Have you always wanted to pen a presidential speech? Do you think the White House transition team lost your résumé?
If you're still angling for the job, we found a way for you to catch the eye of the president's team: Atom.com has a fun little feature called the "Inauguration Speech Generator."
"A grassroots Internet campaign helped Barack Obama get elected," the site says. "Now he's calling for the Internet's assistance one more time — to help him craft the best inauguration speech ever."
So, I decided to put the generator to the test, filled in the Mad Libs-like boxes with important-sounding words like "hope" and "patriots," and voilà! Here's what it would sound like if I got the chance to write Obama's history-making address:
"My fellow Americans, today is a prestigious day. You have shown the world that 'hope' is not just another word for 'country,' and that 'change' is not only something we can believe in again, but something we can actually honor. Read more...
By Liz Nord
New Year's Eve had nothing on last night's celebration in Times Square. When Barack Obama was announced as president-elect, thousands of New Yorkers and tourists from all over the world roared with a collective cheer — and the party didn't stop all night long.
A group of us from the Newsroom stepped out from behind our computers and cameras to join the crowd as the final results were called — a momentary break from a long night of reporting. Illuminated by the enormous electronic billboards and LCD screens displaying the news, cheering people filled Broadway as far as the eye could see. Strangers were embracing, kids were break dancing, and New Yorkers were actually friendly.
Read more...

Ludacris brought 18-year-old Eddie White to a polling station in St. Louis. It was White's first time voting, and he showed a strong grasp of just how much is at stake in this election. Eddie said he's concerned about health care, since he's no longer covered by his mother's insurance, and he also said that "the next four years determine where our country goes." His comments and attitude earned him no faint praise from Luda: "You're making me proud," the MC said, shaking Eddie's hand.
Read more...

Other than Chicago or Phoenix, I can't imagine anyplace one would rather be on this historic Election Day than that nucleus of all things political, CNN's Election Center in New York. That's exactly where our MTV News crew was Tuesday afternoon, shooting a segment with correspondent Soledad O'Brien.
MTV News and CNN don't often cross paths, but we are always happy to do so. We recently partnered with the network on our "Night for Vets" concert, and with the youth vote a driving force in what looks to be an unprecedented turnout today, it made sense for us to meet up once more.
I am not sure what I was expecting as we made our way to CNN's fifth-floor newsroom — frantic, frenetic energy, maybe, with the first polls set to close in a few hours? What we got was, you might say, the calm before the storm: a buzz of activity to be sure, but it was controlled, businesslike and, at times, even relaxed.
Read more...

The Obama campaign has reportedly asked some of his famous supporters stay away from his rally Tuesday night in Chicago's Grant Park, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Although the campaign is reportedly grateful for the high-profile support, several prominent celebs have reportedly been asked "politely but very firmly" to skip the rally and focus on attending the Obama inauguration in January, should that occur.
An Obama insider reportedly told the newspaper's Bill Zwecker that Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins and Ben Affleck were among those asked to stay away from tonight's festivities.
Read more...
Last time I spoke with Senator Barack Obama in Greensboro, North Carolina, right after the first presidential debate, I wrote afterward that it felt like I was talking to an "everyday citizen."
Now that I've talked to him again, this time just outside Las Vegas, I believe that's even more true. He comes off like a regular person — a regular person who just so happens to be running for president.
And that's what makes it so, well ... it's hard to put into words.
Read more...
As told to Lindsey Thomas
When we flew down to Greensboro, North Carolina, we knew we'd only have 15 minutes to speak with Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden. With so little time, I had to make sure that we covered the issues that are most important to you.
First, I wanted to address the presidential debate, specifically Senator John McCain's attacks on Obama. On Friday night, the Republican nominee frequently said that his rival is naive and doesn't understand the issues. Obama dismissed the comments as tactics that didn't hold any weight. In an election year, it can be hard to sort out truth, fiction and perception, but Obama said he feels that American voters can tell the difference.
Read more...
(by Michelle Rabinowitz)

Ah, one glorious week off from covering the election. One week abroad. In Europe! Where Barack Obama's face was EVERYWHERE! It was on television, on the covers of newspapers and magazines, not to mention the billboards advertising those newspapers and magazines. Leave it to me to take the week off (planned months in advance, no less) when the Democratic nominee was finally decided upon. And, leave it to me to spend a lot of my time listening to people from New Zealand, England, France and Scotland tell me what THEY thought about our election. It turns out they are pretty curious about this Obama chap. They know he's running against "a war hero, which you Americans love," according to a French friend, but mostly they were just impressed by how "cool" he was.
Read more...
Posted 3/28/08 1:48 pm ET by MTV News in Uncategorized
Remember when 50 Cent "endorsed" Hillary Clinton for President, and caught some flack from his rap peers (and some love from Bill O' Reilly)? Sure you do.
Well, when we were in Connecticut this week to talk with 50 about the new G-Unit album and his new video game, some of us were more interested about that left-field Hillary endorsement, and wondered what he thought of Hillary and Barack now that the contest has gotten somewhat ugly.
BREAKING NEWS: 50 Don't Know!
In the clip below, he admits why he fell for Hillary initially, then how Barack reminded him of Malcolm X and he suddenly became "Obama all the way!" (Thankfully, unlike DMX, 50 Cent has indeed heard of Barack Obama). And now? He's not paying attention. He just throws up his hands, "Just say 50 Cent, he don't know."
Ok, we will.