Out of many, we are one.

President-elect Barack Obama took to the stage in Grant Park in Chicago in front of 2 million who came to see him speak. He was mesmerizing. He spoke of an America united and energized. He said our road was long. It might not happen in one year or one term but it will happen. What was seen next was unlike anything I anticipated. People all over the country spilled in to the streets and celebrated. Harlem was alive and celebrating, Washington DC had thousands of people celebrating in front of the White House chanting "Yes we can! Yes we can!" And despite what the ignorant opposition feared, there was no criminal element' no rioting, no police intervention. We were time-stamped last night as we had been in the past. We all remember where we were when 9/11 happened or when Kennedy was shot. Now we have been time stamped with hope. We will remember where we were when we first felt hope, shortly after 11pm on an early November evening. States that were traditionally red states were going blue. Voter turn out was greater than we've ever seen by more than 14 million votes. Young people mobilized and organized. First time voters were welcomed and congratulated. Record numbers of people stood in lines many hours long and no one complained. We wouldn't leave those lines without casting our vote. We all wanted to be part of change. And we were!!
We saw George W Bush who has been so divisive reach out to Barack Obama and say he would open the White House to him and his new staff. He would make this transition a smooth one. He wished him God's speed. If nothing more, that will be President Bush's legacy. He was gracious when it was most needed.
I woke my children up at 11pm to show them what their new world looked like. We cheered for a great man who transcended race and showed the world what a unique man of character he is. Their world looks different today. Our moral compass has a new true north. We have a new direction. This is the miracle of our time.