Academics on the other "skinny guy from Illinois"

1. I think it's good to start with a not-necessarily academic -- but absolutely fabulous -- photo essay in The Big Picture blog on the next president of the United States

2. Cosma has a gorgeous cartogram of the 2008 presidential elections (there are several more on Mark Newman's site). He adds, "This map makes me happy, though not nearly as much as the reality. "

3. On The Daily Show Tuesday night, Charles Ogletree of Harvard said, "two skinny guys from Illinois have made a difference: Abe Lincoln and Barack Obama."

4. Sam Summers at Science of Small Talk (a Psychology Today blog): Race and The Race - Epilogue.

5. Kent Anderson at Scholarly Kitchen: The Scholarly Presidency: "... this administration will mark the first time our President, Vice President, and both their spouses have worked in higher education."

6. Patrix has a great graphic. See also his comments on Obama's election: "In Dr. King’s words, Obama did not win this election on account of his skin color but through the power of his ideas."

7. Ponderer was excited back in January, but now he's wondering when "I get to be disappointed by president Obama", because "it can only go downhill from here."

8. Over at Cosmic Variance, Risa quotes a poem by Maya Angelou.