President-elect Barack Obama and his beautiful wife and future First Lady Michelle Obama were welcomed to the White House today by the current residents (GWB and his wife Laura) less than one week since he was elected as our nation’s 44th President. Here are a few pics of the Obamas and the Bushs posing for pics in front of the White House just a couple of hours ago and some info from the New York Times about their meeting today:

President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, were welcomed at the White House shortly before 2 p.m. Eastern time by the current occupant, President George W. Bush, a man with whom he expressed a sea of differences during the just-ended election campaign. Broadcast images showed Mr. Bush and Mr. Obama strolling along the colonnade toward the outer entrance to the Oval Office. Mr. Obama walked just at Mr. Bush’s shoulder and appeared to be speaking animatedly, gesturing with both hands. Each of the men waved several times to reporters and others off camera. Mr. Bush and the first lady, Laura Bush, are expected to take the Obamas on a tour of the White House, and then Mr. Bush and Mr. Obama are expected to split off for about 90 minutes of formal talks concerning the transfer of power from Mr. Bush’s conservative Republican administration to a presumably much more liberal Democratic leadership. Mr. Obama will be seeing the Oval Office in person for the first time, just 10 weeks before he will make history by returning as its first black occupant, a spokesman for Mr. Obama said earlier in the day … Josh Bolten, the president’s chief of staff, said on Monday morning that the president and president-elect will be alone in the Oval Office when they meet, without aides present. “I’m sure each of them will have a list of issues to go down,” Mr. Bolten said during a televised interview with reporters from The Associated Press and The Washington Post. “But I think that’s something very personal to both of them. I know the president will want to convey to President-elect Obama his sense of how to deal with some of the most important issues of the day. But exactly how he does that, I don’t know, and I don’t think anybody will know.” Mr. Bush and Mr. Obama have had relatively little personal contact before now, and by some accounts, when they have met, there has been some awkwardness … For his part, Mr. Obama and his aides have missed no opportunity to remind Americans that they have only one president at a time. Even so, Mr. Obama and his team are moving expeditiously to plan the transition and a post-Inauguration agenda that aides said would probably include the quick reversal of some Bush policies, such as his restrictions on stem-cell research and on oil and gas drilling. One thing is certain: The body language between the Obamas and the Bushes will be widely scrutinized and assessed, to see whether they appear to be comfortable working together or, as was the case with some past transition meetings, are straining just to appear polite. Mr. Obama flew to Washington Monday morning from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago aboard a chartered American Airlines Boeing Super-80 jetliner. Ms. Obama flew to Washington separately, a spokeswoman for her said. Having had a chance to size up their new accommodations, and those who have occupied them for eight years, the Obamas are scheduled to return immediately afterward to Chicago, where the work of transition will continue. Aides to Mr. Obama said that no Cabinet nominees would be announced this week.

LOL! I’m surprised the Obamas didn’t show up with a bunch of moving boxes to present to the Bushs. I can think of about 65 million people in this country who would love to help the Bushs pack up their shizz in the White House ;)

All kidding aside, tho, I think it’s very admirable that GWB has been so open to starting the transition of power process so soon after the election. This is the first transfer of power since 9/11 and it looks like they want to ensure that there are no gaps that might be exploited by our nation’s enemies. I also think is great that the Obamas are allowed to tour the White House so early before the Bushs move out … that way they can take stock on the home’s inventory so they can make sure the Bushs don’t take nothing with them when they go back to Texas :)

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Whew … what a week it’s been. Barack Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States of America just 5 days ago and I know that so many people are still rejoicing at the news. I happily posted the pics sent in by Pink readers of their celebrations around Election Day and today we get to check out a few intimate, behind-the-scenes photos of the Obama family waiting for the election results on Election Night. President-elect Obama had a bunch of private photos posted to his official Flickr photo album to share his family’s Election Night activities with the world. Here are a few of my faves:

Click HERE to see a whole slew of Election Night photos of the Obama family. I’m pretty sure that Tuesday November 4, 2008 is a day that millions of people will remember for the rest of their lives. Obvs it was a big night for the Obamas and I think it’s very cool that they are sharing their intimate (and prolly jittery) moments with the world. I suspect that the new First Family is going to be very open about their lives and will do everything they can to share their experiences with all of us. The site Change.gov has already launched and I understand there will be an official blog of the new President when he takes office. Leadership in this country looks like it’s about to take a giant leap forward of inclusion with the people. I can’t wait to see what’s in store in the coming months and years.

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US Weekly compiled a fun batch of photos of fictional African American Presidents of the US from TV and film and I thought it’d be cool to share some of my faves. As I said before, the pessimist in me never believed that I’d live to see an African American elected to the highest office in the land and, yet, that day has come. But, before Senator Barack Obama became President-elect Obama we were introduced to a few fictional African American Presidents in movies and on TV:

James Earl Jones became “president” in the 1972 film The Man and Morgan Freeman became “president” in the 1998 film Deep Impact (about the improbability that a meteor could crash into Earth and destroy mankind). My fave fictional African American Presidents are the Palmer brothers, David and Wayne, who ruled the country in a few seasons of the hit FOX TV series 24. President David Palmer, I gotta say, is my fave fictional President of all time. But with the election of Barack Obama as our Nation’s leader, there is no longer a need for Hollywood to create fictional African American leaders … I guess they’ll have to resort to creating fictional female presidents (like in the upcoming new season of 24) instead. It’s pretty remarkable how far this country has come with one Presidential election.

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Yes, We Did! Senator Barack Obama, by most projections, has successfully won the 2008 Presidential campaign and has been elected as the 44th President of the United States of America. I gotta tell ya, and this his the God’s honest truth, I never imagined that the US would elect an African American President in my lifetime. I cannot express … truly … cannot express the immense sense of pride and genuine happiness that Senator Barack Obama has won the White House:

CNN projects that Barack Obama will be the nation’s 44th president. As polls closed on the West coast, the Illinois senator was projected to receive enough electoral votes to pass the 270-vote threshold. Obama is projected to win California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii. He also is projected to win Virginia, a state that hasn’t voted for a Democratic president since 1964. As Obama built up a commanding lead over Sen. John McCain, senior aides to the Arizona senator were growing pessimistic about his chances. When asked if they saw a path to victory, two senior McCain aides said no.

Here are a few pics from Grant Park in Chicago, IL were the Obama Victory party will be raging all night long:

A few times over the past few weeks I’ve let myself wonder what it would be like to have the Obamas as the First Family and … it’s an amazingly exciting thing to look forward to now. Michelle Obama, as David likes to say, will be the new Jackie O. But the real winner here is America. We have finally decided, as a Nation, to move beyond racial bounds and elect the right person to lead our Country thru these perilous times. I’m literally swelling with pride and happiness. This is a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life. Much love and congrats go out to President-elect Barack Obama! You’ve got a lot of work ahead of you … but I’m confident that you’ll be able to lead our Country toward an amazing new future.

I hope to update this post with video of President-elect Obama’s victory speech … stay tuned! After the jump, watch the full video of President-elect Barack Obama’s Victory Speech tonight … (more…)

Earlier this morning I got up early and made my way to my polling place in order to cast my vote today. Because my polling venue is only 2 blocks away, I was able to walk to my polling place this morning. To be honest, I did not anticipate finding a line there. This is the third time I voted at my LA address and it was my experience that folks meandered in to vote thruout the day, never causing much of a line at any given time. This morning, I was met with a line of folks that stretched into the parking lot and out near the street. It was a very cool thing to see. Here are a few pics that I snapped of my voting experience this morning:

As you can see, I proudly cast my ballot for Barack Obama for President and I voted NO on Prop 8. So as not to unduly influence any other voters in the room, I wore a hoodie over my SuperObama t-shirt up until I voted and then happily affixed my I Voted sticker on my shirt as I walked home. It was an amazing feeling, y’all. I was able to campaign and vote for President Bill Clinton (’92, ‘96), Vice President Al Gore (’00) and Senator John Kerry (’04). I’ve voted in Michigan, Oklahoma (which is tough for a Democrat … my lurve goes out to the OKie Dems out there) and now California. I am so pleased with the level of enthusiasm that I’m seeing all over the place — not just on TV but in person. Democracy at it’s greatest.

I’m asking all Pink readers to send in photos of your I Voted stickers once you vote today. If your polling place does not have them (David’s precinct in NYC did not have them when he voted earlier), feel free to make one of your own … email your photos to pinkisthenewblog@gmail.com and I will post as many of them as I can on the site.

Make sure you know when your polling place closes. DO NOT BE FOOLED if someone tells you that voting has been extended to tomorrow. TODAY IS THE ONLY DAY TO VOTE! The first polls close in just under 4 hours, make sure you know where you need to be and what time they close AND VOTE!!! Click HERE for polling information if you’re still unsure where to go.

I gotta tell y’all, I’m having a hard time focusing on anything other than Election Day today. After much contemplation while waiting in line to vote this morning (1 1/2 hours), I’ve decided to chill on the goss and focus primarily on what is going on in the US today. I have never experienced such a feeling of excitement in my country before. While I understand that some of y’all may be sick and tired of all the election talk of the last few days, weeks, months I just can’t get fully into goss mode today. I’m really hoping for record voter turn-out in today’s election so I’m gonna try and do anything I can to inspire folks here in the US to GET OUT AND VOTE. I’ll put up some regular stuff thruout the day but I’m entirely too preoccupied with the election to really focus.

Senators Barack Obama and John MCain (and their wives Michelle and Cindy) made their way out to their polling places this morning to cast their ballots in today’s very important election. The assumption is that each man and his wife did not vote for the other guy but … I guess we can’t be entirely too sure. Here are a few pics of the Obamas and the McCains casting their votes earlier today:

Democrat Barack Obama joined the nation’s earliest voters Tuesday as people around the nation began lining up to cast ballots in a historic election pitting Republican John McCain against the man seeking to become the first black president in U.S. history. “I voted,” Obama said, holding up the validation slip he was handed after turning in a ballot at his Chicago neighborhood’s precinct. Accompanying the Illinois senator for the trip from their home to the polling station were his wife, Michelle, and their two young daughters. He planned a final campaign event in nearby Indiana before speaking to a massive evening rally in Chicago. In Delaware, Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden went to the polls with his elderly mother.

Senator McCain gave a thumbs up sign but ignored questions from reporters as he left the polling station in Phoenix, Arizona. Meanwhile, Sarah Palin told journalists in her home town of Wasilla, Alaska, that she hoped to wake up on Wednesday as the new Vice President of the United States. “We have an optimistic and confident view of what is going to happen today,” she said.

Well, the candidates at least have a couple votes each that they can count in their tally. As the rest of the country votes thru out the day (the first polls close in just 5 hours) the US and the world waits with bated breath.

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