From 'property' to U.S. president

The long-anticipated day of seeing an African-American as the leader of the free world is a tree that bears much fruit. Some is obvious and well discussed, some remains hidden, but all are equally sweet.

We witness a worldwide galvanization only seen in my generation when Nelson Mandela was freed and apartheid fell. The images of people across the world celebrating in the streets were just as fervent in Kenya as Chicago, Indonesia as Madison.

How many tears have been shed in the struggle for true equality? And now, we ask with a smile, how many tears were shed with felicity over the realization of something so momentous?

Our country showed we can improve from the ills of past generations. Isn't that what makes America so great? We do learn. We do change. We do care. Thank you, America.

-- Michael Jabs, Madison

No real joy until abortion addressed

At midnight on Election Day, we saw Jesse Jackson, tears running down his cheeks, rejoicing over Barack Obama's election.

Yes, he's jubilant that someone of his own race was elected to the presidency, but he ought to also shed tears because hundreds of thousands of black children are aborted each year.

Obama, the most vehemently pro-abortion president-elect in both history and memory, has promised to further legislate accessibility to the slaughter of the unborn. Substitute slavery for abortion, and we have today's mindset.

When chattel slavery was considered essential for the economy, supported by both northern and southern Democrats, slavery was best left alone, tolerated for the country's economy. Today, our ideology is that the economy trumps the civil rights of the unborn.

Where are luminaries who can speak to the evil of abortion as Quakers, abolitionist editors and transcendental intellectuals like Emerson and Thoreau did about slavery in the 19th century?

In Chicago's Grant Park, nearly a quarter of a million people danced in the streets, exulting over the election outcome. Then there are those, like the unborn, who will never dance.

-- Colleen Schultz, Mineral Point

Contrast 1968, 2008 Chicago Dem scene

I attended the Democratic National Convention in 1968 in Grant Park. It was a scene of anger, violence, hate, blood and tears.

The only similarity to the scene there on Election Day were the tears -- on Jesse Jackson's face. This is the first time I've ever liked him.

I've never been idealistic, but I wonder if some of those vibrations of love and hope that flooded most of America might have gone farther. Kim Jong-Il was listening, and Putin, Chavez, Castro, Ahmadinejad. . .

I've never talked about 1968 in 40 years, but those who were fortunate enough to have participated on Nov. 4, 2008, have something to tell their grandchildren.

-- Joe Winters, Middleton

Race irrelevant - Obama best for job

We both thought the question should have read "What does the election of Obama as president mean to you?"

We don't care what color he is. He is clearly the best person for the job. We're thrilled to have someone in command who has a brain, a heart and a conscience.

We're elated to have a president-elect who can give us hope, who understands the issues, will include us in the democratic process, will reach out to all parties, will watch out for Main Street and Wall Street, will end the war and will restore our standing in the world and heal our shame.

Hallelujah! There's a rainbow in the sky for all of us.

-- Sue and Tom Holmes, Baraboo

Afraid to be American

For the first time in my life, I am afraid to be an American.

-- Robert Rocca, Madison

Big heart and brain trump prejudice

It is wonderful that we have an African-American as president-elect. What's more wonderful is that our citizens overlooked their prejudice and voted to elect an African-American.

Barack Obama has a big heart and a big brain. I hope he and his administration repair some of the damage that has been done to our country.

-- Mary W. Gage, Middleton

Respect winner, but protect own values

Barack Obama won the presidential election which represents the will of the majority. The American people have spoken.

I did not vote for Obama because he does not come close to representing my Catholic Christian values. However, I will respect the voices of the people who voted for him, and I will respect Obama and the office he will hold.

Nevertheless, I resolve to be more vigilant in protecting my religious values, and more forceful in speaking out for the truth of those values as I understand them. In particular, I resolve to become the voice of the innocent human beings in the womb who are aborted before birth.

If we, as a society, do not protect the most innocent of our citizens, the moral fabric of our great country will deteriorate to useless rags, and we will surely die as a nation. May God have mercy on and help us.

-- Wayne Hunt, Madison

Election means we got over race thing

The election of the first black president means we can get over the race thing and start paying attention to what the candidates stand for. And we got the worst president of all times out.

-- Tim Lovick, Madison

Other Dem's agendas will get in the way

I hope that as president, Obama will be able to accomplish everything he has promised.

However, I doubt that he will be able to. He is surrounded by Harry, Nancy, Barney and Chris, who have put their own agendas first.

-- Robert Linn, Lyndon Station

Sharing victory with beloved teacher

I was born in 1961, the same year as our president-elect. In 1972 my family left Wisconsin and moved to Columbia, S.C. It was complete culture shock. Although the civil rights movement had abolished the Jim Crow laws, they were still silently -- and not so silently -- observed.

Busing was supposed to eliminate school segregation, so I was bused to Fairwold Annex, an all-black middle school. The building's broken windows and barbed wire-topped fence gave the impression of a prison, not an institution of learning.

There I met Ms, Harper, a woman who will forever be a symbol of hope in the racial divide. She was a petite, young teacher who saw me -- the only child in her class who could read at grade level -- as her hope, gave me books to read and discussed my reports.

I only went to Fairwold for sixth grade; the next year we moved to an all-white suburb.

On Election Day, watching Americans crying tears of hope and joy, I cried for my classmates at Fairwold and all I learned there. I prayed that somewhere Ms. Harper was watching.

I shared that moment with her, an African-American woman who had been taught through generations of racism that "those who can, do -- and those who can't, teach," a hero who stood tall in the midst of desolation at Fairwold so many years ago. "Yes, we can," Ms. Harper!

-- Kelly Marks, Columbus

His inexperience will embolden enemies

Now that Barack Obama is president-elect, will the Muslim jihadists lay down their arms and beat them into plowshares, or will the selection of Rahm Emanuel, who is Jewish, as chief of staff rile the Muslim world even more?

Will having a president with a Muslim middle name protect our nation from terrorism, or not? I guess Vice President-elect Joe Biden answered that question for us, saying there will be a "generated" crisis within six months to test the mettle of this naive novice.

They will bait him to see how much they can get away with. What shape will it take? That's anyone's guess.

-- J. Fall, New Glarus

Election made MLK's dream come true

As a black teenager, the election of America's first black president means a lot to me. I feel that Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream has become a reality, 45 years later.

I felt proud on Election Day knowing that I would be able to vote in such a historic election and my heart swelled with pride and tears filled my eyes when I watched Obama's victory speech. President-elect Barack Obama has made history not just for this generation, but for future generations, and for that I am happy, thankful and grateful.

-- Jasmine Bradley Wilson, Madison

Note historic win for blacks; loss for gays

I voted for Barack Obama regardless of race, because I thought he was by far the better candidate for president. I knew this would be a historic victory should he win, but I didn't understand its magnitude until I viewed coverage of the celebration throughout the U.S. and the world.

And hearing prominent African-American journalists, politicians, athletes and entertainers saying they never thought this moment would happen in their lifetimes made it more incredible. We should all feel lucky to have witnessed such a monumental event.

Unfortunately, while the celebrating was taking place, a few more states were quietly stripping away the rights of gay people. Florida, Arizona and California all passed constitutional amendments banning gay marriage. Arkansas banned "unmarried couples" from adopting children, ensuring that gay couples cannot adopt.

We've made great progress in civil rights for many, but we still lag way behind for others. I hope that future generations will lead the way in reversing discriminatory measures taken against all groups of people.

-- Kari LaScala, Waunakee

Impact resonates in black community

I underestimated the impact of electing a black president because I believe we elected the best candidate, regardless of race, gender, religion, ethnicity or political ideology.

Barack Obama is an impressive man who has the potential of being a great leader, which we desperately need, especially during these difficult times.

As a 53-year-old, white, independent, female voter, I cringed at any suggestion during the campaign that Sarah Palin on John McCain's ticket represented women voters in any way except perhaps the single-issue, anti-abortion, religious right woman voter.

Our society has not totally evolved beyond considerations of race and gender, and I am encouraged by the election of a black man for president. It shows that we are growing as a nation by focusing on what really matters.

We will be better off on many levels, including having an excellent role model for our youth, especially young black Americans, and the possibility of restoring respect for our nation around the world.

-- Nancy Gunder, Middleton

Obama candidacy united Democrats

I wanted to vote in person and I'd known for months that Barack Obama had my vote, but what I felt on Election Day as I voted was something I did not anticipate. I felt proud, grateful and truly happy to have had the opportunity to participate in such a historic event.

The election of Obama gives me hope at a time when hope is sorely needed. Obama inspired young and old, women and men of all races and united the Democratic Party -- no small feat. He and his team created a groundswell of support and built coalitions that I think will continue to support change and serve communities throughout this country for years,

His election gives me hope that perhaps we really can begin to attend to those most in need.

-- Lori Bose, Madison

Obama must avoid advisers like Bush's

For me, Barack Obama being black is secondary to what he said as a presidential candidate. Obama gave me hope for a better future because he spoke about "a chance for change" and expressed concern about "our planet in peril."

The change Obama promised was nebulous, but his family connections in Kenya and Indonesia and his experience as a community organizer, law student, professor of constitutional Law and statesman convinced me that he would work with people around the world, bringing peace and mitigating global climate change.

But I worry that every day Obama receives the same security briefings from the U.S. intelligence service that President Bush does. In this process, is Obama being brainwashed to see the world as Bush does, with only military solutions to international problems?

To keep on the right track, Obama needs two additional daily briefings from Bill Richardson, about negotiations at the United Nations, and from Al Gore, about the climate change crisis. If that happens, I will again have hope for a better future under the leadership of Barack Obama, a president who happens to be black.

-- Lee Brown, Madison

Represents leap in race relations

The election of the nation's first black president means progress has been made. At least I know the majority of Americans were able to look past his skin color and vote him into office.

And I know there were many people who didn't vote for Barack Obama, not because of what he stood for, but strictly based on race.

I am still amazed that he won. I can't put into words how I feel. I didn't think the majority of Americans were ready for a black president.

I just turned 32, and I never thought I would see this occur in my lifetime, my children's lifetimes or even my grandchildren's lifetimes.

Our country was built on racial divisions. A generation ago, everything was still segregated. My parents were taught from the outdated books passed on to them from white schools. They drank out of "colored" water fountains and didn't attend school with anyone but blacks until they started graduate school.

When people speak of our president, or when people from other countries look at who is leading our nation, it makes me proud that it's a person of color.

-- Trocelia Coleman, Stoughton