On Hope

Tuesday night the kids knew something was up because we were watching TV before they went to bed. They tried to stay up, too, but we sent them to bed. Anna kept coming out for updates. She wanted to know for sure when Obama won, so she could do a victory dance.

She was asleep when we went in to tell her he was called the winner. But the next morning, it was her first question. I told her that he'd won, and people all over the country were dancing.

Anna ran in to tell sleeping Colin. "Guess who the new president is?" Colin said, "Varack Ovama?" YES!

Anthony had stayed up until 2am watching the reaction and chatting with Jessica, our former babysitter who just started Law School in Chicago (you must read her post about being there). Anthony was in a daze, happy, relieved, and amazed by the spontaneous outpouring of people in New York, Washington DC, LA, and even London, Australia, etc.

This election night has been so unique. I remember in 2000 being amazed the winner still wasn't certain the next morning - in fact we didn't know for a month. And I was surprised by how depressed I was when Bush was reelected in 2004 - not that the alternative choice was that great. Then Bush declared he had a mandate to push through his policies, capital that he intended to spend. His hubris was nauseating.

This time around was different, and not just because my candidate won. McCain gave a gracious and moving concession speech, and reminded us of the old honorable McCain we admired before he embarked on a Rovian campaign. Obama's speech was also moving, especially since he said he would listen to those who didn't vote for him. It wasn't a gloating victor's speech, but a uniting, positive vision for the future. Then, the spontaneous outpouring of celebration. We were proud of our country, for electing a black man, for taking a positive step in the midst of so much bad news, for the respect the two opponents showed each other. For, despite recession, war, and partisan divisions, daring to hope.