"Brothers Should Pull Up Their Pants!"

Here at CounterProgramming, we want to reach out to President-Elect Obama in a spirit of bipartisan cooperation and work together to blah blah blah. Thus, I am pleased to report that only days after his election -- an election I strongly opposed -- I have already found an area of strong agreement with our incoming Chief Executive.

In an interview a couple weeks ago with MTV, Obama made excellent use of his bully pulpit on one of today's most pressing issues. Asked by a viewer what he thought of laws against "sagging pants," Obama made it clear that he thought such laws were "a waste of time, but then -- after his usual hemming and hawing -- finally exclaimed "Brothers should pull up their pants!"

For the record, I agree completely.

Fast-forward to 1:25 for the money quote.

A Black President

Truly incredible. To think that just during my lifetime, we have moved from a bitter battle over legal segregation to a convincing presidential victory for a black man, with support from three states of the old Confederacy.

President Bush had some eloquent remarks outside the White House on the occasion:

It will be a stirring sight to watch President Obama, his wife, Michelle, and their beautiful girls step through the doors of the White House. I know millions of Americans will be overcome with pride at this inspiring moment that so many have awaited so long. I know Senator Obama's beloved mother and grandparents would have been thrilled to watch the child they raised ascend the steps of the Capitol -- and take his oath to uphold the Constitution of the greatest nation on the face of the earth.

I thought his reference to the first black First Family walking through those doors to be particularly moving, echoing the ugly site during the civil rights era of white men -- government officials -- physically blocking entrance to the schoolhouse doors. (Read his full remarks here.)

No, I did not vote for Barack Obama. But I judge a man by the content of his character, not his skin color. While I found Obama's character and politics to be wanting, I am pleased and proud that the vast majority of Americans did not cast their vote based on his skin color.

Looks like the mythical Youth Vote finally materialized. As National Review Online's Andy McCarthy notes:

Preliminary indications are that the youth vote (ages 18-29) was way up: an increase of somewhere over 2.2 million (maybe way over) from 2004 (a year in which it was very high), and as much as 13% over 2000. The Left's dominance of the academy is now having a material impact on electoral politics. As we think about the future of conservatism, we ignore that at our peril.

There is a reason that most brand-building advertising is aimed at that same youth market. Once a Bud man, always a Bud man. I fear that it will be difficult to move these young and first-time voters away from the Democratic party. I know that when I was in high school, witnessing the juxtaposition of Carter and Reagan, I was going to be a conservative Republican for life. I couldn't wait till I was old enough to vote for Reagan in '84.

By the way, the site that McCarthy links to, Circle: the Center for Education and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, is affiliated with Tufts University and appears to be a gold mine of information on, uh, civic learning and engagement.

I Voted for Senator John S. McCain

Poll workers told me turnout at my Northern Virginia precint (Falls Church) was heavy this morning, probably record-breaking. I voted at 4:00 PM, and there were no lines.

Scanning my paper ballot, I laughed out loud when I saw the presidential lineup, which in addition to GOP and Dem included Independent (Nader), Green (McKinney), and Independent Green (Baldwin).

Shades of the Judean People's Front ("No, it's the People's Front of Judea!").