President Obama: Excitedly Dissapointed...and proud of it!

This is my first post since the presidential election, so here are just a few thoughts: Is it possible to be dissapointed and proud at the same time? I did not vote for Barrack Obama. Politically speaking, I felt much more comfortable (though not excited) with John McCain so I voted for him. Am I dissapointed my guy lost? Sure. To be honest, I'm worried what an Obama administration (with a democrat controlled congress) might mean to the well being of our country over the next four years (taxes, defense, economy, etc...) But I can't help feeling excited by the historic nature of Obama's victory.

The fact that we've elected the first African-American president is a great thing. It says something about us as a nation. It says, as many of the African-American interviewees I've seen over the past week have said, that this truly is the land of opportunity for ALL . And in a strange way I actually feel that the conservative movement has been vindicated by Obama's election. For years many on the left have decried the US for being racist. Will they still consider our country racist? Probably, but their argument will hold even less water now. More whites than African Americans voted for Obama. That doesn't sound like a racist country to me. I was encouraged by the fact that, for the most part, race didn't have a whole lot to do with Obama's election. Obama ran a stronger campaign than McCain and he deserved to win. If his presidency gives hope and inspiration to a sector of our society who has otherwise felt dissinterested or disenfranchised, that's a good thing.

Even with it's flaws our democratic process works pretty darn well. I am proud that we've reached this milestone even though I voted against Obama. My vote against him was based on his positions - not the color of his skin. And in four years I will proudly vote against him again or for him based on his performance - not the color of his skin. And that's really the point: we are a much better nation if the election of Barack Obama means folks on both sides of the political spectrum have finally moved beyond race.