Obamamania, Obamanomics

Nov. 5 front pages of the San Francisco Chronicle and The Topeka Capital-Journal courtesy of the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR). Front pages of other newspapers here.

Below is the victory speech of President-elect Barack Obama, courtesy of Tonyo Cruz.

Victory speech of President-elect Barack Obama
Source: Tonyo Cruz
Nov. 5, 2008

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled — Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of red states and blue states: We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

Read here for more.

Here's Sen. John McCain's concession speech, also from Tonyo:

Concession speech of Sen. John McCain, Republican candidate in the 2008 US presidential elections
Source: Tonyo Cruz
Nov. 5, 2008

(Cheers, applause.)

SEN. MCCAIN: Thank you. Thank you, my friends. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening. (Cheers, applause.)

My friends, we have — we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama — (boos) — to congratulate him — (boos) — please — to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.

In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.

This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.

Read here for more.

Below is a quick look by CJR at the analyses of several major news organizations on the economic change likely under an Obama administration.

Audit Roundup: Obamanomics
Bloomberg on what’s in store; Challenges galore, says the Times; etc.
By Ryan Chittum
Nov. 5, 2008

Bloomberg, better than the Journal, Times, or Post, looks ahead to the economic change likely under an Obama administration.

The Democratic president-elect has much more on his agenda, amounting to what may be the broadest overhaul of the U.S. economy since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Beyond job creation and big investments in public works, Obama intends to shift the tax burden back toward the wealthy, roll back a quarter-century of deregulation, extend health-care coverage to all Americans and reassess the U.S. government’s pursuit of free- trade deals.

“The changes will be far greater than many expect,” said Andrew Laperriere, managing director at International Strategy & Investment Group, a money management and research firm in Washington. “From taxes to energy to health care, it’s a pretty sweeping agenda.”

But the Journal is good in looking at the “cooler climate” Big Business is expecting from Obama.

What appears to worry business interests most is the possibility that a Democratic Congress and a Democratic White House will shift the balance of power between employers and unions back in favor of unions, after two decades or more in which unions have been in retreat.

Click here for the the full post. Hat tip to Media Channel for flagging this post. Media Channel also points readers to this insightful piece by David Hincley of the Daily News of New York City on the U.S. television coverage of the 2008 presidential elections.

Election night reveals a whole new reality in network TV coverage
By Daily News

After 18 months of unrestricted projection, speculation and analysis about how America would vote in the 2008 presidential election, TV was stuck last night with the actual information.

It did the best it could.

Read here for more.