Give Him a Hand
This morning I am hopeful, nervous, ready to support, ready to sacrifice, ready to work hard. I can't imagine that anyone would want the job Barack Obama has in front of him, but I think (I pray) he's up to the task. I hope that the candidate I saw close out a long campaign with a mixture of seriousness, sobriety, and confidence that TOGETHER WE CAN CHANGE our country will be able to govern effectively, act practically, inspire us to, in the words of John McCain,
come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.
I am hoping that an Obama administration will be good for all Americans, whether they voted for him or not. I am hoping that my friends and family members who could not get behind Obama for reasons of tax policy or religion or race will still benefit from the changes that will come over the next few years. I don't want to shaft anyone. I want everyone—perhaps those who vilified Obama most of all—to do well.
I hope that Barack Obama spends the next 48-72 hours getting some sleep, and then I hope he reads everything he can get his hands on about the issues that he will face as he takes office. Sponge it up, dude: You're going to need to hit the ground running.
Most of all, I hope. Full stop. I HOPE. I thought this series of photographs by Ariel Meadow Stallings captures the mix of emotions—dominated by hope—that progressives felt last night when the results came in. It's wonderful.
My friends, let's move forward together. Let's make my hope, our hope, a reality.