Many voters were not content with their choices for President. Thankfully, our democratic systems allow these free thinkers to write in their own choice. The write-in tally from Duval County, Florida reveals who was most popular. There are fictional characters and non-fictional, former candidates and current celebrities, religious figures and sports heroes.  Two surprises: Ron Paul beat out Jesus, and Donald Duck ties his long time rival Mickey Mouse. Something odd: four people wrote in Obama but his name was already on the ballot. My personal favorite, Weird Al Yankovic.

The overall write-in winner was Hillary Clinton- not a complete surprise given her strong showing during the primaries and her popularity with older Americans (a significant population in Florida). Joe the Plumber also made a showing…some are speculating he may run as…

The exit polls has been analyzed and the evidence is clear. Evangelicals may have tipped it in for Bush in 2004, but Obama made significant gains among them in 2008. Now being called “Obamagelicals,” they are a sign that the Religious Right is eroding and a more moderate Christian voting block is emerging–one that neither party has in its pocket.The Obama campaign made a strong push to appeal to religious voters, and not just Christians. Obama made gains among Jews as well when compared to Kerry in 2004. From The New York Times:

Mr. Obama doubled his support among young white evangelicals (those ages 18 to 29) compared with Mr. Kerry. The increase was almost the same for white evangelicals ages 30 to 44. “There is definitely a generational…

Amazing.

How else can you describe what happened last night when Barack Obama became the first African American elected President of the United States? The internet is saturated with essays documenting the magnitude of this event, but it’s the images of people cheering, crying, and celebrating throughout the world that really capture the emotion of it all.

Amid the reflection there have been numerous references to Martin Luther King Jr.’s pioneering civil rights movement and his “dream.” One commentator on the news last night said the day King delivered his famous speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial he could not have known that a two year old boy in Hawaii would become the fulfillment of his prophecy.

I’ve been fascinated by Martin Luther King since seminary–not just as a civil right leader,…

Our regular columnist over at Out of Ur, Collin Hansen, has a really interesting examination of the presidential debate between McCain and Obama. Beyond the obvious difference between left and right, liberal and conservative, young and old–Hansen sees a distinct difference in worldview between Modernity (McCain) and Postmodernity (Obama). I definitely think he’s got a point, but I’m not convinced it’s simply a matter of Mo verses Pomo.

I still have yet to read a thoughtful article about how Obama’s diverse, multi-ethnic background has influenced his view of the world as well as his ability to engage people of differing views. For example, is his willingness to engage in diplomacy with America’s “enemies” a result of his liberal politics, his disdain for Bush’s foreign policy, or the outworking of a value…