You guys, I don't even know how to think about this. I'm stunned. I understand a lot of it was angry people voting their wallets against the folks they thought -- rightly, if you ask me -- had caused this massive financial mess. In other words, not-so-enlightened self interest. But a whole other electorate has suddenly been empowered. People like my 16-year-old nephew (formerly known in these pages as The Kid) who phonebanked and canvassed in PA -- and it WORKED. People who never voted before because they were sure their votes didn't count -- and now they see they do. These people aren't cynical like I am, from having that football yanked away too many times. They've seen the opposite: do what you need to do, and you get results.

I listened to Obama's speech last night and I actually cried. Yes, he's a politician; yes, for all the "socialist" talk, he's not nearly as far to the left as I'd like. But he's a damn impressive guy. He seems to have both a brain and a conscience. After the last two elections my cynical self thought we'd gotten the president we deserved. Right now, I'm thinking we've just elected one who's a little bit better than we deserve.

A president who represents something for us to live up to.

What a concept.

Congrats, everyone.