It's morning in America

I wasn't sure that I'd ever get to see a (fairly) liberal Democrat elected as president in my lifetime -- certainly not after the way the electorate disappointed me in 2000 and 2004. Now, however, my faith has been renewed. The nation chose the better candidate and the better ideas yesterday, and it's one of the proudest moments I've had as an American.

Back when I was deciding who to support as the primaries and caucuses were approaching I found Barack Obama to be the most to my liking. Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich are both closer to me politically, but I knew that each had no chance. As for Hillary -- there were some things I liked about her, but she voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq. I couldn't get beyond that. Declining to give President Bush that power should have been a no-brainer. I also felt that Obama would be more likely to win in November.

Along the way I've been impressed by Obama's intellect, calmness and integrity. No other candidate at any level has ever inspired me to the degree that he has, and I believe that he can be an excellent president. We need a change, and we need a leader. In 10 weeks we will have both.