Mr. President

On Tuesday, I drove to Pittsburgh to spend my birthday and this historic election day with Jessica, my birthday and election partner. As the clock in the bar ticked down to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time, we all counted down the seconds with the anticipation of New Year's Eve, Superbowl Sunday, two birthdays and an election, all rolled in to one. Fighting back tears, Jessica and I held each other until we realized we didn't have to hold back the tears. I looked around, and we weren't the only ones crying--far from it. Strangers were hugging, crying and holding each other. I bawled my way through his acceptance speech:



After the speech, I went out into the street and saw people pouring from the surrounding houses. One woman ran down the street, yelling, "I can't be alone! I have to hug someone!" I shouted back, "I'll hug you!" and we stood together, hugging, crying, celebrating, rejoicing. When I went back inside, the bartenders were giving away free drinks, which Jessica and I gladly accepted (purely in the spirit of the celebratory and momentous occasion, of course):

I first came in contact with President-elect Obama over three years ago when I was still working on Capitol Hill. I went to a Veterans' Affairs subcommittee hearing on veterans' employment issues. I was one of maybe six staffers and visitors in attendance. The meeting was like any other until the Chair recognized the Junior Senator from Illinois. Senator Obama leaned forward to speak, and he had the room in his hand with his first words. "How can we be talking about employing veterans," he asked, "when there are thousands of homeless veterans in my home state of Illinois alone?" He continued to speak with such passion and such clarity, that I thought it was a shame there were only six of us there to hear it. I also remember thinking that, because there were only six of us there, he must really must believe what he's saying. This isn't an act; this isn't political posturing. This guy really believes what he's saying.

I saw an interview with Colin Powell yesterday that helped bring everything full-circle for me, especially this quote: "President-elect Obama did not put himself forward as an African American president. He put himself forward as an American who happened to be black--who happened to be African American. And that ought to come after the title."

Of course, yesterday's Doonsbury hit the mark pretty well, too:
Here's to President-elect Obama, a great leader who happens to be black...and white.