After watching tonight's election coverage on CNN, there was little I could do but smile. A friend asked how I was feeling and all I could say was, "I'm so excited. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am. I don't think I'll sleep tonight. It's like today is Christmas, and Santa brought a better world for me." I sat in a friend's living room, flipping from CNN to Comedy Central. The differences between a Wolf Blitzer/Anderson Cooper anchor team and a Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert duo are mind-boggling. But I have to be honest, Stewart and Colbert seemed to have a lot more fun.
Over the last year (and then some), I have watched eagerly to see who would win out in the Obama-Clinton debacle as they vied for the Democratic nomination. And in the last several months, I have followed the American election much more closely than even the Canadian election (an election in which I had a vested interest, being Canadian). Senator John McCain fought valiantly to prove himself to be the better choice. Senator Barack Obama proved himself steadfastly as the only choice. McCain has war experience, and deserves to be honored and respected for the sacrifices he suffered for his country. But Obama has charisma. McCain has a running mate who is both female, and young. But Obama has a running mate who is both engaging, and daring.
More than that, Barack Obama offers America something John McCain can never bring to the table: hope. Where McCain offers a brave front in the war on terror, Obama offers an opportunity to build a truly global community. Where McCain brings the the wisdom of time and experience, Obama brings the wisdom of focus and determination. And what's more, Senator Obama has done in one year what American Presidents throughout the ages have failed to do while in office - he polarized an entire country.
You see, that is Barack Obama's special gift to the United States of America and, perhaps, the world. Male, female, black, white, gay, straight, younger, older, liberal, conservative and every person in between have come together at a time when not only a nation - but a world - are looking to a leader to finally take a stand and say to the world, "Yes, we can." Yes, we can be a community of different people who embrace diversity and share in both difference and similarity. Yes, we can find common ground at a time when politics, economics, and religious beliefs succeed only in dividing us when a love of country and a love of spirit are shared by us all. Yes, we can work together for the betterment of a nation...for the betterment of our society.
The election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America is historic not because he is a man of colour. It is historic because he is a man of principle. It is historic because he wants to lead with his people, rather than direct his people. It is historic because he was a man that no one thought could be President: a young, bi-racial Illinois Senator with bright eyes and lofty ideals. His lineage was a footnote to the challenges he faced simply for being younger than the average presidential hopeful. His skin colour was ultimately irrelevant to the challenges he faced simply for lacking the same length of time in political office.
Some would say this is the dawn of a new era. Some would say no one can live up to the hopeful expectations that lay in wait for President Barack Obama when he is inaugurated on January 20, 2009. I say yes, we can.
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