Election

It's Barack.

Things I'm glad about:

1. My kids will grow up in a country that already elected a black president.
2. I believe our new president will govern by hope, not fear. I don't believe that makes me naive.
3. We're done with Baby Boomer presidents, and hopefully we'll soon be done with the stranglehold of the 1960's on our politics.
4. John McCain's concession speech was genuine, respectful, and inspiring. Class act.
5. We will have an intelligent president, who is committed to bipartisanship. Plus the State of the Union speech won't be boring, I think.
6. Less war. Less death penalty. Less poverty. Less torture. More life.

Things I'm concerned about:

1. He is inexperienced. I think he'll learn quick, but he'll need all the help he can get.
2. Abortion. I really would have loved to add this to number five above. Yes, I voted for Obama in spite of this. Yes, I would do it again. But it's still tough.
3. 1 party control of Congress and the presidency. It may be necessary as a kind of chemotherapy for the last 8 years, but I think balance in D.C. is good.

What I hope for:

1. McCainiacs don't think it's Armageddon. Obamans don't think it's the Second Coming. Politics matter, but only Jesus can save us.
2. I'd like to see more than the usual token Republicans in Obama's cabinet. Chuck Hagel, Colin Powell maybe. If McCain wants to ease into retirement, make him head of the VA or something.
3. We all, as a nation, need to learn fiscal responsibility. And by all I mean all.
4. We can move past the bitter divisions we've seen recently. I hope we can learn to have honest and respectful conversations with people who disagree with us. Our church small group was pretty evenly split, and I have friends with a huge variety of conflicting beliefs. But I feel like I'm alone, and that too many of us are living in the echo chamber of Fox News or MSNBC.

I'll reformulate the John Wayne quote from before: I did vote for him, and he's my president, and I hope (and pray) he does a good job.