We Won!

Today Ann and I finally were able to celebrate the election of Sen. Obama. Yesterday I was recuperating from working at the polls on Tuesday. (More on that in another posting.)

We went out for breakfast where I splurged and had corned beef hash and eggs while Ann went for the scrapple.

We know how to kick the lid off!

It is hard to conceive that the American people voted for someone who represented "promoting the general welfare" phrase from the Constitution rather than for someone who represented the life of wealth and privilege to which we all aspire.

It is welcome news that the majority of Americans now are willing to look past the tactics of fear and vote with hope.

Hope does not include for me that all the promises made by President-elect Obama will come out in the forms he stressed during the campaign. The Obama I voted for is the consultative, collaborative, collegial-style leader, the "Jean Luc Picard" who gathers his top experts to consult together before falling back on his roll as the "decider."

That means the only promise I expect Obama to keep is that he will listen to all sides before taking action and will work with all parties-at-interest on developing legislation and policies.

If the Clintons had done that, they would have been far more effective.

I want to see the tax cuts for the middle class but I will be happy if more comprehensive tax policies are developed which are even better for everyone. That would come out of a bigger "committee" of concerned people from all perspectives.

I would be delighted to have the status of forces agreement with Iraq include an extension only for the purpose of safe withdrawal of our troops and provision for the safety (allowing emigration to the US) for those who have been specifically protected by us. But if a better plan with the same long range results was developed, I would be happy even if it meant troops staying there a little longer.

I think that the President-elect really cares about finding what is best for all of us in the US, not just the ones "at the top" of our society. I think he really cares about folks all across the globe. I think he has the intellectual curiosity so lacking these past eight years that he can understand consequences so much better than his predecessor.

Imagine! Someone smarter than me will be President! Someone smarter than you too!

For all those reasons, we won.