First, I hope all of you had a thankful Thanksgiving.  Today Barack Obama, the President Elect, named the members that will make up his National Security Team.  As expected, Hillary Clinton will take the position as Secretary of State, and Robert Gates will keep his position as Defense Secretary and Eric Holder will hold the position of Attorney General, Janet Napolitano will take position of Homeland Security Secretary, Susan Rice will be U.N. Ambassador, and General James Jones will be the National Security Advisor.

Many believe that his choices show us that he is not choosing based on liberal inclinations, but on the wisdom that the members he has chosen bring to the table.  Remember, Obama has very little experience, and he is going to hold the HIGHEST office in the United States, so must surround himself with older, wiser and more experienced individuals. It appears that this is just what he is doing, and in my humble opinion shows some measure of humility and wisdom on the part of the President Elect.

We will get into the individuals more over time, for now, what does the National Security Council do?

According to the web page on whitehouse.gov, (the photo will change there shortly, by the way), the establishment of the National Security Council took place in 1947, and became part of the Executive Office of the President in 1949.

The National Security Council is chaired by the President. Its regular attendees (both statutory and non-statutory) are the Vice President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the statutory military advisor to the Council, and the Director of National Intelligence is the intelligence advisor. The Chief of Staff to the President, Counsel to the President, and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy are invited to attend any NSC meeting. The Attorney General and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget are invited to attend meetings pertaining to their responsibilities. The heads of other executive departments and agencies, as well as other senior officials, are invited to attend meetings of the NSC when appropriate.

The team advises the President on matters related to the security of our Nation, and foreign policies, and the coordinating and distribution of the polices to the appropriate government agencies.

Barack Obama is already doing weekly radio addresses which are being video recorded, and will be available on YouTube each week, at least this is what I heard today, so I took a look, and found the following for this week:

Today the transition from a Bush/Cheney to an Obama/Biden Administration will begin.  And here I thought that maybe Obama would get some down time, but no, I guess that’s not how it works.

I don’t know a lot about what goes on during a transition like this, at least I didn’t until I visited a site on Squidoo…if you don’t know what Squidoo is, well, you’ll have to figure that out when you visit this link all about Transitioning the Presidency.

Okay, I didn’t vote for him, but wow, what an incredible moment. Barack Obama is our 44th President! I can’t help but think of how the first Africans, before they were called many other names, now African Americans, became part of our Country, all that they have been through, and now what a historic moment!

Actually, I am reminded by a commentator on television that Barack is a Bi-racial President, one who reaches a diverse group, I wish I could put into words the many thoughts that are going through my mind, nothing negative, just amazement, wonder, awe.

Congratulations to all of you embracing this moment, I truly am happy for you all, and will be praying for our new President and Vice President.

I’ve learned a lot through doing this blog, and hope to learn a lot more in the days to come.

Now it is time for us all to come together…work together.

First may I extend my heartfelt sympathy to the Obama family at the loss of Barack’s grandmother.  It must be good to know that the election process is finally drawing to a close so that there will be more time with family, time to honor her.

Please know that because my husband and I are not Democrats, and do not agree with many of the things on the Democratic platform, we do not let this come between us and the people around us.  Oh we talk back to the commentators on television, and make a nasty comment or two at something that is said, but the bottom line is that we care about family and friends no matter what the party or who they vote for.

That is something that is concerning me with this campaign…people are so passionate about it, that I’m concerned about what kind of reactions there will be when one candidate wins, and the other does not.  I do like how Obama always speaks of us having to come together, no matter what our differences are, and trust that will be what happens.

Still, as is almost always the case, tomorrow we will be voting Republican, for John McCain, Sarah Palin and those on the ballot in our State and local government.  I guess that is quite obvious from this blog.  At long, long last, it’s the night before election day.  My husband has gone to get his challenge papers (he’s on the local town committee for our party), and we have reviewed our sample ballots.  The yard is “decorated” with signage of his favorite candidates, and we were able to get ahold of a McCain/Palin sign a little while back, better late than never.

For me, election day and evening is almost like watching the Super Bowl, or the World Series, a game with a winner and someone who doesn’t win, but the far reaching consequences are so very much greater.

Get out and vote, everyone, and whatever the outcome, remember, we live in the greatest Country in the World…God has blessed America, don’t forget to thank Him for that, and lets come out of this excessively long campaign season, and the election, caring for one another, no matter what candidate we voted for, and no matter who wins.

I believe I heard that Barack Obama will be stepping away from campaigning at least for a couple of days to go to Hawaii to be with his Grandmother.  Her health has not been good, and has taken a turn, so we wish the Obama family the best at this time.

Updated 10/23/08 - I didn’t realize it was going to take a few days for Barack to head to Hawaii when I posted this, he’s there or headed there today, wishing him some special time with his Grandmother.  She is the last living relative that was most involved in his upbringing during his formative years…his mother and grandfather have passed away.

The first Presidential Debate in Mississippi happened as planned, in spite of all the plot twists over the past 24-48 hours.

Obama, true to form, was well versed, so some of that time he spent practicing his lines in Florida over the past few days before going to Washington payed off, and there’s no denying he is very eloquent.  We all want a President that cares about us, and he knows everyone is worried about money, and he played to that very well just as he always does.

When I listened to McCain, I felt like a Mom who was watching her son up on stage (even though I’m much younger) and rooting for him because he is my favorite, but cringing at times because I wanted him to be able to PERFORM as nicely as Obama did.

That’s just never going to happen, McCain is a straight shooter, but he’s not a great performer…and I don’t care about that EXCEPT for the fact that appearances are so important to people who don’t want to look past the facade.  I thought McCain repeated himself a lot, and thought both candidates, instead of bringing something fresh and new, often reverted back to the speeches that they give during their Campaign stops, lines I’ve heard repeatedly as I’ve followed closely during the past many…too many…weeks.

So round #1, as far as performance, goes to Obama, but I know deep inside that I want experience, and someone who has has had the courage to stand up against even his own party when he doesn’t agree…so at present, my November vote still goes to McCain.

Now we look forward to the VP Debate next week on October 2nd…where did September go anyway? Have a great weekend!

Here’s the debate: