What I was thinking about when the election results became official

Now every single parent in this country can look their child in the eye and say: "You can become anything you want to be" and be telling the truth.

I remembered back a little more than 40 years ago when my little brother and I battled racist officials (one of whom, a deputy sheriff in Mississippi, threatened the life of my 2-year-old niece) just to secure African-Americans the right to register to vote and then get them to the polls. Oh, how I wished my brother could have lived to see this day! "Jim, my brother, your sacrifices, your hard work, your dedication, was not in vain." This nation has come such a long way just in my adult life.

In his elegant concession speech last night, John McCain once again seemed to be the American I had long admired and not the nasty politician who fashioned a campaign built on fear and anger. He will become the ranking minority member of the Senate Armed Services Committee so it won't be long before we know whether McCain's pledge of cooperation was more than just words.

Sarah Palin's impact on the history of national politics will fall right below that of Dan Quayle or Sargent Shriver.

Barack Obama's quest was long and difficult. Now, however, comes the really hard part. He must find a way to end the folly in Iraq so the country can focus on the real war on terror in Afghanistan. He must make sure the Bush administration's bailout plan is administered fairly and with complete transparency. After years of denial, America must accept a leadership role in finding ways to control climate change by focusing on efforts to develop clean energy technologies.

All in all, it was a great day for America and the world. It wasn't perfect by any means (i.e., Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who said judges have only themselves to blame for the violent acts committed against them, who likes to headline events for leading anti-Semites and Holocaust revisionists, and who, as attorney general, lost 2,200 jobs and $60 million in payroll in the El Paso area as a favor for lobbyist and contributor Jack Abramoff, was re-elected), but it was a great start. With an increased Democratic majority, words of cooperation from Republicans like Mr. McCain (with whom Cornyn has constantly battled) and since Cornyn is disliked by members of his own party in the Senate, I don't think he will cast much of a shadow on the public arena.

The last presidential candidate I worked to elect was Robert Kennedy who, 40 years ago, said:
"People are selfish. But they can also be compassionate and generous, and they care about the country. But not when they feel threatened. That's why this is such a crucial time. We can go in either direction. But if we don't make a choice soon, it will be too late to turn things around. I think people are willing to make the right choice. But they need leadership. They're hungry for leadership."

I think Americans have often dreamed they lived in a country that was optimistic, that looked forward to a brighter future, that was not afraid to take great risks. Today we find ourselves living in such a land.