This is true that Obama getting selected as Pres. And it is true that ALOT of people left to see him.

i hope everyone who has a spot in this book is happy, as i lost my place and my project was removed as my computer was broken and couldnt giver them my permission to place my work in the book. im soo gutted! now no one can read it!!! crycrycrycrycry

Attention!! anyone who was part of this project:  There are only 3 reviews of this book on Amazon.  I think it would be nice if those who contributed to this great piece, as well as those who have read and enjoyed it, submitted a review on Amazon to tell how great it is!  I did!  ~  Becky

it feels pretty awesome having been chosen as one of the published writers in this book and to be chosen from such a wonderful collection of submissions makes me feel great.  i recieved a copy of this book today and it tops my feelings for how i felt the day i wrote the poem that sits tucked inside this wonderful collection.  just wanted to say thanks, i'll keep writing if somebody else keeps reading.....peace

personally i think this is a great short essay, sorry it took me so long to write about it....

Any updates on the status of this one?

Yay Obama!!!

As all of us who are at a young age and are forced to go to public schools will all know that this would also be considered as 'Teacher Prep Day' so NO SCHOOL!
Not many take the time to realize the immense occasion that happens on this school-free day every year...MY BIRTHDAY!!!

I'd much rather have Dennis Kucinich as president.

When will we find out which articles are going to be published?

People of America unless this president gets verbal supprt from all Americans no change will come. Voice to all government leaders in your states you want a working government for all American`s
 To change america all three american powers must wrok together . This mean`s all people all business to go with a people`s working government.. President Obama is rioght together we can heal this nation of all povery for all Americans.
 People must become involved with American change to support president Obama. To make America strong again all people must wrok together to end all forms of poverty in America.

 Its true for all Americans of God of Jesus together well will stand proud . Apart america will continue to fall.  God bless America. The love of God of Jesus is for all the American people.

is it going to be open for public vote or is it you guys doing the voting? Thanks so much for this project, gave me a subject of passion to write on. thank you!

January 19th, 2009.– Final Day of George W. Bush

        This is a strange day indeed.  Not strange in the sense that the day is wretched.  The exact opposite really.  After all, it is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and President- elect Obama is in Washington this very instant being photographed next to the Lincoln Memorial in DC.  It’s a big moment for him.  The first black president on a momentous day, on the eve of his inauguration. 
        What’s strange is that we must now learn to say goodbye to George W. Bush.  Can’t say I’ll miss him much.  But I will say that my hate and rage has relented over these past few months.  Ol’ George looks so beaten and frail these days.  For good reason, I suppose: because he is.  These last few months have been quiet ones for him, barely uttering a word, just counting the days before Obama takes his place. 
        We’ve seen none of the sturdy, unwavering talk of 2003 and 2004 when he said, “bring em’ on!”, which every Islamic radical in the world heard, and took to heart.  No more of the cocksure images of Bush who rode on an aircraft carrier claiming “Mission Accomplished” before really knowing what he’d gotten himself into. 
        I suppose I could keep going all day, insulting and slandering the man till my fingers go numb and my teeth fall out.  Lord knows there was enough mishap in this presidency to last an eternity in the universe of sound bites and youtube. 
        But it’s hard for me to know what to make of all this yet.  I’m still coming to terms that someone I loathe will no longer be in office.  It was so easy before.  I could look at all the terrible things gone wrong in this country and vent it all upon Ol’ Bushy.  I’ll no longer have that opportunity.  All evil in this world had a face, and it started with Bush and Cheney.  Perhaps I am over exaggerating.  Evil is a delicate word. I want to treat the word carefully.  I don’t want to act as our soon-to-be-former-president has acted over much of this decade. 
        It is a word George Bush was not careful in phrasing over these past few years.  Everyone who was against us was an “evil doer” in Bush’s eyes.  Everyone for us, say Britain: commendable loyalists. 
        This large world was so black and white for this man.  Good/evil, friend/foe, etc.  He was, and very much is, a simpleton.  That is not a kind word.  I think of Forest Gump when I say it.  But this is exactly what George Bush is.  And for many of us, this is not news, but a stone-cold fact of life that we’ve had to deal with for eight years. 
        I am imagining the debacle from the beginning: the national debate, in and out of court, for months after the 2000 presidential election.  It was just the first of many historic events in the Bush/Cheney presidency.  This was when politics became truly hateful, what some call Rovian tactics, and another example of simplification on Bush’s part: Us vs. Them, friend/foe. 
        Simplification breeds inflexibility, and in these modern times, we can’t afford inflexibility. 
        Gore pleaded for a recount, citing mis-communication at polls, disenchanted voters and voter fraud in Florida.  Bush’s people called him a “sore loser.”  They demanded this sort of deliberation foolish and that delay was not good for the country.  Were these the same slobs who demanded John Lennon’s “Give Peace A Chance” be swiped from the airwaves in the months following 9/11?  God damn them for saying that!
        Oh god, must I go on!  If I were to continue in this fashion I’d be writing the linear history of this sinister-fuck-up-presidency.  I’ve got eight years of mishap to go: Iraq, Katrina, Guantanamo, Abu Gharaib,  ......    I’ve already lived through this heartache and shame.  Must I relive it again?  It’s too much.  My heart can’t take it.  My heart is filling with hate and rage this very instant.  But I know now is not the time.  So I must focus on other things.  Bright and hopeful things, for it is a bright and shiny day outside of my window here in Grand Rapids, MI.., snowy and cold, but sunny, which is unusual for January.
        I believe Obama will do a fine job as president, but only time will tell.  He’s inheriting many of the problems that were once George Bush’s.  And this will hurt him.  This is a large trench to dig ourselves out of.  But unlike a lot of over privileged white men, he actually had to work for the highest position in government.  He had to fight, with everyone along the way telling him he’d never succeed due to the strange pigment of his skin.  I suppose this infuriated the man, as it would myself, but he remains calm and cool, brushing it off, but all the more reason to do well.
        Obama won this presidency by campaigning on the rather cliched slogan of “change”– change we can believe in.  With any other person– or should I say white person– this statement would have been little but a translucent smoke screen, but since Obama was a person who was visually different, his statement could be taken to heart. 
        Will things really be different?  After all, Obama is just another politician.  Will the system truly change?  This is what some people ask.  Sometimes I feel obliged to reply, it already has.
        It’s like a magic trick: one minute everything is normal, then a poof of smoke, and voila!, the trick is complete, and you’ve missed what event actually took place.  That is what happened with Obama.  I think more change may be on the way, and while some people fear it, I completely embrace it.
        But there is still the immature and bastard child attitude inside of me dwelling like black and orange patches of fire, a piece of me that wants to lift my middle finger to the air as George Bush flees D.C. with his tail between his legs toward Texas. 
        Will him and Cheney ever be held responsible for their actions?  Any other country in the world, even by UN standards, would have these men strung up from the nearest gallows for war crimes.  But not America, oh no, not us.  We are exceptional, as many Christian nations are, for God is on their side. 
        American Exceptionalism is gripping many of its citizens in a time when we are anything but exceptional.  We are now entering what some consider to be the Post-American world, that time where we no longer seem to hold the key or the power.  A faltering institution.
        So, in the end, I suppose the childish temper inside of me must soar through my soul, into the air and land somewhere on this page, for I don’t know what else to do with it.  Some would prefer to admire and believe all the bullshit Bush sprouted during his farewell address, about how good he done. 
        Some would prefer to be objective as he exits Pennsylvania Avenue and heads south.  But I’m not sure he is a man worthy of objective words, for he was never objective in his entire life.  Words like scum, ignorant, arrogant, distasteful, heartless and pig are terms that come to mind.
        I fear we have not heard the end of George Bush.  His actions will ripple like stones skipped on a pond for the next twenty or thirty years.  And soon there will be revisionist history popping up– Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter and the like–  written to declare Bush as a great and noble man who brought peace and democracy to the Middle East, the man who protected our country during a time of horrible terror. 
        And I will be there, too.  Here and now I declare this statement for all to hear!  I will be there to counter those arguments.  I will dedicate my life, if need be, to ensuring that Bush and his cabinet are seen for the clowns they truly are.  If it is the last thing I do, I will reassure all those yet born that, to many on this earth, Bush represented terror and fear incarnate.           
        They say history is always repeating itself, a constant recycling of events.  Well, this is a part of history I don’t want to see repeated.  And if it takes my dissenting and distasteful writing to stop that from happening, then so be it. 
   And it is with a bit of self consciousness– in the remaining hours and minutes before Obama’s inauguration–  that I lift my young fist to the wind, reel out my middle finger, and yell, with all my being, heart, soul and gusto to the outgoing President and Vice President, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney:
“ADIOS MOTHER FUCKERS!  BETTER LUCK IN THE NEXT LIFE.”

(P.S– I think I may decide to write another entry to this piece exactly one year from now.  To the day.  To follow Obama’s first year in office.  Will this essay on George Bush’s last day still ring true one year from now?  Four years?  Ten years?  Twenty?  We’ll see.  So I’ll end this piece with next years date):

January 20th, 2010.

A nine hour journey, an empty 'plane, a good night's sleep.

On the day Obama was sworn in I went to work. I was in my office when on of the technicians stopped by and asked if I was going to watch. I said "history will happen with out me as a witness." I when to my scheduled meeting, and at the end the facilitator ended by saying, we now have a new president. He is a retired Corneal in the Air Force. He understands that some things are bigger than one man.

I watched all day into the night. Both stations ran the inauguration all day.  The prob. is that they used CNN or
MSNBC with the constant unnecessary blabber...like at
a Basketball game where they keep up a running commentary broken only by occassional mentions of
the court play.

I'm sorry we didn't get the BBC coverage so that we, in the rest of the world would be given the names of some of the
people in the 'royal' box and who was invited to the Ball.

I stood there.  It’s amazing how moments, minutes, months of work can culminate and define one granule in the hourglass of history.  On the autumn morning of November 4th 2008, I stood in a line and cast a ballot for a man who represented the audacity of hope.  After that same day had drawn nye and with precisely sixty minutes until the stoke of midnight, I, along with millions of others, realized that my standing was not in vain.  Symbolically, the day of perpetuating social and political frustration had ceased.  With the plurality of votes, the existence of years of oppression had finally come to be acknowledged and validated.  As it was announced that his name would grace the pages of history as not a contender, but a victor, I stood there.  I stood there as a man, as a person of color, as an American.
           I stood next to the Washington Monument on Capital Hill in the chilly air of January 20th, 2009.  I stood there, literally one of a million others, who waited for hope, renewal, and change to sweep me off of my feet.  I stood there as a man who's tinted skin, like mine, placed his hand on the Bible that had not been touched since his predecessor did in 1861...the same one who emancipated slaves later to be assassinated in office.  I stood there.  I stood there listening to the oath taken by a man who represented the essence of the American dream. As I stood there on the mall of in the District of Columbia, it came to me.  The juggernaut of his change was not about a man, but about a dream realized and the symbolic representation of a long and overdue
unifying healing. I stood in a district built on the backs and with the blood and tears of my ancestors.  I realized that it was a place that they would never personally reap the benefits of having erected.  However, I stood there.  I savored each moment and tasted the sweet sunshine that glistened upon me and countless others who traveled to the nation's capital to drink from the fountain of hope.  If only for a moment, I stood there and sipped from both the cup of freedom and patriotism.  I stood there as Lady Liberty recognized the struggle of her sons and daughters and held us close to her bosom.  Through the inauguration of a dynamic, insightful, inspiring, and unifying young president maybe, just maybe Mother America welcomed home her sons and daughters who never left.  Nevertheless, I stood there.  As I did, I became heavy—heavy from the weight of history resting on my soul, my spirit, my body.  I stood there as I waved farewell to the eve of a holiday commemorating the legacy of a slain civil rights drum major while I welcomed the dawn of a changing America represented by the son of an immigrant, the son of a teen-aged mother.  I stood there in amazement and absolute awe. 
I pray for my country, as I pray for him.  I rejoice for my country, as I rejoice for him.  I dread the decisions this country will be forced to make, as I dread the decisions he will confront.  I pray for his family as I pray for mine.  I stood there then, as I will stand with him...with justice in one weary tear-filled eye and a renewed sense of patriotism in the other. I stood there pressing my shoulders against his, to prepare future generations to stand on ours, as we stood there standing on the shoulders of those who came before us.  I stood there as the God of our weary tears answered not only my prayers, but those of a community, the nation, the world. If never before, and never again, I stood there--on the pages of history.

Don't know if this is for or against...

Anyway 84 million dollars is a lot on such a little thing.

The deadline for submissions is midnight EST Thursday Jan 22. The WEbook team is reading furiously and loving it!

To all: Be sure to hit "Start a New Article" to submit your story! Don't just post it here in the feedback section, or we might miss it.

When will you be closing this from further submissions? Just curious xD

We just got home.Our day started at 4.our bus left Frederick at 5:45am.I slept some on the trip to DC-we were very lucky to get seats.People were very excited and hopeful.I was glad to be a part of this historic day.We had to walk around 11 blocks to a spot where we would at least be able to see the motorcade.I felt chills as the motorcade passed,almost as if a little piece of me would be with Pres Obama.
There were all kinds of people there,too and unlike my other experiences with crowds,everyone showed love,excitement and hope.One older lady was crying when the cars passed.After the motorcade passed,we walked around for something to eat.We found a vendor who had a very large boombox.The prayer by Rick Warren was electrical,it gave me chills.Pres Obama's speech was powerful.And the word that keeps describing today is HOPEFUL..

On Jan 20th, I will be in DC watching the coming of our new leader.

Go to  'start anew story' on this page,you wil be able to copy and paste your article.I have read it on the link below,very interesting.

Would love to know where I can submit my article! You can check out what its about at: http://www.buycommonsense.com/?p=104

I love all of your encouragement in your comments. I'm young but I can feel the love you each press towards exchanging. And its uplifting. Hope the upcoming years are fruitful and blessed for you all.
Peace.
Bre

Oh and have a Happy Inauguration Day!

  In the name of god lets hope the media sees our next president not just his color. Its time to heal the country yet bind all Americans together. God bless mike

On inauguration day I will gather with family and friends to celebrate not the individual, but the country. I will celebrate and acknowledge the opportunity presented to me as a citizen of the United States of America.  Barack Obama will stand in front of the world as a symbol. It is important that everyone sees through the publicity of all the media and celebrities and realize that everyone has the power that Obama has in this country. We all need to be symbols of hope together.  Everyone needs to be proud of themselves as an individual capable of great things, proud to be part of a country, and proud to be part of this world. Life is a gift, enjoy it, and together humans hold the highest power of either being able to work together for a common good and existence or inevitably destroy each other

On January 20th I will be glued to my television watching President Obama's Inauguration.  I can't wait.  I am counting down the minutes.    Our country needs change.  Good luck President Obama.

On January 20th a new president will take office in the name of god lets have a people`s work goverment .. great project important hostory. Good luck President Obama May god of jesus be with us all mike

On January the 20th, I will be at work, wondering why children have the day off and are all crowding into the office to have their braces checked.  I will also be telling anyone who says anything about the days most exciting event, that I didn't vote for hope and change.

You said it so well,and with optimism and hope. As a young student speaking you are the hope of our future. Well done!, and a great tribute to our President elect Obama.