It's hard to believe that in eleven weeks Bush will be out of office. I'm glad Obama won even though, as a former Arizonan, I think McCain is one of the better moderate politicians out there and in any other election he would have been an excellent choice (McCain may have voted 90% with Bush but that 10% is a significant difference). The real win here is that the Bush years are nearly over because frankly, a rhesus monkey would have been a better president than Bush.

With Obama, I think we have a good chance of restoring the reputation of the U.S. in the world. His win is also a tremendous leap in healing race relations. Either candidate would have been compentent, but I think Obama has a huge capacity to inspire people (I mean, I get a boost of optimism every time I hear him speak).

Back in 2004, I caught the tail-end of Obama's keynote speech at the DNC. By the end of it, I thought "he's going to be the next president". He is of a different breed of politician -- the kind of stratospheric leader seldom seen, perhaps last seen, sadly, in RFK. I have to say I first supported Bill Richardson in the primaries because my main issue was and is the environment and Richardson's environmental policies were the most informed and aggressive. Later it was Hillary Clinton because of her intelligence and adroight politics, and because she is a woman. But in the end, I do think Obama was the right one to be president. I think America and the world is relieved.

However, there are still things that I want to see progress on, and I don't think Obama (or any one person) will be able to resolve in even eight years:

• gender equality
• civil rights in the middle east and everywhere in the world
  
• gay marriage (or equal in every way civil unions)
• universal healthcare for children at least
• immigration reform that conforms to the preamble in the Declaration of Independence
• global climate management
• civil service in return for college tuition (like the G.I. bill)

We came a long way today, but there is still a long way to go, but we can do it.