November 04, 2008

Our 44th President

Normally I stick to the triumverate of makeup, style and men on this blog. But today has been an historic day, and though this campain seems to have been going on forever, it's worth noting the true value of this election.

Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States of America.

I, personally, am thrilled for this result. I agree with far more of Obama's opinions and future policies than those of McCain. I also think McCain gave a very gracious, well-spoken concession speech, and I wish we had seen more of that side of him during the campaign. I am excited to see what changes come, and hold much hope that they will be positive and worthwhile to the whole country.

And this inaugural ball is going to be awesome.

But what's more important is that, despite individual opinions about the candidates, this is the ultimate story of the American Dream. The American Dream, which seems to have all but disintegrated in the past decade. A biracial man who was raised mostly by his mother and grandmother worked his way to Harvard Law School, and the Senate, and now beyond to the Oval Office.

Two men with passion for America and conviction in their hearts battled to the end, eloquently defending their opinions and making for arguably the most engaging election season we have ever seen, with record turnouts at the polls.

Within less than 250 years of existence, the USA has elected its first African-American President. And if McCain had won the election, the USA would have elected its first woman to the position of Vice President.

Regardless of our differences, I think this whole process should make us all...
- grateful for the opportunities we have
- proud to have a functional democracy
- excited to make progress in the future
- humbled by the immense amount of work ahead

I personally am proud, grateful and thrilled to be a citizen of a country in which dreams really can come true, in which we all have a voice, and in which, as they say, we let the best man (or woman) win.

Cheers to the future!
Hayley

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

What an awesome post!!! You must have tapped in on my brain waves....this is exactly what I was thinking!!

Mrs.Preppy said...

What a great post! My thoughts exactly.

Always Organizing said...

What a beautiful post! I couldn't agree more.