It was a day like any other. I got up, fixed a cup of hot chocolate, and sat down to read e-mails.
But it was also a day like no other. Because after I finished my web browsing and cocoa drinking, I turned on the TV in time to see Barack Hussein Obama step into the bright light and frozen chill of our capital.
Today was like no other because today we ended eight years of failed policies, cronyism, elitism, unbridled hubris and self-centered lawlessness. Today a man stepped onto the world's biggest stage, at one of its most critical times and said, yes, I will take on the challenges we face together. I have put together a team of bright minds and I will attempt to lead us all to the brighter future we all envision.
Of all the candidates I have voted for, I have never had one I truly felt confident following. President Obama isn't perfect, or a savior, and he will surely make mistakes. I was too young to experience the surge of hope and optimism surrounding the election of JFK, but unlike LBJ or Nixon or Ford or Carter or Reagan or Bush I or Clinton or Bush II, Obama brings with him not only a fiery brilliance, but a sense of calm leadership and sincere longing for public service that gives me a confidence I have never before had in a leader. Everything I see about the man makes me believe he will not only make the hard decisions, but the smart ones, as well.
Perhaps our global economy and culture are too complicated and intertwined for one man to competently nudge them in the direction we think we ought to go. But constitutionally, we can have only person in charge. I'm very glad it's Barack Obama.
