Obama's Impact on Colleges

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Sunday November 16, 2008 · 6:49 PM PST

2008/11/16 · 18:49

The night before the election, ESPN's Chris Berman interviewed both Barack Obama and John McCain. The interviews were shown on Monday Night Football. Neither candidate took the program particularly seriously, but Barack Obama said something that I found interesting. He said, as President, he would advocate for a Playoff System in College Football.

If anything, I thought the move was a political ploy. On November 3rd, Penn State and Florida were #3 and #4 in the BCS Standings. As those of us football-inclined Kossacks know, this means that they would be excluded from the championship game. And it's no surprise that Pennsylvania and Florida were major swing states in the election. If anything, I figured Obama was extending an olive branch to football fans in the states.

Poll

66 votes Show Results

Playoff or Not?

66 votes Vote Now!

Playoff or Not?

Obama should enact a playoff system

27 votes

Obama should stay away from college sports

14 votes

I couldn't possibly care less

16 votes

What's football?

9 votes

The Next Black: Gay, Jewish, Muslim, or Other?

PSUDevon

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday November 11, 2008 · 10:40 AM PST

2008/11/11 · 10:40

Barack Obama's election means a lot of things, especially to the African American community. After so many years of oppression, after slavery and segregation, a black man has finally crashed through the glass ceiling and accomplished something that just a few years ago seemed impossible.

Yet this election cycle featured much more than just our first black candidate and president-elect. We had women as a vice-presidential nominee, and as the runner-up in the Democratic primaries. We had a Latino as a contender for the Democratic nomination. America has made tremendous strides towards true equality, between people of all creeds, sexes, races, and religions.

Just as African Americans can feel validated by the election of a black president, so too can other minority groups. Now that America has elected her first non-white male president, what's next? Let's take a look at some other groups that have never seen one of their own become elected to the most important post in the world.

Poll

88 votes Show Results

The New Black?

88 votes Vote Now!

The New Black?

Women

10 votes

Jews

9 votes

Gays

18 votes

Hispanics

4 votes

Muslims

33 votes

Other (explain below)

14 votes

First Time, Long Time

PSUDevon

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday November 10, 2008 · 7:08 PM PST

2008/11/10 · 19:08

For those of us who listen to talk radio, we hear the expression a lot. It's someone who listens to the program for a long time, but has never called in to make their opinions felt. Yet this is not a phenomenon exclusive to sports talk radio. I've been following politics for as long as I can remember, but just cast a vote for the first time.

As my name suggests, I'm a freshman at Penn State. How interested in politics am I? Part of the reason I selected Penn State was so that I could vote in what was sure to be a swing state. At the time, I wasn't sure who I was going to vote for, or who the candidates would be, but I wanted to make sure that my vote would matter.

It ended up that Pennsylvania wasn't even close. Centre County, where Penn State is located, voted Democratic this year, and by a fairly large, 11% margin. Normally, you wouldn't think much of this. The college has 40,000 potential voters, and college students and faculty are well-known for being overwhelmingly liberal. Yet, Centre County was red, having voted for George W. Bush in both 2004 and in 2000. What turned the county, and the nation, so bright blue?

Poll

62 votes Show Results

Your First Time

62 votes Vote Now!

Your First Time

I voted in the first election after I turned 18 (or 21)

53 votes

I didn't vote the first time I was eligible

7 votes

I'm still not eligible to vote

0 votes

I'm not registered to vote (Shame on Me)

0 votes

I'm a convicted felon

0 votes

I'm not a US citizen

2 votes

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