It's a New Day

I drove back up to Chicago from Northwest Indiana on Tuesday to vote--surprisingly small lines. Picked up a free coffee from Starbucks on my walk home. I kept arguing with myself over the next couple of hours--should I get on a bus and go to Grant Park? I decided to watch the first couple returns, and the first few states went for McCain. I had told a few others that if McCain wins, we'll know it's been stolen. There was also the fact that I felt that I'd seen a lot more McCain-Palin signs than Obama. I was getting a little nervous.
Didn't take much to talk me out of going although I was well aware I was missing something important. Pennsylvania went for Obama--really good sign. Several key states stayed undecided for a long time, but somewhere around 9:00, California was called, and can you believe it? America actually elected Obama! After getting so mentally invested in Gore's and Kerry's campaigns, somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought it wouldn't happen.
We elected a progressive, we elected an intelligent person, we elected a black man. It took a lot of money, a lot of organization, and a lot of time (almost two years). First came on McCain, looking visibly affected. His crowd still hadn't gotten the memo about not acting like jackasses. McCain's speech was the best we'd heard from him, though. Not a word from Palin. I'd been watching that crowd build in Grant Park--not a million people, but a quarter of a million. At 11:00, Obama delivered his acceptance speech, with a beautiful reference to a 106-year-old woman who had voted tied into a "Yes we can" refrain. Vice President Biden took the stage, and our new first family took the stage. The next day, I got breakfast from Dunkin Donuts, and everyone seemed a little more positive.
What's ahead in some ways doesn't matter--what's already occurred will mean so much. I'm not crazy about the first appointment, Rahm Emanuel. Seems a bit sleazy. Supposedly there will be Republicans in Obama's cabinet. He even alluded to their noble potential in his speech. As to now, I don't really care about all the haters leading up to the election of our new president, Barack Obama.

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