Good Luck and God Bless

In 1967, one year before I was born, the classic movie In The Heat of the Night was released. It realistically depicted a South in which blacks could be suspected of crimes by virtue of their skin color, could be refused service, insulted, and generally treated as second class citizens.

Yesterday, a black man was elected President of the United States. I didn’t think I’d see it in my lifetime, but honestly, it seems a little anticlimactic (to me, at least) because the least interesting thing about Barack Obama is the color of his skin. But to millions of African-Americans, this is validation it’s their country, too.

I voted for McCain because I like his policies better, but I believe that Obama is a man of honor and integrity, and someone who will display good judgement. I sincerely hope that he can lead the country into a period of peace and prosperity over the next few years.

As for the Republicans, they’d be wise to remember the words of Winston Churchill, a man whose political career appeared to be over several times: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”

The real winner, of course, is America. In this country we vote for our leader directly - he’s not selected by some back-room cabal, as happens even in modern democracies such as Japan. Nor is our leader the most powerful, or the most brutal. In America, to become President, you must persuade people that your position is the right one. If you lose, well, there’s another election in four years.

Most of the prominent right-leaning web sites seem to be offering subdued but sincere congratulations to Mr. Obama, following the lead of John McCain in his gracious concession speech:

And here’s Obama’s victory speech:

Congratulations to both men on a hard-fought campaign.