Congratulations! Now get to work.

I gathered last night with good friends to watch election returns.  It was a good time.  And I believe we saw the best in both candidates.

Certainly, Obama's victory is historic.  McCain's speech was laudable.  And in that speech, we saw the John McCain that I could have considered supporting (and, indeed, at one point did.)  Last night we didn't see the McCain that had been taken over by the Republic Presidential Election Team.  We saw someone with much more valor, honor, reason, and humility - and I believe that to be the real John McCain.

This morning, the alarm went off, and I went to work at a place where the current economic conditions are hurting us.  There's lots of work to do and resources are tighter than they have been at any point in our small company's history.

At some point today, Barak Obama and John McCain will get out of bed.  And there will be lots of work to do, and resources are tighter than they have been - probably in my lifetime.

May the battle cry not turn from "Yes, we can!" to "Yes, we did!" quite yet.  May we all be about the work of making creation more like it ought to be.

Comments

[Bill]

I definitely want to avoid the "Yes, we did!" mentality. The goal is not Obama's election. The goal is to "heal this nation" and "repair this world" (from "Yes We Can"). I think the road of "Yes, we can!" is still very long.

[BCDees]

Those are wise and important words, I think. To be sure, a milestone has been reached, and there is a certain sense in which we can now say "did," but that "did" is only the first step on the long road of "can." If anything, the "did" that was last night's election shows us the possibility of struggling together toward the "can," but I think the essence of Obama's message - hopefully - is that there is always more to do, that we must always keep striving, and need not spend too much time patting ourselves on the back for what we have already done.

[Matt]

I've spent a good bit of time thinking about this whole election, and I have to say, I'm elated that Obama won.

That said, I am concerned that the (R) will take this as some sort of mandate against moderate-leaning Republicans. They'll say "See, McCain was a moderate, and he didn't win!! If we want to win, we have to get ourselves a red-blooded culture warrior!!", and the result will be the continued rise of the Palin-like anti-intellectual politics of fear and (most frightfully) resentment.

I think, in the final analysis, it will be shown that McCain's loss will come down to two major factors:

(1) His inability to shake the mantle of the Bush administration's failures: I think it's interesting that McCain had to move to the right to win the nomination, but in the end, it was that move (and that clip of "supporting Bush 90% of the time), that helped to cost him the election.

(2) His selection of Sarah Palin as running mate: Sure, Palin brought the base home, but the base doesn't win you elections, moderates and independents win you elections. I think Palin's selection really turned a whole mass of valuable swing voters away from McCain, and towards Obama.

Look back to 2000. It wasn't a red-meat, divisive culture warrior Bush that won the White House (that transformation came around about 2002). It was "compassionate conservatism" and talk of real reform that one the day for the (R) back then, and I'm convinced that if McCain had run with his true moderate colors showing, he could have made a game of this.

[elfslinger]

I wish there was a good way to describe the energy around Chicago now. I didn't go downtown to the "compound" (as I heard Foxnews describe it... he he), but I was with a few good friends in their apartment drinking to the possibilities of the future and joining in the celebrations we heard out our windows.

One part of Obama's possibilities that excite me, is the potential for him to take the momentum of his campaign organizing style and find a creative new way to get the American people involved in nation reform. Obviously there is also potential for disappointment here because the US government is a big heavy ship to turn. I assume we're going to face many more setbacks before anything gets better after he's taken office.

That said, two interesting spectres hang over his new presidency. For one, conservative scavengers just waiting for the first bad news during his term so they may pounce on him wielding their "I told you so" flags. Two, the potential for the public to place the burden of future minority (or at least black) presidential success on him. I mean that, if he doesn't perform to satisfaction, many folks could universalize his shortcomings to discourage future aspiring minority presidents.

I also am quite faithful these spectres will soon dissipate. A new day is dawning and I'm quite giddy for the future.

[elfslinger]

To add a little to Matt's post... I just came across this hilarious SNL skit where Bush tries to endorse McCain and Palin:

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/update-thursday-bush-endorsement/783981/