Senator John McCain gives
concession speech November 4, 2008
Thank you. Thank you, my
friends. Thank you for coming
here on this beautiful Arizona
evening.
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 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.
I've always believed that
America offers opportunities to
all who have the industry and will
to seize it. Senator Obama
believes that, too. But we both
recognize that though we have
come a long way from the old
injustices that once stained our
nation's reputation and denied
some Americans the full blessings
of American citizenship, the
memory of them still had the
power to wound.
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Reality Check
Timeless words of wisdom
from wise warriors
by A. Peter Bailey,
NNPA columnist
It is not easy to write a column
for weekly newspapers three or
four days before a presidential
election, especially a presidential
election as historically significant
as the one in 2008. I finally decided
that the most meaningful way
to deal with the situation is to
bring to the attention of readers
quotes from public figures, past
and present that may be useful at
this moment. Thus the following:
Journalist/historian Lerone
Bennett, Jr. once said, “Given the
way we were forced to live in this
society, the miracle is not that so
many families are broken, but that
so many are still together. That so
many Black fathers are still at
home. That so many Black mothers
are sill raising good children.
It is the incredible toughness and
resilience in (Black) people that
gives me hope. That toughness
and resilience should give all of
us hope and provide a foundation
upon which to build strong, productive
harmonious Black communities.”
Civil rights leader Martin
Luther King, Jr.: “....Black Power,
in the broad and positive meaning
is a call to Black people to amass
the political and economic
strength to achieve their legitimate
goals. No one can deny that
the Negro is in dire need of this
kind of legitimate power. Indeed,
one of the great problems that the
Negro confronts is his lack of
power…. Power, properly understood,
is the ability to achieve purpose.
It is the strength required to
bring about social, political or
economic changes.
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Gemini changes
The future came a lot
sooner than advertised
by Rev. Robert Elliott
(M.D., ret.),
Syndicated columnist
By and by came early.
Heaven came to earth and
Martin would have been surprised
at what the future held
sooner rather than later. The old
guard found out their relevance
was not relevant. Even I must
admit that the scenario I envisioned,
the Tom Bradley effect,
did not happen to any great
extent.
The President-elect is a
Black man named Barrack
Obama. The curious aftermath is
that the news media outlets that
so unashamedly backed him
during the campaign are now
saying that his election is a great
day for African-Americans. I’m
sorry there are not enough Black
folks in the country, as a whole,
to elect anyone nationally.
This is a great day for all
Americans, especially White
Americans, because they
showed me that they had
changed. It may have been a
succession of Blacks on the
national scene that slowly
changed the white perspective. It
was Oprah being the white
house wife’s friend, it was Black
players being in the NHL, it was
Tiger Woods (after the fried
chicken and greens comment)
and it was Bill Cosby airing all
the dirt that normal Black people
were also appalled about that
brought about the change. We
are all more alike than different
and we all have the same aspirations.
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From the desk…
Finding a healthy
way to improve your attitude
by Dogan Williams
A few days ago I was
researching through materials
for this article. I pulled two
books from the bookshelf in my
patriotic Timeless Hobby
Room. One of the books
included the life and obituary of
Gen Gilbert a British Tennis
star. It told of a curious death:
Gen Gilbert died as her dentist
was about to extract a tooth,
before he actually touched her.
Years before, when she was
a child, Gilbert was at the dentist’s
with her mother, who was
to have a tooth pulled. Her
mother died suddenly from the
shock of extraction. The youngster
saw her mother die in the
dentist’s chair. So, what happen?
Her little mind pointed a
picture of herself dying in the
same way. The picture became
a sustained mental image.
Gilbert carried it in her mind
for 30 years. She would never
go to a dentist no matter how
badly she needed treatment.
But finally there came a time
when she was suffering such
acute pain that she let a dentist
come to her house. She had her
medical doctor, her friends,
around her, and her pastor present,
but before she could get
into the chair, she died.
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Thank you. Thank you, my
friends. Thank you for coming
here on this beautiful Arizona
evening.
by A. Peter Bailey,
NNPA columnist
by Rev. Robert Elliott
(M.D., ret.),
Syndicated columnist
by Dogan Williams