Sen. Barack Obama became president-elect and you couldn’t find a newspaper anywhere.

The Charlotte Observer was sold out yesterday and had to run a second printing. It was the same story across the country.

For a change, the black man on the front page wasn’t a killer, athlete, rapist or singer. He’s the next president of the United States. I’m not saying the black man single-handedly saved the daily papers, but he came pretty close.

Too bad Creative Loafing is a weekly! Damn!

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Better late than never, North Carolina joined the blue states, pushing Barack Obama’s electoral vote count to 364. According to NPR.org, John McCain received 2,109,281 popular votes while Obama received 2,123,334 — a difference of only 14,053.

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I’m happy to say that in the end, the people didn’t fall for it. They didn’t fall for the horrible ads, in which Dole’s campaigners cut-and-pasted words from different speeches to make Kay Hagan say, “There is no God!” They didn’t fall for the ads comparing Hagan to a little barking terrier, before moving on to how well respected Dole is in Washington.

Last week I wrote a blog saying that if there was a God, he would strike down Elizabeth Dole for that ridiculous ad claiming Hagan’s campaign was using “Godless money,” whatever that is. From the looks of her things duringher concession speech last night, Dole just might have been struck by lightning.

On Monday night, I braved pouring rain, a longer line than any voting location could hold and crazy pro-lifers with photoshopped pictures of babies looking just like the ones who rang my doorbell on Friday night, all to hear Barack Obama speak at UNCC. I got a special surprise to hear Kay Hagan speak first to the huge crowds settling into the muddy fields in front of Duke Centennial Hall. She gave a great speech and I was surprised at the amount of people truly cheering her on, not just waiting around for the big guy to get there. The biggest response to Hagan came when she told the crowd to help her send Dole a new pair of ruby red slippers to send her back to Kansas. Thinking of this moment gave me a great feeling to hear her tell her supporters back in Greensboro last night that she was looking for a new pair of slippers, because she gave hers away. A nice way of rubbing it in to the woman who spent the last weeks of her campaign, and probably her political career, desperately slandering Kay Hagan’s name.

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President-Elect Barack Obama’s historic win has people all over the country — and all over town — talking. To get a handle on the conversations swirling about regarding the big national and local races, Creative Loafing checked in with some of Charlotte’s best and brightest movers, shakers and tastemakers. Here’s what they had to say:

Chris Jenkins, editor/founder of CharlotteVibe.com: “I just pray that America isn’t too wrapped up in watching what Barack does for change. Individuals must realize that they have a responsibility to carry out the change.”

Jason Keath, DesignCharlotte: “I look forward to a new America — one that works together to solve the many problems that we face, instead of against one another and against the world.”

Martin Barry, Charlotte Roller Girls: “I am glad the the people of our country have chosen hope over fear. This is a HUGE and promising moment in American history.”

Author AlTonya Washington: “Beautiful, just beautiful. I couldn’t be more proud, more blessed. It’s
just fantastic and I think I’m going to feel this way for the next four years.”

Teresa Hernandez of Pura Vida Worldly Art: “I am so excited. Obama was a person I was voting for and hoping would get elected. What I see is a lot of hope coming back to Americans in terms of the economy and I think a lot of accountability and responsibility, which is really important. I think his message was that it wasn’t just up to him to save the country, it was up to all of us. And I think that he makes everyone feel that we all have a hand to get things better, not just with jobs and education, but with families and working together.”

Elizabeth Isenhour, marketing and public relations manager at the Mint Museum: “It was so exciting and emotional to see him get elected as president. This was the first time that my husband and I had actually got involved with volunteering with any political campaign, and it was all the more inspiring when he got elected because we felt like we’d actually been a part of it.”

Tom Hollis, chair-Drama/Arts & Communication Division-Central Piedmont Community College: “I haven’t stayed up late to watch an election in a decade. It was an exciting moment to witness and to see the enthusiasm. My daughter voted for the first time ever and she’d been eligible to vote before, but nothing had really sparked it for her. The students are really over the moon today. But, personally I’m just thrilled at the outcome and to see this kind of thing.”

Dwayne Collins, chairman of The Black Political Caucus: “Pleased for the most part of the results of the election on the local, state and federal level. 90 percent of the candidates we endorsed won seats last night.”

Brett Furniss, BDF Realty: “I wonder how long it is going to take Mayor McCrory to get the knife out of his back from Mecklenburg County voters. He knows Charlotte’s issues, is a six-time mayor, has done (by all accounts) a tremendous job, and his opponent trashes Charlotte’s neediness to the rest of the state – yet Mecklenburg supports Bev Perdue? Congrats straight ticket voters: Our roads should be here by 2025.”

Chip Decker, Actors Theatre of Charlotte: “Yea Obama! Yea Hagan! Nick Mackey? Really? Nick Mackey?!”

Mike Hendrix, musician, columnist for Cold Fury: “I for one welcome our new radical/communist/terrorist overlords. Obama still has not cured this morning’s hangover for me — and believe me, something must be done. Yet the federal government sits back and takes no action at all, heartlessly allowing the inhuman suffering to continue. This is not change I can believe in; this is not the America I thought I knew. I hereby declare his administration an utter failure.”

Rob Tavaglione, owner, Catalyst Recording: “After eight years of abuse from ‘President Cheney,’ the good news had trouble sinking in with me at first. Now that it has, I’m filled with a renewed optimism and my greatest hope is that affordable health care becomes available to all Americans, especially the many musicians who desperately need it.”

Armen S. Boyajian, jazz violinist, pianist & leader, Air Apparent: “I’m proud to be an American and to have helped elect Barack Obama as President. I think he’s thoughtful, reflective and, above all, a highly intelligent and analytical candidate. Let’s hope that we can add fortitude to the list of adjectives, as he has a mighty tall order ahead of him as president, with the economy and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to contend with. But I think, above all, after a disastrous eight years under GW, it has to improve, and hopefully he will institute public works projects such as highway construction that will help the economy.”

DJ Johnnie Davis: “This is exactly the kind of change that America needs right now. I’m not only proud to have witnessed it, but to be part of such a historic moment in time that will be remembered for generations to come.”

Nikki Thompson, Nikki’s Tattoo Studio: “As a small business owner, every month when I write the withholding tax check to the IRS, I see firsthand how expensive taxes are to the people who make the least income to begin with. I’ve had to pay for my own health insurance for almost 20 years. It’s expensive and covers very little. The need for change in our current tax and healthcare systems is one of the many reasons I am so happy Barack Obama is our new president. I really believe he will turn our country around in time.”

Wendy Fishman, Director of Film and Video, The Light Factory: “I was initially skeptical of our electorate’s ability to choose Barack Obama for the next president, but then as I viewed the enthusiasm and participated in the work for this transformative candidate, my skepticism shifted to hopefulness, last night to tears of joy and today to a sigh of relief that a majority of the American public is returning to its senses.”

Commissioner Bill James (R, District 6): “I think it is more of the same and locally will provide me with a target rich environment for the next two years. Obama won’t be able to deliver on his promises because there isn’t any money. He can’t pull out of Iraq without allowing Iran to swoop in. If he does, Israel will attack and he will be in the same place Bush was in 2001 (fighting a different global war he can’t win). The more he talks of withdrawal the higher the likelihood Israel will preemptively attack to protect his own interests. He and Nancy Pelosi promised a balanced budget by 2012 (4 years) while at the same time proposing a slew of new programs. If he prints money, inflation will hit us like it hit Argentina in the 1970s. If he doesn’t — no new programs. He will do what all presidents do: little real change but claim victory. Whether the progressive blogging heads allow him to do this without a fight I don’t know. Politicians promise the world to get into office and then never deliver when in. Whether they are [Democrats] or [Republicans], it is the same game just a different label. The only politician I had any faith in was Ronald Reagan and he still screwed up with the S and L crisis. I told my friend Norman Mitchell to be wary. He can be proud that a black man made it to the White House, but if he expects smooth sailing and everything he wants, he will be sadly disappointed. The best thing for the GOP is to be thankful that the Democrats purged the GOP ranks of the weak, the ‘moderate’ and the collaborators. That is a VERY good thing. Most (but not all) of the GOP that lost were in the above category. The election reminded me of 1992 (when the level of Ds in Congress was the same). The question is whether Obama will overstep the way that Clinton did (with homos in the military and Hillary’s healthcare). If he does, his win will evaporate before their eyes.
On the local level, the Democrats have occasionally won all three at-large seats (in 1998 for example). They lost the one extra seat two years later and the one that goes down to defeat is, in every recent election, been the black candidate. The mix of voters will be different in two years and the bloom will be off Obama’s rose in much the same way the bloom was off Clinton’s in 1994. Clinton was the ‘first black president’ right? Jim Richardson couldn’t do it. Wilhelmenia Rembert couldn’t do it, Darrel Williams couldn’t do it and I doubt that Harold Cogdell will be able to either. Especially since resident CMS rage machines Vilma Leake and George Dunlap will now do to the Democrats on the County Commission what they did to the School Board. It is in their nature. To borrow Dunlap’s reasons for beating up on white women, it was just ‘instinct.’ I couldn’t write this stuff any better.
I am very pleased that the homo marriages have been killed black flag dead — evidently even in California (land of fruits and nuts). In an era of ‘diversity,’ electing a black president, a liberal and a liberal Congress, voters across America killed off the idea that homos should be allowed to marry (or adopt children) or are equals. It shows that the public’s decision about Obama was not based on his liberalism but rather on fear of the economy and his attempts to run as a moderate. If he sticks to that he will have some success. People vote based on fear, which has always been a much bigger motivator than any other factor. In this election, it was fear of the economic collapse that helped Obama. He can try his hand at ‘fixing’ things, but what is wrong with America is more than a slogan of ‘Yes We Can.’ The Democrats have been in charge in Charlotte for so long that do you really think it will make that much difference whether the vote is 5-4 or 6-3? Will Dan Ramirez versus Harold Cogdell make that much of a difference? No way. In 1998 I was in office two years and the number of Democrats on the Board was 7-2. I could handle them so I don’t think 6-3 will be any problem with the George and Vilma brain trust in full view of the public. In many respects, this upcoming board stands a very good chance of being a conservative GOP’s best friend. Either way — I received 50,490 votes which is 50,490 reasons to keep on doing what I do so well.”

Scott Pacitti President/Founder of The Chuckleheads/Actor’s Crib: “Even though it is not my usual mindset to be politically optimistic I am hopeful that the election of Barack Obama does signal a change in the ‘politics as usual’ that we (the American public) have become used to. I voted for Mr. Obama because I was impressed with the enthusiasm that he seemed to inspire in others and his general positivity and optimism. Now it is just a matter of time until we see if he is swallowed up into the ‘Washington politics machine’ like a majority of his recent predecessors or if he transcends his position and becomes an American icon or just an above-average president. For my sake and the sake of my family, friends, and those I love I sure hope he achieves the latter.”

Torch, founder, Purgatory/Single Cell: “I hope the sense of patriotism and unity I saw and felt on Election Day continues into his presidency and that this incoming class of legislators takes the charge of the American people to change the business as usual politics seriously. I have no illusions that the same people that voted for sweeping changes in the government this time will vote their asses right back out if things aren’t changed.”

Micah Davidson, marketing director, Double Door Inn: “To be someone who is trying to change the world ‘one music scene at a time,’ it is really beautiful to see that when the world really opens its eyes … and realizes that true change comes from within … and when we all change inside together, we can start making the world a better place together as well. We all — one nation, all at once — understood the true meaning of coming together for the support of growth, forward thinking and most importantly — change. I am really looking forward to the future and the opportunity this change really brings to us all. I saw a bumper sticker last week with this phrase, which sums it up for me: ‘We must BE the change we WISH the world could see.’”

Monica “Mo” Samalot, drummer, Paleface: “Whether you like it or not, change has come … Now it’s time for all Americans to support our new President and work in harmony towards building a brighter tomorrow.”

Dennis Darrell, president, Reel Soul Cinema: “I am incredibly enthused by the election results as well as the promise these results hold for our future. I look forward to our nation uniting to help solve some of the real issues we’re currently faced with. On a global scale, it will feel good to once again carry a big stick and use it sensibly — something the world can comfortably get behind. The election results have also caused me to ponder the oft heard clichéd plea to be judged by the content of one’s character and not by the color of their skin … well, damn! … it just happened for the highest office in the land. Lastly, I hope Obama’s presidency marks the end of caricature filled black films like Who’s Your Caddy? OK, I’m getting ahead of myself, as that is likely not to happen. But a brother can have the audacity of hope, can’t he?”

Lindy Dobbins, singer/songwriter/guitarist, Lindy Dobbins & the Red Velvet Manx: “I’m an Independent, mainly because I believe in the importance of balance — all natural systems move toward equilibrium, so I feel that man-made institutions should imitate that model, as well. Obama’s election implies a long-overdue move towards balance on multiple levels for this country and for the world. Besides, at this point, the bar for improvement has been set so painfully low that if he can simply pronounce the word ‘nuclear’ properly, then we can all rest assured that it can only get better from here. For me, January can’t come soon enough.”

Michael Kitchen, promoter/owner of the Sol Kitchen: “I feel great. I never thought I would see this in my lifetime because of the way people think in our society. No one is comfortable with each other because of stereotypes. With that said, not to mention Obama being elected, this country should be able to move forward. Alot of doors will be open now and that’s a good feeling.”

Dave Harlequin, Single Cell Productions & GraveyardGirls.net: “I honestly think it really shows how far America has come as a society by voting for the best candidate based on his political ideals rather than something as irrelevant as race or aesthetics. I personally look forward to seeing the ‘change’ we’ve heard so much about, and I truly hope that President Obama lives up to all the hype.”

*More to come

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The 2008 general election is over. But North Carolina is still in play. While President-elect Barack Obama has a lead in the state, it’s still being classed as too close to call by the majority of the news media.
Johnnie McLean of the State Board of Elections said the certified results of the presidential election will be ready on Nov. 25th.
“We don’t anticipate that anything will change between now and that time, but we do have a careful and very methodical procedure by which results are certified.”
Meaning that it’s pretty safe to unofficially “call” North Carolina for Obama.
But, the unofficial results from the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections show these winners and losers in our county:

President:
Obama/Biden (DEM)
61.83% 252,642
McCain/Palin (REP)
37.44% 152,957
Barr/Root (LIB)
0.46% 1,891
WRITE-IN
0.27% 1,092

U.S. Senate:
Kay Hagan (DEM)
61.59% 248,454
Elizabeth Dole (REP)
35.47% 143,059
Christopher Cole (LIB)
2.89% 11,652
WRITE-IN
0.05% 211

U.S. House of Representatives, District 8:
Larry Kissell (DEM)
74.80% 34,560
Robert C. (Robin) Hayes (REP)
25.20% 11,642

U.S. House of Representatives, District 9:
Harry Taylor (DEM)
40.59% 98,106
Sue Myrick (REP)
57.56% 139,110
Andy Grum (LIB)
1.85% 4,477

U.S. House of Representatives, District 12:
Mel Watt (DEM)
81.19% 89,750
Ty Cobb, Jr. (REP)
18.81% 20,792

The governor’s race was somewhat of a surprise in Mecklenburg County where current Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory was expected to win big in his back yard, but according to the BOE’s data, it was very close and Perdue squeezed out a 1 percent victory in Mecklenburg County.

Governor:
Bev Perdue (DEM)
49.04% 198,631
Pat McCrory (REP)
48.94% 198,246
Michael C. Munger (LIB)
2.02% 8,184

Lt. Governor:
Walter H. Dalton (DEM)
56.37% 222,776
Robert Pittenger (REP)
41.21% 162,869
Phillip Rhodes (LIB)
2.42% 9,553

In some key state house races, the incumbents won without much fanfare, but in District 99, embattled politician and lightning rod of controversy Nick Mackey won a seat in Raleigh.

Nick Mackey (DEM)
65.34% 28,008
Dempsey Miller (REP)
34.66% 14,858

Beverly Earle will continue to serve Charlotte, even if she isn’t the mayor of the city. She clobbered her Republican challenger in the election.

Beverly Miller Earle (DEM)
79.30% 30,064
Beth Marlin (REP)
20.70% 7,846

On the county level, it looks as if the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners is turning bluer.

At Large:
Harold Cogdell, Jr. (DEM)
18.95% 208,018
Dan Murrey (DEM)
19.17% 210,381
Jennifer Roberts (DEM)
21.19% 232,582
Hal Jordan (REP)
12.93% 141,894
Dan Ramirez (REP)
13.92% 152,755
Susan Walker (REP)
13.84% 151,894

District Two:
Vilma D. Leake (DEM)
75.86% 41,070
Tim McLeod (REP)
24.14% 13,072

To see the results from all races decided yesterday, log on to www.meckboe.org.

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