It was a hotly contested race, both through both sets of primaries as well as the final campaign, but the 2008 United States Presidential Election is over, and the results are historic: for the first time a black man has been elected President of the United States, the winner: Barack Obama.

Ever hear of the "Bradley Effect?" Named after Tom Bradley, who lost a California gubernatorial race that polls said he should have won, it refers to an alleged tendency on the part of some voters to tell pollsters that they are undecided or likely to vote for a black candidate, and yet, on election day, vote for his/her white opponent.

Perhaps this shows just why Sarah Palin has ties to the Alaska Independence Party, a secessionist movement. She thinks parts of the country are not Pro-American!

The GOP, as part of its negative campaigning, keeps emphasizing Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein, chanting "Barack Hussein Obama" as though that alone would turn him from Christian (which he is) to Muslim (which he is not).

As the U.S., nay, world economic crisis clearly affects his poll numbers in a downward direction --- McCain himself, mind you, has said his economic knowledge isn't all it should be --- he has turned to nearly 100% negative campaigning, rather than focusing on the issues.

If John McCain wants to turn to negative campaigning instead of the issues, Barack Obama has one thing to say to him: "Bring it on."

Bonny Jean Jacobs, 78, the mother-in-law of Senator Joe Biden, Barack Obama's running mate and the Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee, has died after a long illness.

Tina Fey has skewered Sarah Palin a few times already, and one of the problems (for Palin) with the skits are that they are uncannily right on, right down to using Palin's exact words as part of the comedy skit. If that doesn't tell you what a brain trust she is, what will?

Well, here's a case of extreme exaggeration at its best, and out-and-out lying at its worst. Wednesday morning on NPR, while discussing the financial crisis, talk (naturally) turned to his running mate, Sarah Palin. When questioned about her knowledge of foreign policy ... well, here's the transcript:

Danny Funderburk, mayor of Fort Mill, South Carolina, said the only reason he forwarded on a chain letter asking if Barack Obama was the Antichrist was because he was "just curious."

When a comedy skit uses much of your own words, some of it verbatim while not changing much of the rest, and at the same time pretty much echoing what you yourself said, what does that mean?

One thng for sure, McCain made his mark with those who watched the debate, but not necessarily in the right way. Many who watched the debate, and I'm not talking about pundits or analysts, noted the following: