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With all of the important news going around in the past few days regarding the death of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, I feel it’s important to pass along at least some bit of new info as it gets released. These are historic days, it’s kinda hard not to comment on them. The White House has released photos that were taken in the Situation Room as the raid on the bin Laden compound was taking place on Sunday. The photos give us an intimate look at just how tense the situation was for our nation’s leaders as they carried out the plan to finally get bin Laden. New details have been released about bin Laden’s burial at sea and Time magazine is readying the release of a special issue dedicated to the death of bin Laden — one that crosses out his face in a final F-You send off.

In the wake of last weekend’s US Senate vote to repeal the US Military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy and President Barack Obama‘s signing of the repeal into law this week, Vice President Joe Biden appeared on Good Morning America today to discuss a range of topics including the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal … but most notably, about his belief that America is “evolving” towards the legalization of same-sex marriage … which he believes will “inevitably” be afforded to all US citizens.

President Barack Obama announced his nominee to the US Supreme Court to replace Justice David Souter who announced at the start of this month that he is retiring from the Supreme Court. There was much speculation as to who Obama would select to join the court in Souter‘s place and today that announcement was made. Federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor is Obama‘s pick and if approved by the US Senate, she would be the Supreme Court’s first Hispanic Justice and the the third female Justice (after Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsberg). Here are a couple pics from the President’s announcement in the East Room of the White House earlier today:

President Obama on Tuesday nominated federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic and third female U.S. Supreme Court justice if confirmed. Obama announced the nomination Tuesday morning in the East Room of the White House. “Thank you, Mr. President, for the most humbling honor of my life,” Sotomayor said. “My heart is bursting with gratitude,” she said. She gave special recognition to her mother, who was sitting in the audience. “I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences,” Sotomayor said. Obama called Sotomayor “an inspiring woman who I believe will make a great justice.” She “has worked at almost every level of our judicial system, providing her with a depth of experience and a breath of perspective that will be invaluable as a Supreme Court justice,” he added. Obama said Sotomayor “would bring more experience on the bench and more varied experience on the bench than anyone currently serving on the United States Supreme Court had when they were appointed.” The president met with Sotomayor at the White House for an hour on Thursday, according to senior administration officials. He was impressed with Sotomayor’s personal story and professional qualifications after meeting her, but he did not immediately offer her the job, two senior administration sources added. Obama made his final decision Monday, the sources said.

It was pretty much assumed by all that Obama would be selecting a woman as his nominee but there was much speculation about which woman he would pick. As a Hispanic myself, it thrills me that there is a strong possibility that Sotomayor will join the US Supreme Court. I cannot for the life of me imagine what it must be like to get the call from the President informing you that you have been selected to join the Supreme Court. I am not familiar at all with Sotomayor‘s record as a judge so I had to do some reading up on her credentials. If you, too, would like more information on Sotomayor‘s legal experience you can read more about it after the jump …

Even tho Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was sworn in and has been on the job for about 2 weeks now, she participated in another swearing in ceremony — officiated by Vice President Joe Biden — yesterday with her husband President Bill Clinton, her daughter Chelsea and her mother Dorothy Rodham (not pictured) in attendance. Here is a photo of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton taking the oath of office in Washington DC yesterday afternoon:

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has been on the job for nearly two weeks, but there’s always an excuse for a lavish celebration. [Yesterday] afternoon, in the gilded Benjamin Franklin room on State’s top floor, close friends and lawmakers watched her get publicly sworn in by Vice President Biden. The guests who nibbled on treats and drank wine and beer to the strains of violin music included Chevy Chase, the actor; former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger, James A. Baker III, Lawrence Eagleburger and Madeleine Albright; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.); Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.); and Governors John Corzine of new Jersey and Martin O’Malley of Maryland. Washington power player Vernon Jordan and Obama foreign policy aide Samantha Power — who had a very public spat with Clinton during the presidential campaign — also mingled among the several hundred guests. A cheer went up when Clinton walked into the room with her husband, former president Bill Clinton, her daughter Chelsea and her mother Dorothy Rodham. Before Biden began to administer the oath, some members of the crowd started chanting, “Get it right, get it right,” in reference to the botched oath originally administered to President Obama. “Never did I think, Madame Secretary, that I’d swear you in as secretary of state,” Biden said to laughter. “Never did I think I’d be sworn in as vice president.” Both Biden and Clinton had challenged Obama for the Democratic nomination, and Clinton also noted the irony. “As Joe laughingly referenced, neither one of us thought we’d be here,” she said. “Life has a funny way of unfolding, and politics is even stranger.” Clinton earned the biggest laugh and applause when she thanked her husband, resplendent in a red tie, after acknowledging her mother and daughter. “I am so grateful to him,” the former first lady said of the former president, “for a lifetime of [pause] all kinds of experiences — which have given me an extraordinary richness that I am absolutely beholden to and grateful for.” Clinton will begin her first day of public diplomacy Tuesday when she meets separately with the foreign ministers of Great Britain and Germany. The administration’s evolving policy on Iran will be high on the agenda because political directors of the six countries seeking to negotiate with Tehran will meet on Wednesday to consider their next steps. Clinton also must decide when and where she will make her first trip, a symbolically important mission. Diplomats in Asia say she is considering traveling to Japan, South Korea and China, and possibly Southeast Asia — an unusual itinerary for the top diplomat’s maiden voyage. The planning is still in the early stages, however, and the State Department has declined to comment on her plans.

I guess just because President Barack Obama had two swearing in ceremonies, Hillary had to have two of her own ;) I was able to watch this swearing in ceremony live on CNN and thought it was a fun, light-hearted affair. I cannot believe Hillary was so free with the jokes … her zinger on President Clinton was pretty funny. After the jump, if you so desire, you can check out video of Hillary‘s swearing in ceremony yesterday afternoon …

MSNBC is generously providing video of the swearing in ceremonies of now President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden for your viewing pleasure. At first, I thought that Obama nervously messed up the words of the oath of office but it turns out that it was Supreme Court Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. who messed up the oath and confused Obama who had memorized the words properly. Here is video of President Obama‘s swearing in followed by his full 20-minute Inauguration Address:

Here are a couple screencaps of President & First Lady Obama with Vice President and Dr. Biden waving goodbye to the outgoing president and his wife:

What a scene! The New York Times reports that as GWB flew away the crowd below chanted, “Na Na Na Na/Na Na Na Na/Hey Hey Hey/Good-bye.” LOL!

And here is a shot of President Obama signing his first presidential act:

Just amazing how quickly everything happens. We’ve got a new President, y’all. How are YOU feeling today? What did you think of today’s Inauguration Events?

Joe Biden has just been sworn in as the new Vice President …

… Woot! Next up, our new President takes his oath!

Vice President-elect Joe Biden is about a half hour away from taking his oath of office and is, I’m sure, feeling fine … but he was lookin’ much chagrined yesterday when he and his wife appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show which taped live from Washington DC. During the interview with the Bidens, Jill inadvertently spilled the beans that then presidential candidate Barack Obama offered Joe Biden his choice to be either Vice President or Secretary of State last Summer. Once she let this bit of info slip out, Joe Biden gave her the look of death as he shushed her … and then everyone laughed to try and smooth things over. You can imagine the hell she caught after the show was over:

Joseph Biden’s wife Jill on Monday appeared to let slip a piece of choice political gossip, suggesting her husband was given a choice by Barack Obama to be vice president or secretary of state. Biden will be sworn into office on Tuesday as Obama’s second-in-command, and appeared to try to hush his wife as she made the comment on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show. His office later put out a statement denying he had a choice of job. “Joe had a choice to be secretary of state or vice president,” Jill Biden said, prompting her husband to whisper “shhh” before her words were drowned out by cheers and applause. She went on to explain that she had worried about the impact of her husband being secretary of state on their family life. “I said, Joe, if you’re secretary of state, you’ll be away. (I’ll) see you at a state dinner once in a while. I said if you’re vice president, the entire family, because they worked so hard for the election, can be involved. They can come to our home. They can go to events. They can be with us all the time. And that’s what’s important to us.” Joseph Biden, trying to smooth over the awkward moment, then said he told Obama he would serve as vice president only if he was being selected for his judgement. “I know it’s going to sound corny. I could best serve there. The bottom line, Barack’s my friend. This is a partnership,” he said … Biden spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander put out a statement trying to play down Jill Biden’s comments. “To be clear, president-elect Obama offered vice President-elect Biden one job only — to be his running mate and the vice president-elect was thrilled to accept the offer,” she said. “Like anyone who followed the presidential campaign this summer, Dr Jill Biden knew there was a chance that president-elect Obama might ask her husband to serve in some capacity and that, given his background, the positions of vice president and secretary of state were possibilities,” Alexander said. “Dr Biden’s point to Oprah today was that being vice president would be a better fit for their family because they would get to see him more and get to participate in serving more.”

LOL! I love Jill Biden! And I love that in the excitement of being in the presence of the great Oprah Winfrey the poor dear got flustered enough to let this bit of previously unsubstantiated information get out. No matter what the press release says about the incident, you know what Jill spilled was the way it went down ;)

In any event, Joe Biden is just about to take his oath of office … and then, soon after, it’s Barack Obama‘s turn!

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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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It’s official. Senator Barack Obama, from the State of Illinois, has formally accepted the nomination by the Democratic Party as candidate for President of the United States of America. On the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr‘s I Have A Dream speech, Obama delivered a thundering speech (wherein he formally accepted his party’s nomination and explained to the crowd,the country as a whole and the world how he plans to bring change to the US) at Invesco Field in Denver, CO to close out the Democratic National Convention last night. Here are a few pics of Obama delivering his speech and a pic of Obama with his wife Michelle and his running mate Joe Biden (with his wife Jill) as they stepped forward together, into history, on the way to the campaign trail:

Barack Obama accepted the Democratic Party presidential nomination on Thursday, declaring that the “American promise has been threatened” by eight years under President Bush and that John McCain represented a continuation of policies that undermined the nation’s economy and imperiled its standing around the world. The speech by Senator Obama, in front of an audience of nearly 80,000 people on a warm night in a football stadium refashioned into a vast political stage for television viewers, left little doubt how he intended to press his campaign against Mr. McCain this fall. In cutting language, and to cheers that echoed across the stadium, he linked Mr. McCain to what he described as the “failed presidency of George W. Bush” and — reflecting what has been a central theme of his campaign since he entered the race — “the broken politics in Washington.” “America, we are better than these last eight years,” he said. “We are a better country than this.” But Mr. Obama went beyond attacking Mr. McCain by linking him to Mr. Bush and his policies. In the course of a 42-minute speech that ended with a booming display of fireworks and a shower of confetti, he offered searing and far-reaching attacks on his presumptive Republican opponent, repeatedly portraying him as the face of the old way of politics and failed Republican policies. He said Mr. McCain was out of touch with the problems of everyday Americans. “It’s not because John McCain doesn’t care,” he said. “It’s because John McCain doesn’t get it.” And he went so far as to attack the presumed strength of Mr. McCain’s campaign, national security. “You know, John McCain likes to say that he’ll follow bin Laden to the gates of hell, but he won’t even follow him to the cave where he lives,” he said. The speech loomed as arguably Mr. Obama’s most important of the campaign to date. It was an opportunity to present himself to Americans just now beginning to tune in on this campaign, to make the case against Mr. McCain and to offer what many Democrats say he has failed to offer to date: an idea of what he stands for, beyond a promise of change. To that end, he emphasized what he described as concrete steps he would take to address the anxieties of working-class Americans, promising tax cuts for the middle class and pledging to wean the country from dependence on Middle East oil within 10 years to address high fuel prices. With the speech, Mr. Obama closed out his party’s convention here and prepared for a quick shift of public attention to the Republicans as Mr. McCain moved to name his running mate and his party got ready for its convention in St. Paul on Monday. He delivered it in a most unconventional setting, becoming the third nominee of a major party in the nation’s history to leave the site of his convention to give his acceptance speech at a stadium. In this case, it was Invesco Field, set against the Rockies and about a mile from the arena where he had been nominated the night before. His aides chose the stadium to signal a break from typical politics and to permit thousands of his supporters from across the country to hear him speak. And it came on a night that offered — by the coincidence of scheduling — a reminder of the historic nature of the Obama candidacy: 45 years to the day after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech on the Mall in Washington. Mr. Obama is the first African-American to be nominated for the White House by a major party, a fact that, for all its significance, has been barely mentioned over the course of this four-day gathering. Even in invoking the anniversary of the King speech, Mr. Obama only alluded to race. But he quoted a famous phrase from Dr. King’s address to reinforce a central theme of his own speech. “America, we cannot turn back,” Mr. Obama said. “Not with so much work to be done.”

Wow. I must admit, hearing Obama‘s speech gave me chills … and it had a strong significance for me. When Dr. King spoke of his Dream 45 years ago, it occurred to me that he was speaking of just this moment in time … when our country can finally realize that all men are created equal. I don’t know about y’all but I can deffo feel the winds of change blowin’ … and it’s about time. I remember when Governor Bill Clinton accepted his nomination for President of the United States back in 1992 … I could feel it then that he was going to win the presidency and put our country back on course. I got that same feelin’ this time, y’all … and it’s an amazing feeling … it’s called Hope.

After the jump, watch the entirety of Barack Obama‘s acceptance speech in case you missed it last night or want to hear it again …

With just days to go before the Democratic National Party convenes in Denver, CO for the 2008 Democratic National Convention (where the party will formally select its candidate for President of the United States of America) the presumptive nominee, Senator Barack Obama, has announced that he has chosen Senator Joseph Biden to be his Vice Presidential nominee. For weeks now, there has been speculation that Biden (known and respected for his foreign relations expertise) might be Obama‘s choice and late yesterday we learned that that speculation was correct. For the Dems, it’s gonna be Obama/Biden in the 2008 Presidential election come November:

Senator Barack Obama introduced Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. as his running mate on Saturday, a choice that strengthens the Democratic ticket’s credentials on foreign policy heading into the general election against Senator John McCain. In Mr. Biden, Mr. Obama selected a six-term senator best known for his expertise on foreign affairs — Mr. Biden spent last weekend in Georgia as that nation engaged in a tense confrontation with Russia — and his skills at political combat. Mr. Obama passed over other candidates, including Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana and Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who might have brought him a state or reinforced the message of change that has been central to his candidacy. He also bypassed Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, his main challenger in the primaries. It was perhaps the most critical decision Mr. Obama has made as his party’s presumptive nominee … Mr. Biden is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is familiar with foreign leaders and diplomats around the world. Although he initially voted to authorize the war in Iraq — Mr. Obama opposed it from the start — Mr. Biden became a persistent critic of President Bush’s policies in Iraq. Mr. Obama’s acquaintance with Mr. Biden is in no small part a result of the fact that the two serve together on that committee, aides said. Mr. Biden, who sought the Democratic presidential nomination himself this year before pulling out after performing poorly in the first contest, in Iowa, has shown himself to be a tough political brawler, a characteristic that many Democrats say Mr. Obama has not displayed against Mr. McCain. That is something that presidential candidates typically look for in a running mate. Mr. Biden seems likely to fill in other gaps in Mr. Obama’s political appeal that became increasingly clear during the primary season and going into the fall. He is a Roman Catholic, a group with which Mr. Obama had trouble during the Democratic primaries; he has a blue-collar background, potentially giving him appeal among working-class voters, another bloc in which Mr. Obama ran poorly in the primaries; and he was born in Pennsylvania, a battleground state that could be vital to both parties. Mr. Obama announced his choice in text and e-mail messages that began streaming out of his Chicago headquarters at 3 a.m., hours after news of his decision began leaking out. “Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee,” read the text message. “Watch the first Obama-Biden rally live at 3pm ET on www.BarackObama.com. Spread the word!” His e-mail announcement began: “Friend — I have some important news that I want to make official. I’ve chosen Joe Biden to be my running mate.”

With this choice, Obama chooses a running mate who is well seasoned and who brings to the ticket sort of knowledge and expertise that will help Barack Obama lead our country forward in a new direction away from the failures of the current administration. This is a very exciting time for the Democrats, the campaign is getting more solidified and very soon, things can be full steam ahead into November. I’m really looking forward to the upcoming Democratic National Convention … and I’m very much looking forward to watching the Obama/Biden ticket bring much needed change to the good o’l U S of A.

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