CQ Politics' Web Picks

New York Times: A Time to Reap for Foot Soldiers of Civil Rights

As they exited the voting booths, some in wheelchairs, others with canes, these foot soldiers of the civil rights movement could not suppress either their jubilation or their astonishment at having voted for an African-American for president of the United States.

Washington Post: America's History Gives Way to Its Future

Across America, the revelry looked like a rolling collage of World Series celebrations. In the nation's capital, Pennsylvania Avenue outside the White House became the symbolic location for exultation. What began as a spontaneous gathering of 100 just past 11 p.m. soon mushroomed into thousands by 1 a.m., people chanting in the rain oChicago Tribuneutside the home of George W. Bush.

Chicago Tribune: The Grant Park Rally in Photos

An estimated 125,000 people turned out on an unusually warm November night to hear Barack Obama claim victory at Grant Park, often called Chicago's "front yard." Page through the Tribune's 117 photos from last night's rally.

Ebony: A Solemn and Decisive Victory

The crowd in Grant Park mirrored the mood of the man they came to see. It was if everyone, collectively, knew that this moment was borne of a troubled time. Hope propelled us here, but deeply tough times was the platform that built it.

Slate: The Coming Obama-Press War

Those who predict a three-month honeymoon between journalists and the incoming President Obama have not been reading their daily newspaper. These are not normal times. The economy has fallen into an abyss, Afghanistan appears lost, and Obama's own party will turn on him if he doesn't transform the country into Sweden overnight. No matter how well he prepares, every new president faces a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't template.

Anchorage Daily News: Can Sarah Palin Go Home Again?

In the 68 days since Alaska's governor began her run for vice president, things have changed on the home front. Some of her former allies are fuming, and former enemies are lying in wait. Public perceptions of the governor have also changed. Has the governor changed as well?

Salon: I Watched Fox News for Five Hours Last Night

I'm not here to kick sand in the face of the Fox News Channel. For the first time in its existence, Fox on Election Night 2008 seemed a weak and piteous thing, trying to cover its nakedness with shreds of dignity, and staring mortality right in the face.

New York Observer: Can President Obama Avoid President Clinton's Early Mistakes?

As he transitions from campaigning to governing, Mr. Obama would be very wise to consider very carefully the example of Mr. Clinton - and to make sure he doesn't emulate it, at least not in the early days of his administration.

Foreign Policy: What McCain and Obama Didn't Talk About

Some of the most pressing international issues the next president will face were barely discussed during the 2008 campaign. How will McCain or Obama handle them? We'll just have to wait and see.

Financial Times: World Welcomes Obama Victory

FT correspondents report on the international reaction to Barack Obama's victory in the US presidential election.

National Review: The Possibilities of President Obama

On a night of glorious triumph for him and his ravenous supporters, the message could easily have been: Time for you bitter clingers to get with the program. It wasn't. Instead, the new president spoke humbly to those whose votes he said he had not yet "earned." Does he mean it? Here's hoping so.

New Republic: America, the Liberal

In a cover story labeled "America the Conservative," Newsweek editor Jon Meacham warned that, "[s]hould Obama win, he will have to govern a nation that is more instinctively conservative than it is liberal." These guys--and the others who are counseling Barack Obama and the Democrats to "go slow"--couldn't be more wrong.

Power Line: No Landslide

Barack Obama's victory last night was no doubt historic, and the Democrats, as expected, extended their leads in the House and the Senate. But their victory was no landslide, despite what appeared to be overwhelming advantages.

Wired: Nanobama - The World's Tiniest Candidate Portrait

Sculpted using nanolithography by University of Michigan mechanical engineer, John Hart, each Obama face is composed of 150 million carbon nanotubes and measures half a millimeter across.