It's been a devastating news weekend. One of the greatest talents of my generation, David Foster Wallace, hanged himself in his home on Friday. After two major hurricanes hit Texas back to back, reports of extensive damage and human suffering, with hints this morning that FEMA has dropped the ball again. The bankruptcy of one of the country's oldest financial institutions, the sale of another, and ripples of panic through the American financial industry as everyone waits to see how this will shake out. Rumblings from the leader of Venezuela about withholding sales of his country's oil to ours - 20% of our annual consumption - because he hates the policies of the Bush administration. You thought gas prices were high before?

We hold our breath, just waiting for a sense that something will shift back in the direction of sanity. And then something small happens, bringing with it the tiniest sigh of relief and a glimmer of hope that things can and just might get better.

That small something was a series of photographs posted on the internet taken by someone who had attended Barack Obama's address in Manchester, New Hampshire on Saturday. Young and old, people of every color, men and women, all coming out to hear from and support Barack Obama. And on every face a smile. It's a testament to the skills of the photographer that even though these are just still images we can help but feel the energy and excitement in that crowd. The smiles and energy are infectious, and just what I needed this Monday morning.

See them all here.

Would you like to see photos like this at the inauguration of President Obama? Then donate, if you can, to his campaign so that he can continue to strike back against the lies of his opponent. Get on the phone to let people know where Obama stands on the issues and how an Obama administration will actually address the problems that average American's face today. The Obama campaign has made it very easy for anyone to get involved. All you have to do is go to the BarackObama.com Action Center.

It can be a happy Monday after all.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 7:33 AM