The End and the Beginning

It went off like a charm. No calls for recounting, no Supreme Court intervention, no irregularities with hanging chards.
All the hype about challenges at the polling sites, all the anxiety about disenfranchisement, all the concern over a battle that will stretch out over days or weeks vanished in the face of a six point margin and one of the largest electoral wins in years.
The concession speech came literally minutes after polls closed on the west coast.
Surely, it was a grand concession speech; filled with admiration and a promise to work with the new boss.
Some who heard the concession were unable to move to the next place and like rotten losers, they booed even the mention of his name.
The acceptance speech by our President-elect, just after midnight, was a focused and sober beginning. Mr. Obama began his transition to the Presidency as he began his candidacy, clearly and intelligently. Like a President. Like someone we would be proud to have lead us and this great nation.
The end of the campaign to win the White House was transformed into the beginning of a new era of leadership, one of hope and promise.
An Obama Presidency is what this country needs now.
Strength, intelligence, political savvy, and calm, clear, thoughtful diplomacy.
The Obama administration has a lot on its plate; Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Palestine, Russia, oil, energy, education, Wall Street, Main Street, and saving the earth from the savagery of human insolence.
Our outgoing President has left Mr. Obama a mess for sure.
Let's not count the days after January 20, 2009 and evaluate Mr. Obama by how fast things are ticked off, taken care of and solved.
It is entirely possible that, as he said in his acceptance speech, it will take some time to deal with the mess left him. If we question a timeline, if we suppose that he will fail because things aren't done in a week, a month or in 100 days, we fall into the trap of being shortsighted. We elected Mr. Obama to lead us for the next four years, at least.
Let's remain confident that he will, with our collective help, bring us and our nation better days. We are in this together. Not just the blue states, all of the states, united and strong. We can do it. Yes, we can.