This is our moment

"An American with the name Barack Hussein Obama, the son of a white woman and a black man he barely knew, raised by his grandparents far outside the stream of American power and wealth, has been elected the 44th president of the United States."

Grant Park, Chicago, IL


It's still settling in. I prayed and hoped and crossed my fingers and worried up until McCain's concession speech that somehow something would go wrong. For as long as I've been old enough to vote, something always does. But this time, it didn't. Instead, Barack Obama was elected the next president of the United States. The first African American president, to be exact.

Amazing.

This moment is about so much more than race. Although it's a historic moment, personally, I still think the US is as racist as it was two years ago before Obama started his campaign. I think we were ready not so much for a black president but for someone with his vision. He saw what was wrong with the country and proposed a government that would protect and provide for its citizens and require service, sacrifice, accountability and responsibility from its people in exchange. We were ready for real leadership. We were ready for change.

It's hard not to have high expectations. We're still fighting a war, in the middle of a major recession and neglecting the issues that matter - health care, education, employment, wages, global warming, foreign relations etc. It's nice to think that Obama will sweep into office, heal the partisan divides and fix all of our problems, but it's not going to be easy at all. I don't know why anyone would want to be president but I'm glad that someone as smart, talented, disciplined, calm, and kind as Obama would want to take on the challenges. Hope is a powerful thing and again, I'm hopeful that there are brighter days ahead.

Also, I LOVE the last 3.5 minutes of Obama's victory speech. Gives me chills every time.
Now that I'm not going to jinx anything, here's my vote in the year that mattered. God bless America.