National Joy After A Long Winter

Although the euphoria Obama’s supporters felt on the night of his election is slowly wearing off, the historical meaning has not. Since Obama’s election win I’ve seen small, passionate groups of people protesting the war on the street, and had strangers speak with such sincerity to me and my children that it makes my heart swell. Despite the war path of the far right and “Sexy Sarah’s” media blitz, there seems to have been an overwhelming surge of sanity in our country since Obama’s victory. Swept up in the celebratory nature of this space in time, even conservatives are acclimating to their forthcoming commander-in-chief.


We all listened on that momentous night, as John McCain shushed his booing supporters and challenged them to accept Barack Obama as their president, as he himself vowed to do. His speech was full of a long-term comprehension of what the occasion meant, but his comments about the election during his interview with Jay Leno are the ones that gave me the most confidence in the future of our country. Toward the very end of their chat, Leno asked him how he felt about the “hostility” toward him in the media. McCain’s gracious response was perfection: “We're supposed to be able to take this kind of stuff, you know. You know, one thing I think Americans don't want is a sore loser.” It was that gentle reminder that the legacy created by Obama’s success out weighed the grubbiness of the campaign that finally won John McCain my respect.

Elizabeth Hasselbeck is also working hard to be a team player. The View’s token Republican may be busy spouting unfounded claims about Proposition 8 now, but her sentiment toward our next president on November 5th came as a great surprise. My vow of celibacy toward The View was broken that morning; I wanted to see what Elizabeth had to say now that her candidate had lost. She explained sitting her daughter, Grace, on her lap to watch Obama’s acceptance speech that morning. Her little girl immediately recognized Barack Obama and Elizabeth encouraged her excitement, telling Grace that he was our new President. When Grace asked who’d lost the election, Elizabeth told her no one had, because our country had gained such a great leader. Impressed, I continued to be baffled when she said she was ready to get in line behind Obama’s supporters, and that she understands his talent for bringing people together and inciting action. She was right to simplify the democratic process for Grace as she did, especially with this all-encompassing election. No one loses when millions of people rise together to speak with their votes. There are no losers when an African American man makes it all the way to the White House.

It appears even Mrs. Palin is willing to set aside her differences with Obama. Just a few days ago she told Wolf Blitzer she’d be glad to assist the Obama administration any way she could, especially when it came to energy policy and special-needs children. She goes onto contradict her seeming acceptance of Obama’s win with more negative words, but the original feeling isn’t lost. I appreciate her helpful offers, even in they’re superficial in nature.

As a whole, our country appears to be embracing the decision that it’s majority made. While we wait out the lame-duck period between leaders, a new Gallup pole shows an increase in the number of conservatives who believe Obama will make an effective president. Since the final votes were counted, conservative morale for our president-elect has increased to 45%, a drastic improvement from it’s original 23% before the election. The feelings of a Twitter-friend who had hoped for a different outcome this year keep re-playing in my mind. She said that although she was saddened by McCain’s loss, she sincerely hoped that the promises Obama made to our nation were kept.

Smiling was painful by the fifth evening of this memorable month, and my happy tears still come easy as I dream of all the wounds that can be healed by this new administration. I know people like Elizabeth Hasselbeck prayed for an alternate American destiny, but I also desire for the hope of this fresh era to continue to be infectious for all her citizens.