Urban Thought Collective

I know I’m on the late freight, everybody and their mother has weighed in on this historic election, but nonetheless, I couldn’t let this moment pass by without adding my ten cents (in this economy two cents ain’t worth what it used to be).

Lincoln once said, “Victory has many fathers.” Had he not been so justifiably fixated on the slavery issue, I’m sure he would’ve been concerned with equal rights for women and would’ve added “and mothers.” The following is my shout out to the 10 men and women (not counting the man himself) that just helped to make the world a better place.

1 ) Michelle Obama – She is the reason for the season as it were. She put the “we” in “Yes, we can.” I’ve confessed this before, but it bears repeating. If I had been married to Barack and he’d stepped to me talking about he wanted to run for president, I’d have knocked the black off that fool and we’d be a sorrier country for it.

2 ) George W. Bush – His incompetence is what made this all possible. His audacity of arrogance led us into two unjustifiable wars, mounting national debt, Guantanamo Bay, water boarding, “Mission Accomplished,” Katrina, Katrina, Katrina. His screw ups were so big, so reprehensible that even the most racist, ignorant slug could admit that NO ONE could do worse, even a nig…I mean colo…I mean neg, I mean, whatever the hell those people are calling themselves these days (you know damn well, that’s how the conversation went down in certain white folks homes).

3 ) David, David, and to a lesser extent David – All three are blessed with the audacity of vision. David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager got us Iowa and thus the primaries. David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist got us Ohio and thus the general election. It was Plouffe who realized if Hillary didn’t go down early, she wasn’t going down at all. It was Axelrod who put together a political team for the ages, one that never panicked or bickered, or wavered on its message. And finally, it was David Geffen who shortly after hearing Obama speak at the 2004 DNC, called him up and not only suggested he run for president but pledged his support. He was the first of the Hollywood elite to side against the Clinton machine opening the door for others and their fists full of dollars to follow.

4 ) John McCain – I hate to kick a man when he’s down, but come on! The guy had no plan, no vision, no clue. Maybe he can’t tell one va jay jay from another, but the rest of us can. Maybe he doesn’t know when the economy is anything but strong but the rest of us do. His audacity of ignorance is only matched by his audacity of disrespect.

5 ) Sarah Palin- Ever heard a cancer survivor say they are grateful for the disease because it was the wakeup call they needed? You betcha! Palin’s ineptitude, her utter contempt for anyone outside her comfort zone, her inability to string two coherent sentences together went a long way in forcing America to see that a smart black dude who may or may not be a Muslim, a socialist, an uppity elitist snob trumps a dumb white broad who may or may not be the dumbest, whitest broad ever, every time.

6 ) Oprah – She came out early and she came out strong, going on the road during the primaries when her presence was most needed, most effective, and most costly to her. A large portion of her fan base backed the broad in the pantsuits and their white suburban audacity of entitlement propelled many of them to declare that Oprah owed THEM and not the junior senator from the state she calls home. The uproar continued with Palin’s nomination, her white working class viewers and their audacity of entitlement called for a boycott when Oprah opted not to put the woman who it turns out wasn’t granting interviews anyway on her show. But the black woman with the funny name stood steadfast and firm, ignored the misplaced belly aching and is credited with helping to deliver one million votes to the black man with the funny sounding name.

7 ) The men and women of Iowa – They got this party started. The Hawkeye state with its 91% white population, home of Herbert Hoover, John Wayne, Johnny Carson, three of the whitest dudes to ever live, saw past the black skin, the unusual upbringing, the persnickety appetite and voted with their conscious. They had the audacity to believe the rest of America would wise up and follow.

8 ) The ladies and gentleman of Ohio – They delivered the knock out punch. No Republican has ever won the White House without winning Ohio and this election was no different. So thanks to the Buckeye State, home of Oberlin College, our nation’s first interracial and co-educational institution. Ohio was the first to enact laws protecting working women in 1852 and to elect a black public official in 1854. Seven U.S. presidents hail from here, not to mention, Halle Berry, LeBron James, Steven Speilberg, Neil Armstrong, Toni Morrison, Gloria Steinem, Jesse Owens, Branch Ricky, Ruby Dee, Paul Newman, Kathleen Battle, Erma Bombeck and Paul Laurence Dunbar.

9 ) Colin Powell – His support came late, yet right on time. Any earlier and Limbaugh might’ve actually got some people to ride on his “Powell is only endorsing him because he’s black” train. Powell got burned before, speaking out too soon, so this time he waited til all the facts were in; until after the economy collapsed, after Palin’s disastrous Katie Couric interview, after Obama proved more than presidential in all three debates. No one has quantified how many votes Powell’s endorsement brought to the table, but I know one for sure he delivered. My dad. It’s been a long held family secret that my dad is a Republican (one of the fiscally conservative, but socially liberal kind, but a Republican nonetheless), but on Tuesday, he followed Powell’s lead and put his country first and embraced change.

10 ) God – One could argue that he should be number one but since he is both the alpha and omega it shouldn’t really matter. Every speech that every candidate has made throughout this election process ended with sometimes a perfunctory, sometimes a heartfelt, “God Bless America,” and you know what, He did.

Tamara T. Gregory is a writer/producer/traveler. Happily single (yes, there really is such a thing), she is an expert on the dating game. Her debut novel, Passport Diaries, is an LA Times bestseller and is soon to become a Hollywood motion picture. The book is available at www.passportdiaries.com. Gregory’s X…WHY blog is exclusive to Urban Thought Collective.