President (Elect) Obama's Victory Speech

I'll have more to say on the election later tonight, but this morning, I wanted to make sure my dear readers who probably didn't stay up until the wee hours of the morning to see and hear President Obama's Victory Speech had a chance to see it.

It won't surprise you that I stayed up. I was chatting with old friends via text messaging and instant messaging. And then I fell asleep mid-speech. It was a very late night and this morning I'm exhausted, but oh so happy.

I did see Mitt Romney's complete concession speech and have to give him kudos for a great speech.

I hope that no matter what party you identify with, you'll take a few minutes to hear President Obama talk about unity and how he is the ENTIRE President of the United States. He understands there is healing that needs to happen in our country and I believe he's committed to making that happen. It's my fondest wish this morning that all of the newly elected or re-elected officials will take a deep breath, look across the aisle, work to make peace. I hope they also all take a few minutes to examine their own responsibility for why we are so divided, because this is a problem we all caused, not just "the other guys."

Watch the video and be inspired. And, as always, if you're reading this via the daily email, you'll have to visit the blog to watch the video.

President Obama's First State of the Union

President Obama gave his first speech to a joint session of Congress tonight. Although we usually call this a State of the Union speech, tonight's wasn't because historically, presidents don't give a State of the Union just weeks after they are inaugurated.

The speech was simply masterful. It was inspiring, yet it also took us to task for the responsibility we each have for the mess we're in. He didn't simply blame the Republicans, which would have been the easy way out and certainly would have had quite a bit of truth to it. Five stars.

Watch the speech below or read the full text here. If you watch it below, click play and be prepared to sit in silence for the first 3 minutes. But you'll love it. We clearly have an adult in the White House.




After President Obama's speech, Louisana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) gave the Republican Response. All I can say is that I'm simply confused. He actually invoked Hurricane Katrina as an example of GOP success. Really. I didn't recognize much of what he was talking about as beliefs of the Republican Party - energy independence, for example. If Jindal is the future of the GOP, then based on tonight's speech, I believe that the Democrats will be in power for many years to come.

Be The Change You Wish To See In The World

I'd say President-elect Barack Obama epitomizes this phrase by Mahatma Gandhi perfectly and evidently I'm not alone.

The Inauguration Committee has just released the official Inauguration Poster, which is available for purchase on their website. Someone should have told the Committee about the recession. At $100 that poster is a bit rich for my blood. I wish it weren't.

In Case You've Already Forgotten the Significance of This Week

There are almost no words to describe my feelings for this week. In fact, I think it's only hitting me today. I happened to catch President-Elect Obama's first press conference today and I cried watching it. He's so presidential and so ready. He was somber and serious. He understands what lies ahead. And despite all the challenges, he still inspires. He still knows how to empathize with us.

I found this Daily Kos video over on Americablog tonight. It's worth the ten minutes.



Obviously we've got quite a lot to do as a country. In the months ahead, we'll still have to deal with two wars and a badly hurt if not crippled economy. There will be times we are tempted to do and say divisive things, times when we may not agree with President Obama, times when people say or do things to get us riled up, and possibly things will get worse before they get better. I hope that when we are tempted do engage in the "them vs. us" rhetoric of the past that we will remember that what got us President Barack Obama was the ability to set our aside our differences and come together. We will always have more that unites us than divides us. And during those times we are feeling discouraged, I hope we'll think back to how we feel this week and hold onto that.

Post-Election Gratitude

November is a month that always makes me think of gratitude. I'm sure it has a lot to do with Thanksgiving later in the month. Today, I believe I have so much to be grateful for and I'm feeling more gratitude than I've felt in a long time.

1. I'm grateful that as a country, we've decided that the content of our character is more important than the color of our skin.


2. I'm grateful for all the courageous men and women who made the election of Barack Obama possible: Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jesse Jackson, Rosa Parks, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Toot, and so many many more.


3. I'm grateful for the peaceful election we experienced. We did not have to march, file lawsuits, or resort to violence in order to get ballots counted yesterday. Lines were long, but no blood was shed trying to vote.


4. I'm grateful I had a front row seat to the most historic event of my lifetime.


5. I'm grateful that every child in America got up Wednesday morning confident that finally each and every one of them could become President.


6. I'm grateful for Hope.


7. I'm grateful for a leader who takes deliberate action based on knowledge and not ego.


8. I'm grateful for all the talented candidates who subjected themselves to all the public scrutiny and exhausting work of a political campaign in their effort to make the world a little better.

I Was There When The Dream Came True!

As you must know by now, I spent tonight in Chicago's Grant Park with President-elect Barack Obama. Well, to be clear, it wasn't just me and Barack. There were about 75,000 of my closest friends who joined me with tickets inside the park and close to 1 MILLION in the surrounding area celebrating the Dream Coming True.

I was there with my friends Colleen, Tim and Tony. It was magical. A perfect Chicago night. Today was over 70 and sunny and tonight was balmy and clear. It was almost as though God and Toot were smiling as they watched history being made.

Barack Obama is the President-elect and our Long National Nightmare is Over.

Words almost can't describe all the emotions I feel tonight. Excitement. Pride in our Country (to the Commonwealth of Virginia - thanks for voting for Barack, you made me proud!), Hope, and a little bit of sadness at the down-ticket races I strongly supported that lost. But mostly I feel like we can get back to being a country again and work past the "them vs. us" country we've had.

I loved John McCain's speech and was moved by his words. I couldn't help but wonder where that guy was during the campaign. If he'd shown up, I'm honestly not sure who would have won. If he'd shown up before tonight, our country would be better off for it.

If I can offer a little advice to the Religious Right, you won the battle, but lost the war. You insisted that McCain choose someone with your closed-minded values, rather than allowing him to choose his own running mate. I can't help but wonder if you'd backed down, would McCain have won?

But back to my night . . . President-Elect Barack Obama (OMG that is so great to type!) gave a speech that about brought me to tears. I loved that he still puts his family first with the mention of the new puppy. That story about 106-year old Ann Nixon-Cooper, who could not vote for years because she was a woman AND a black woman. She went and pulled her lever for Barack today.

And then Toot. What a legacy she left. I'm so happy her vote counted, but wish she could have been watching Barack on CNN tonight.

Coolest part of the evening? Meeting Kevin Tibbles of NBC News. I'm such a geek that I asked if I could take a picture with him and he said yes. It's a great pic and I can't wait to print it out and put it in my Wall of Fame (yes, I have one!).

As Barack said, the change hasn't happened yet. We've just earned the right to work for the change. It's not going to be an easy road, but with a leader like Barack, I honestly believe anything is possible.

But for tonight, it's about pride and it's our time to celebrate. Oh, and yes, I'm really going back to DC for the inaguration. And I can't wait.

Yes We Did!