“It’s been a long time coming, but I know a change is gonna come. Oh, yes it will.” — Sam Cooke

We did it.

I’m still in shock.  But it’s there in a wash of blue across the nation and in the final popular and electoral votes.  It was a landslide.  A landslide!  The United States of America elected its first black president.

In. A. Landslide.

It’s gonna take a couple of days for it to sink in.  It’s been a long time in the desert for those of us of the Democratic persuasion.

And then there’s the fact that Obama’s coattails were nice and long.  I’m not a big fan of hegemony in government – there’s reason our founding fathers set things up the way they are – but when things are this screwed up you need some kind of unity just to get things done.

But let’s give thanks to the people who deserve it: The millions of Obama voters.  His campaign volunteers.  The people who donated what they could afford in small incriments and who created an enormous war chest for Obama. (Hell, give me a shout out.  I was an Obama delegate to the Travis County convention.  It was insane. Nine-thousand people showed up.  Normally, they’re lucky to get 900.  Eight hours in the world’s largest Barton Fink room. And worth every second.)

And let’s thank Howard Dean who decided that the Democratic ticket should campaign in all fifty states.  The fifty-state strategy made Republicans fight in places they haven’t had to compete in in years.  It also gave hope to those of us in red states that maybe, just maybe, we could turn blue — or at least a lovely shade of purple – in the future.

And let’s give thanks to George W. Bush.  Because he’s fucked up everything so badly that Americans who normally wouldn’t vote for a black man, found something they feared far more than the color of Obama’s skin: the economy.  It certainly warms the cockles of my heart to see Bush’s approval poll numbers at 20%. Except that means there are 20% of people in this country who still think he’s doing a heckuva job, Brownie.

And let’s give big shout to Sarah Palin, too.  Have so many words ever been lavished on so little in recent memory?  But in the end, it was Palin who did herself and the McCain campaign in.  The bumbling interviews, the corruption charges, the $150,000 wardrobe make-over, the “snarkyness.”  (Excuse me, but Palin wasn’t snarky, she was snotty.  Big difference.) I think it’s hysterical that there are people (including Miss Sarah herself) who think she’s the future of the Republican party.  By all means, let them crown her.  She’ll still scare the crap out of anyone with a functional IQ.  

I’d give a shout out to McCain for running one of the most inept political campaigns of recent memory, but I think that would be excessively cruel. The crushing he took at the hands of the electorate is enough.

But finally, let me give thanks to the person who deserves it the most: Barack Obama.

The guy is simply amazing.  Despite being a Barack delegate, he wasn’t my first choice among the Democratic contenders.  But his steadyness, his intellegence, and his coolness under, well, every situation won me over. 

Not only did he run a brilliant campaign, but he got elected by appealing to the best in our natures, not the worst.  And in modern American politics that’s nothing short of miraculous.

So, fellow Obama supporters, bask in the victory. Glory in a job well-done. Revel in being a part of making history.  Enjoy today.

And tomorrow, roll up your sleeves and get ready.   There’s a lot of work to be done.

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

“It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

“It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

“We are, and always will be, the United States of America.”

                                                                              — President-Elect Barack Obama

                                                                                   November 4, 2008

                                                                                   Chicago, Illinois

                                                                                    U.S.A.

Thanks electorate.  Thanks poll workers.  Thanks for a clear and indisputable result.  I am very happy that we’ve got an election that isn’t settled by the Supreme Court.

My only disappointment is Prop 8 in California, a piece of hatred in a night that will otherwise go down in history as a celebration of diversity and hope.