This Bright New Day

He actually did it. Barack Obama will be our next President. I'm still up to my ears in results and analysis, but a few things have become astonishingly clear. I'll offer a shorthand version.

1. Battleground states broke almost entirely for Obama. The more time he spent there, the better he did. Period. Just look at Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida if you doubt my take on the utter shift in the map.
2. The Dems made some gains in Congressional races, but the game didn't entirely change. Regardless, the time has come to jettison Joe the Lieberman to the ranks of truly Independent and powerless.
3. Social conservatives are still a force to be reckoned with when it comes to proferring obtuse and bullshite referendum votes. Prop 8 in California is a particularly galling example. The war ain't over, people.
4. Sarah Palin has already been thrown under the bus, but she is about to be backed over time and time again. The single most stunning inside baseball piece of the day comes from "Newsweek" that includes reporting about her meeting campaign aides wearing just a towel (RAWR!) and how she got staffers to buy clothes for her on their own credit cards. The only person happy about how much of a joke she will forever be remembered becoming - Dan Quayle.
5. It ain't over. Recount in Minnesota's Franken/Coleman race. Runoff in Georgia's Chambliss/Martin race. Cats and dogs sleeping together. Much more to report later.

But the single most interesting tidbit from the avalanche of reporting is the brilliant "get" that David Remnick ("The New Yorker" editor in chief) got from William Ayers yesterday in Barack Obama's neighborhood. Anyone that claims Obama is tarnished by a connection to Ayers has always been full of shite. This little poetic moment of reportage proves it. Read it. You'll be glad you did.

A few final thoughts. I've been an obvious Obama supporter from the beginning. He's a most capable person in the most challenging of times. I don't begrudge those that were not on board. Yet the time has come for the Nation to realize one simple fact - Barack Obama won. He hired the best people, he raised the most money, he benefitted from the news of the day, blah blah blah. Barack Obama will be our next President because he was smart enough and convincing enough to get people to listen to him and vote for him. I am proud of my country today. And damn glad to be able to say that.

Hope you're all looking forward today. Rock on.