Chundles

Today, my wife and I voted for Barack Obama to become the 44th President of the United States. So did more than 65,000,000 Americans. And today, Barack Obama became President-Elect in as close to a landslide as you can get in this day and age. He won the entire Northeast, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, IOWA, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, the entire West Coast, Hawaii, Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico.

America gets a bad rap--particularly over these last 8 years. We're bullies, we're ignorant, we're arrogant, we're fat, we're wasteful, we're racist, we're war mongers, etc., etc., etc. Some of that stuff is true for our national identity, but today, we did something that most nations have never done. We elected a minority to become our next President. For the first time since the latter years of Bill Clinton's Presidency, I'm proud to be an American, and I'm optimistic about the future. For myself, and my family.

In the primary, I voted for Hilary Clinton. Not because I liked her more, but because I didn't believe that Obama could win--based on his race, based on his experience, based on the mudslinging tactics of the GOP, and based on the fact that the Democrats screw everything up. I'm proud to say I was wrong. I'm glad I was wrong. All the red states on CNN's 2008 Election map (http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/) concern me (based on my assumptions about why they voted the way they did), but Obama ran a masterful campaign and won more than 100 Electoral College votes than he needed.

Despite the masterful campaign Obama ran, and the good feeling that has engulfed much of our country and much of the world, Obama inherits a giant mess. We are in the middle of the worst financial crises since the Great Depression. Our national deficit is huge, banks have failed, people are losing their homes, millions of jobs have been shipped overseas, and our national savings rate has gone to shit. And don't forget that we're in 2 wars, our reputation abroad has been hammered, Russia is resurgent, Iran is on their way to obtaining weapons of mass destruction, Al-Qaeda is still...everywhere, China owns a huge portion of our national debt, we are too dependent on foreign oil, and climate change threatens the entire planet. Among other things.

We are facing a series of challenges that will not only require strong leadership, but also a national commitment to buckle down and see this through. Americans will have to make sacrifices and understand that many of the challenges we face cannot be fixed quickly--no matter who is in power. This is, in many ways, the most important time in the history of America. The stakes couldn't be higher--will we lead the world into a new era of prosperity, technological advancement and freedom, or will our power and influence slowly whither away, like that of our friends and allies across the Atlantic.

To my point above, during this crucial time, we made the risky choice and voted for change--change in terms of our national identity, our priorities, and our reputation and position of leadership around the world. I have no doubt that we elected the right man, who will assemble the right team and set the right priorities--to lead America. Only time will tell of course, but Barack Obama has my attention and support in a way that no President has in my lifetime, and I feel much better raising a child in this world than I did on November 3 and than I would have if John McCain won.

I'm honored to be part of this great country, I'm proud to have been a part of history, and I'm excited for the first truly 21st century President to assume his position.