The
pure amazement I felt as I watched Obama and family come out onto the stage
Tuesday night. A
brown skinned
and all-American family. The son of a Kenyan immigrant. A woman who is a
direct descendant of slaves. Two very cute little girls who it will be
fascinating to watch during the next 4-8 years.
2.
Sarah Palin being announced as VP in my hometown on the very day that we
were departing for a trip to the in-laws. We caught the news on the car radio,
and I remember thinking "Who is this lady?" For those who would count her out
now, don't. Despite some of her obvious
shortcomings, she possessed a star quality that no one else, except Obama,
managed to exceed during this entire election. Her first couple of speeches
demonstrated her significant national potential. The debate between her and VP
Joe Biden was political electricity, crackling with sparks and energy in a way
that I have never seen in years of watching these debates.
She'll be back.
3.
Knowing in my bones that I was watching a future US President during Obama's
2004
address to the Democratic National Convention.
4.
The unavoidable sense of "I'm tired of this
election already" that I felt after McCain clinched the Republican
nomination last spring. Mercifully, it has finally come to a close.
5.
Joe Biden: There's a straight-shooter quality to him that is unusual in
politicians at that level. We'll see and hear some predictable blunders and
gaffes from him, over the next few years. But even that is part of his appeal.
6. The
Maverick: 2000 was McCain's best chance. But Bill Clinton's tumultuous reign
created such a Bush nostalgia that it was impossible for McCain to overwhelm the
then-governor Bush of Texas. Up against Obama, there is almost no way that
any Republican could have won. He'll get
a lot of criticism in the coming days for how he ran his campaign, but I feel
that he actually did a decent job considering the unusually difficult headwinds
that he sailed into.
7.
Being reminded again and again that Obama is simply a magnificent speaker: his
cadence and rhythm, his pauses, knowing just the right words and how to inflect
and adjust his volume. After 8 years of a rhetorically-challenged President
Bush, the contrast could not be starker.
