There really is a huge change in America: Elisabeth Hasselbeck just apparently said something relatively nice about Barack Obama.
Just a day after excoriating the Democratic senator for his association with the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright, The View's resident right-winger struck a conciliatory tone, calling Obama's ascendance a "victory for our country."
Asked by mother hen Barbara Walters how she was dealing with the landslide victory for the opposing team, Hasselbeck replied, "No one lost today, and God knows I fought hard on the other side.
"Today is a victory for this country," she acknowledged. "The first black president. The first black first lady. The first black family. I haven't felt this good."
Aside from the View crew, celebs ranging from Kanye West to Lindsay Lohan to Brad Pitt to Madonna also chimed in on the election results.
• "Hi Mom, Obama Won!" Kanye West wrote on his website, in a shout-out to his late mother. The post was accompanied by a drawing of Obama's smiling face.
• "This is the beginning of a whole new world. This is a historical evening!" Madonna told thousands of fans regarding Obama's win, before leading them in a rendition of her hit "Express Yourself" at her concert Tuesday in San Diego. "We are lucky to be sharing it with each other!
• "Obama is our President!!!!!" exclaimed Lindsay Lohan on her MySpace blog. "Everyone that voted, no matter their choice...should be proud for voting in the first place."
• "Yes We Did," added gal-pal Samantha Ronson.
• "I've always maintained a strong faith in the power of Obama's positive campaign and am so proud of every citizen who took a stand, participated in the political process and insisted their voices be heard," actress Scarlett Johansson said in a statement, noting that the "overwhelming hope that Obama inspires is infectious."
• "I congratulate President-elect Obama on his historic victory, and now it's time to begin unifying the country so we can take on the extraordinary challenges that this generation faces."
• "It's a great day, it's a beautiful morning, a new dawn, a new beginning, not just in America but the world over," Spike Lee told the BBC. "I think race has always been interwoven in the fabric of America but, in this referendum of the American people, there's been a seismic movement as far as American views on race in this country. I think that's a lot to do with young white Americans—they don't have the same views as their parents.
• Michael Moore mused about how different things will be with the new guy in office, writing on his site: "What will it be like to have a smart president? Science, banished for eight years, will return. Imagine supporting our country's greatest minds as they seek to cure illness, discover new forms of energy, and work to save the planet. I know, pinch me."
• On his site, heartland rocker John Mellencamp said,"This for me is something I never thought I would see in my life...But today I am so proud of America."
• "There's been discrimination and all kinds of obstacles placed in the way of African Americans, and to now see an African American president is momentous," said Tracy Chapman. "My friend was crying, saying we are experiencing this moment in our lifetime."
• Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz credits Joe Biden as the reason he's alive. He blogged that his dad told him, "Mom and I met in Washington when we were both legislative assistants to Senator Biden when he was in his first term. I had worked in his campaign and your mother had been in the Foreign Service. We started out as friends and the rest is history."
• Brad Pitt, who attended Obama's victory rally at Chicago's Grant Park (sans Angelina Jolie), told reporters earlier in the night about how anxious he was watching the vote count. "I'll be a lot happier in about an hour and a half!" No doubt he's giddy now, not unlike...
• Ethan Hawke, who proclaimed "I'm so excited right now" to the New York Daily News at a bash Comedy Central threw at New York's the Park club. "I got up at 7:20 this morning, and I voted for Barack. I haven't had this much optimism in a long time. Tonight is historic!"
• Jessica Alba, also at the event, commented: "He was trying to bring people together."
• And, in an unlikley echo of Hasselbeck, 30 Rock star Jack McBraver pronounced, "We're all winners!"
(Originally published Nov. 5, 2008 at 11:35 p.m. PT.)