President-elect Barack Obama

I am watching C-Span, and President-elect Obama just gave his acceptance speech. Once again, as he has done throughout this campaign, his speech wasn't about him. It was about us, about the United States of America. And as the families of President-elect Obama (I just love writing that!) and Vice-President-elect Biden came out on the stage, and as I watched the faces of the people in the crowd, it wasn't a black and white America I saw. It was every color, every race, every nationality that makes up our country. I saw families who obviously love each other on the stage, two couples who genuinely love each other. And men who love this country, and who will do their very best for all of us. I cried tonight when the results were announced. All the pent up nervousness I had suffered over the last few weeks just released itself, because despite the attacks, despite the vicious emails, the robocalls, the truly despicable campaign run by the Republican campaign machine, Americans had elected a man they had witnessed over the last two years remain unflappable, unstoppable, and dedicated to the belief that in this country, anything is possible.
Even as he began his speech, Obama was more gracious in victory than I could have been toward John McCain. I am not one of those people who used to love McCain, I never even liked him much, but even I had been stunned lately by the way his campaign was run. I even checked the comments on FoxNews.com, and the racism I read there was awful. I am not talking about any kind of code words; I am talking "did they really think a black man could ever become President?" That isn't about Barack Obama's politics, or his positions, or his policies; this is about his skin color. And America is better than that.
Or we will be. Give us four years.