November 05, 2008

Yes!

We're one happy family here. It hasn't truly sunk in. I believe in Barack Obama, I love listening to him, and I am so excited to have a smart, thoughtful, even-tempered, caring man as our new president. Obama! Earlier today I watched a video of him casting his vote with his family, and at one point his older daughter said something to him, and he stopped what he was doing and engaged in talking to her. I almost teared up, my emotions have been running that high. He's a good dad.

I could not have borne going through the night alone (Jeff's in Alaska, poor guy, though he said he found a cafe that is a bastion of liberal people). So we went to a kid-friendly election party that was too crazy at first, but better as the night went on. They had maps for the kids to color, and Ethan got really into that. I've been so obsessed with this election that he's certainly been aware of it - he liked to say, "Obama HAS to win, so he can stop the war in Iraq." Linna's take on the issues is simpler - she chants "O-ba-ma! O-ba-ma!" or says, "Yay, it's the Obama show!" Ethan will remember this election, I know that. It was memorable, when they called the election for Obama, the room just erupted in cheers. And I was so happy to be with Ann and Zack and Mandy. I feel we all evolved our political selves together, way back in Bush I days in college. There were also tons of other people I knew there - Harmony people, Richmond people, and Aileah and Adrian too (which made Linna VERY happy). It made me really appreciate the Portland community of families I've come to know.

Not long after they called the election for Obama, while Ethan was still frantically coloring states blue, McCain conceded. Linna was awfully tired by that time, and she just went ballistic. She was crying in a very piercing way (I'm sure it was quite distracting to those around us). It was hard to understand what she was saying, but it eventually resolved into, "I want OBAMA! I want OBAMA!" I guess she doesn't care much for McCain. I can't say that I blame her, although his speech was good. I just wish he'd run his campaign on those same principles. Can he really pretend now that he didn't encourage the elements of his supporters that booed at Obama's name? Well, time will tell if those divisions can be healed. But I for one am truly excited about Obama as a president. With Bush I can't even watch him speak - he just gives me the heebie-jeebies and makes me enraged. He smirks! Obama, on the other hand, is an inspiring, thoughtful speaker, and I look forward to listening to him. And to seeing what he plans and how he continues to inspire people to help repair this crazy country.

At last, I can breathe! We've really done it.

Posted by ktingey at 07:39 AM | Comments (156)