Free at Last

Just a quick note to express our overwhelming joy over the election of Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States. Tracy and I have been more or less obsessed with the electoral process over the last year. It wasn't as easy to follow everything from London, but especially via the internet we voraciously read as much as possible. It was also nice finding many like-minded expats here in town. Because we have the Vonage line that basically gives us a Chicago phone number here in London, Tracy was actually able to volunteer to make calls to get out the vote, which was so cool.

If you are a true patriot, if you love America both for what it is and what it could be, then you must see Tuesday November 4th 2008 as a monumental day in our history, even if you vehemently disagree with Obama's policies. As Paul Krugman wrote in the New York Times yesterday, "If the election of our first African-American president didn’t stir you, if it didn’t leave you teary-eyed and proud of your country, there’s something wrong with you." The reality that a black man can be elected President reinforces the core of the American Ideal and makes me love her that much more. America is the greatest social and political experiment in the history of mankind and Tuesday's result affirms its promise perhaps like never before. In Obama's own words:

"And to all those who wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of ideals - democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope. That's the true genius of America, that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow."

Along more partisan lines, what an impressive candidate, what an impressive man. He's so easy, so calm, so focused. The dignity with which he carried himself through this campain, toxic as his rivals made it at times, was something to behold. To make barely a misstep in two grueling years is just remarkable. His ability to demonstrate humility while still expressing the ferocity of his conviction is motivation to become our better selves. His acceptance speech in Grant Park conveyed that spirit and will long be a touchstone moment on our path to becoming a better nation. Yes we can.

The Obama administration has a total mess on its hands. The likelihood that they can satisfactorily solve each of our myriad economic, military, environmental and social problems is slim. Maybe it will be one term and out. We'll see. But I couldn't be more thirlled that President Obama will be our steward through this fight. For some of us, the past 8 years have been tortuous as the American Ideal has been under assault. Thankfully, that period is almost behind us and there is some solace, hollow though it might be, that history will not treat the outgoing adminstration kindly. Looking forward, we now have the chance to rebuild our broken polity and recapture our rightful place as a beacon of hope to other nations. We are indeed free at last.