President-elect Barack Obama outlined his plan to create over 2.5 million new jobs by 2011, as his government looks today creating massive public works projects. By promising to rebuild roads and bridges, modernizing schools, developing alternative energy sources and more efficient cars. High-speed, light rail should most certainly be part of such projects, something the United States desperately needs. Though expect Republicans to cry about Socialism, Marxism, Bushism or whatever during the whole time.

On Friday, the New Times Reported that Senator Hillary Clinton will accept the Obama administration’s offer for her to become the next Secretary of State. Good news for Hillary, but what would it mean for the Obama administration? Anywhere the Clintons go, they carry a lot of baggage with them, some good, some bad. Will Hillary plan her run for 2012 while she’s supposedly working to make the Obama administration the best possible? Or has she agreed to cool it until 2016? I find that highly unlikely. I guess Obama is trying hard to keep his enemies as close as possible, I just hope he doesn’t keep his back turned for too long, else he may end up with the Clintons’ political tool of choice in it.

In other cabinet news, MSNBC reported that Obama will announce Tim Geithner as Treasury Secretary and former Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson as commerce secretary. No word on if Richardson will grow his beard back or not, though MSNBC was happy to note that minutes after reporting on Geithner’s acceptance, the DOW sprung up 300 points, showing Wall Street’s full approval of Geithner.

Brilliant. I’m excited about the moves Obama is making to bring modern communication methods into the Presidency. In addition to radio, Obama’s weekly addresses will also be done via video sharing sites, such as YouTube, Vimeo, Veoh, Yahoo Video and much more. This week, Obama released the first of many weekly addresses to the nation, touching on the current economic crisis.

As if more than two years on the campaign trail weren’t enough time for some to learn about Barack Obama, the British newspaper, Telegraph, has collected an excellent article containing 50 facts us norms might not know about our president-elect. For instance, he’s left-handed, cooks a mean chilli and collects comic books!

• He collects Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics
• He was known as “O’Bomber” at high school for his skill at basketball
• His name means “one who is blessed” in Swahili
• His favourite meal is wife Michelle’s shrimp linguini
• He won a Grammy in 2006 for the audio version of his memoir, Dreams From My Father
• He is left-handed – the sixth post-war president to be left-handed
• He has read every Harry Potter book
• He owns a set of red boxing gloves autographed by Muhammad Ali
• He worked in a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop as a teenager and now can’t stand ice cream
• His favourite snacks are chocolate-peanut protein bars
• He ate dog meat, snake meat, and roasted grasshopper while living in Indonesia
• He can speak Spanish
• While on the campaign trail he refused to watch CNN and had sports channels on instead
• His favourite drink is black forest berry iced tea
• He promised Michelle he would quit smoking before running for president – he didn’t
• He kept a pet ape called Tata while in Indonesia
• He can bench press an impressive 200lbs
• He was known as Barry until university when he asked to be addressed by his full name
• His favourite book is Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
• He visited Wokingham, Berks, in 1996 for the stag party of his half-sister’s fiancé, but left when a stripper arrived
• His desk in his Senate office once belonged to Robert Kennedy
• He and Michelle made $4.2 million (£2.7 million) last year, with much coming from sales of his books
• His favourite films are Casablanca and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
• He carries a tiny Madonna and child statue and a bracelet belonging to a soldier in Iraq for good luck
• He applied to appear in a black pin-up calendar while at Harvard but was rejected by the all-female committee.
• His favourite music includes Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Bach and The Fugees
• He took Michelle to see the Spike Lee film Do The Right Thing on their first date
• He enjoys playing Scrabble and poker
• He doesn’t drink coffee and rarely drinks alcohol
• He would have liked to have been an architect if he were not a politician
• As a teenager he took drugs including marijuana and cocaine
• His daughters’ ambitions are to go to Yale before becoming an actress (Malia, 10) and to sing and dance (Sasha, 7)
• He hates the youth trend for trousers which sag beneath the backside
• He repaid his student loan only four years ago after signing his book deal
• His house in Chicago has four fire places
• Daughter Malia’s godmother is Jesse Jackson’s daughter Santita
• He says his worst habit is constantly checking his BlackBerry
• He uses an Apple Mac laptop
• He drives a Ford Escape Hybrid, having ditched his gas-guzzling Chrysler 300
• He wears $1,500 (£952) Hart Schaffner Marx suits
• He owns four identical pairs of black size 11 shoes
• He has his hair cut once a week by his Chicago barber, Zariff, who charges $21 (£13)
• His favourite fictional television programmes are Mash and The Wire
• He was given the code name “Renegade” by his Secret Service handlers
• He was nicknamed “Bar” by his late grandmother
• He plans to install a basketball court in the White House grounds
• His favourite artist is Pablo Picasso
• His specialty as a cook is chilli
• He has said many of his friends in Indonesia were “street urchins”
• He keeps on his desk a carving of a wooden hand holding an egg, a Kenyan symbol of the fragility of life
• His late father was a senior economist for the Kenyan government

Around the country and around the World people are celebrating the election of Barack Obama. In the streets. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world are and were actually celebrating IN THE STREETS. Amazing times we’re living in and there is no doubt we’ve just witnessed history.

Here’s a quick look around the world at reaction to Obama’s win. I have a good feeling the United States just bumped their reputation up by leaps and bounds tonight.

- The Guardian states: Change has come

- Down to the wire 600,000 early votes still haven’t even been counted yet in Georgia

- Tupalo.com, An Austrian internet startup celebrates the Obama win with their unique combination of Austrian youth culture (”Krocha“) with their Obamoida t-shirts.

- We all just experienced the largest voter turnout in almost 100 years

- Jerusalem is worried that Obama will be soft on Iran — eyes roll around the world

- The Australian says this is more than just a vote for change

One of the most reliable sources for election projections is not a traditional exit poll, it’s in fact the future betting markets! Betfair has put together an amazing chart tracking the national presidential elections by averaging millions of placed around the country. The chart is currently showing Obama so far ahead it’s not even funny, but who knows, there is still a 5-10% chance eh?

My picture of the week! Rednecks for Obama have a clever (albeit disturbing) spin on the trademark O logo.

Ouch, the hits keep on coming. Though the far right are still in their dreamland that everything is a-ok in McCain / Palin land, everything is not OK. For instance, this weekend we had the shocking news that Palin’s homestate newspaper, The Anchorage Daily News, has endorsed Barack Obama for president of the United States. Well gosh, I guess it’s not all rose petals and moose pies in the great white North.

Highlighting the steady hand and calm-demeanor of Obama, The Anchorage Daily News had some choice words. On Obama

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand. The same cannot be said of Sen. McCain.

On Palin

Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range. Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time.

On McCain

Sen. McCain describes himself as a maverick, by which he seems to mean that he spent 25 years trying unsuccessfully to persuade his own party to follow his bipartisan, centrist lead. Sadly, maverick John McCain didn’t show up for the campaign. Instead we have candidate McCain, who embraces the extreme Republican orthodoxy he once resisted and cynically asks Americans to buy for another four years.

The famous Budweiser commercial which has entertained millions for over 8 years and has spawned numerous sequels and parodies over the years has returned. Though this time a little more political and not with the permission of Budweiser.

The original Waaaasup actors have returned to film a beautifully directed commercial in support of the Obama campaign.

And see the boys back then, in happier times

John McCain’s campaign took another odd twist today when they announced that the star of the official election night watch party may only appear briefly in front of his supporters at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona. Instead, McCain plans on delivering his post-election remarks to a small group of reporters and invited guests on the hotel lawn.

McCain’s remarks will be piped electronically into the party and media filing center, aides said. Only a small press “pool” — mostly those who have traveled regularly with the candidate on his campaign plane, plus a few local Arizona reporters and others — will be physically present when he speaks.

Obama, by contrast, plans to address a giant outdoor celebration election night in Chicago’s Grant Park. The event is free and open to the public, but the campaign was charging media organizations a hefty fee for close-in spots on the camera risers and platforms and for cable and wireless Internet at those spots.

That “hefty fee” by the way is commonplace for news organizations at election night viewing parties and rings up to a whopping $935 per press agent. McCain is charging a “hefty fee” of $695 per press agent.

But as Obama spokesman Bill Burton pointed out, “Anyone credentialed for our filing center will also be able to watch the event live and in person, unlike the McCain event.”