Thank god for Obama

I had been nervous all of October about the election, hoping and praying that Obama would win. But other than adorning my sweaters and belongings with pins and stickers I found little else I could feasibly do. I was relieved and overjoyed with the word came that Obama was the projected winner. I stayed up until the wee hours of the night hopping from Brooklyn bar to the next, watching the tally of electoral votes and finally being rewarded with Obama's victory speech and McCain's eloquent concession.

A woman in the bar bought everyone champagne and the bartender gave us a round on the house as we cheered along with other patrons whose eyes were also glued to the screen. A parade of children marched in the street banging drums and screaming Obama until adults joined in. All night the streets were lit up with cheering and fire crackers snapping, and it was incredible to see so many people so happy over his win. As I have been a registered DFL voter since senior year of high school this has been the first time my presidential pick has one, utter joy.