I am ecstatic and hopeful about politics in this country for the first time in a long time. Barack Obama actually won, by millions of votes, the presidency. Millions more people voted for him then for John McCain!
I actually cried because I have been worried about the ways things have been headed. I cried out of relief that maybe, maybe we can do things differently at a national level.
Like, how about shutting down Guantanamo Bay and making NO concessions for torture? For a start.....
I thought McCain's concession speech was his best speech this whole political season and Obama's acceptance speech was tremendous.
I think it's like Colin Powell said; Obama has the potential to be transformational. For me, Obama represents the potential I see in younger generations. I could see it there; it just wasn't in operation at a national political level.
I don't expect Obama or politics to be perfect or save us. I think that's part of older ideas about Democrats vs Republicans. I think that's what I found refreshing about Obama and his campaign. He did not rely on older and untrue notions about how and what Democrats think and how and what Republicans think. Of course, saying and doing are different things and it remains to be seen what actually changes, but I think the language we use and the way we frame our discussions and differences is hugely important.
So, here we are. Our friends Mindy and Donald had a party on election night. We stayed out very late on a school night. Rebecca was tired and Alex wouldn't have had it any other way.
Alex was really engaged with this whole election. He watched every debate. He discussed and argued with kids at school. He was anxious about the outcome.
And I wanted this as much for him. He is 12, almost 13, and sees the world in black and white. I wanted him to be hopeful about politics and see change. He has grown up under Bush: Rebecca has not known any other president. Alex is smart and thoughtful. He is cynical about politicians. He comes by that honestly though.
