Of Elections, Inaugurations and Hope

Maybe it's my age, maybe it's the state of our economy, maybe it was the candidates and how well they played (or didn't play) together. But for some reason, this past election was more personal to me than other presidential election in my lifetime. From the start, Barack Obama just felt like the best fit. He looked like a president, he could speak coherently about any subject, and he had opinions and ideas that put people, not corporations, first - how refreshing is that! We've missed a presence like that in our White House, and our reputation around the world has suffered because of it. So, here was a guy from a broken home. He was bi-racial and raised by his grandparents. Yet, somehow, out of all the people in these United States, out of all the candidates, he's the only one who seemed to understand what the regular people were thinking and feeling and needing. I don't know about you but it didn't take me until last November to know the country was in a recession. Most of my friends and colleagues knew the economy was down when their companies started cutting jobs, when the stock market started its slide, and when people started cutting back on trips, dinners out and shopping; and that was a full year before our government admitted to a recession. So, I hoped for a change. I hoped that what I saw in candidate Obama wasn't an illusion; that he did understand what the average person was going through and had some ideas of how to change the direction in which we were headed. I hoped other Americans saw what I saw. On election night, Randy and I joined random others in downtown Vancouver to watch the returns on CNN. We arrived at the Hilton shortly before 7pm and found others who felt the need to share the night. At a few minutes to 8, all eyes turned to the big screen at the front of the ballroom. At 20 seconds before 8, people started silently counting down...it was like they knew the defining moment was upon us. As I looked around, I saw some with their hands clenched...waiting. I saw others hugging...waiting. I saw many with their hands folded as if they were saying a silent prayer. At 10 seconds to 8, people started voicing the countdown...10...9...8...7...6...it got steadily louder. It was as if we knew that when the West Coast polls closed, we'd again have hope. 5...4...3...2...1 And then it was 8, and at 1 second after 8, there it was on the bottom of the screen: CNN was projecting Barack Obama had been elected the 44th President of the United States. As I looked around, I saw tears of joy. I saw smiles and heard laughter. And I felt the hope. Now, as we near Inauguration Day, I wonder what in the world would possess anyone to want to hold that office. There are so many issues to deal with and all are equally important - where does he start? It seems like each issue must be addressed during his first week in office...there will be no rest, no gradual adjustment for him. It's a good thing he's young. I'll be watching Tuesday morning as he raises his right hand and places his left hand on the Bible to take the oath of office. I wish him the courage, wisdom and strength he'll need to lead this country back to prosperity. And I will embrace the hope that change really has come to America.