If You Blog It, They Will Come: President-Elect Barack Obama.

President-Elect Barack Obama. Wow, it feels incredible just to type that. President Obama. Say it out loud. President Obama. Seriously, say it! It's unbelievable.

I don't even really know where to begin with this post. I have so much I want to say, so much emotion I want to convey. I just don't think this is the proper medium in which to do so but I'm going to try anyway. As I listened to Obama's speech last night it moved me to tears. I heard the end of the speech again in the car this morning and it had the exact same impact. Each perfectly timed "Yes we can" was more powerful than the next. As he spoke of optimism and change like he has so many times throughout the past 2 years there was something more refined about his words, something more captivating about his message. The first glimmer of this becoming real was starting to enter my psyche. No longer was he trying to win our support with words, he was instead instilling a sense of pride in every listener. No longer was he asking us to believe, he was grabbing our hands and taking us with him.

I began learning about Obama 6 years ago when I read Dreams from My Father. The country became aware of him on a greater scale after his 2004 convention speech. Back then I hoped that he would wait to run for president. I was excited for the day to arrive somewhere in the distant future, but I thought 2008 was too soon. I knew the "experience factor" would be an issue, and it was. When news began to break about Obama throwing his hat in the ring for 2004 I was nervous, I didn't think he was ready. I struggled at first over whether to support him or support Clinton. However, in the very early stages of primary campaigning I attended a conference in Richmond, VA where I saw a presentation by a principal from a high school in Baltimore, MD and my decision was made. This principal spoke to a room of about 100 teachers and administrators about reaching out to African-American male youth. He shared some revealing video interviews of black students in his school. Each one had a different story, but each one shared a similar message: They felt as if no one gave a shit about them, they had no one to look up to, all they could see were dead ends, and they all wanted more for themselves but they didn't know how to make it happen. It was right then and there that I knew Barack Obama was the candidate I was going to support. If for nothing else but the simple reason that if he were to win it would give these kids someone to look up to, something to strive for, that was good enough for me.

Over the following months I continued to read and watch and do my homework on the candidates and I knew my choice was one that I felt strongly about. Not just because of those kids from Baltimore, but because of the message Obama was delivering all across the country. So I volunteered my time during the primaries to knock on doors, talk to voters, and spread the word about why I felt Obama was the right man for the job. I donated money to the campaign. I helped in the weeks leading up to the election and canvassed more neighborhoods. I did what I could to help deliver Virginia for the democrats and ultimately the presidency to the man that I know cares about each and every person in this country.

So I'm running on fumes right now. I know the exhaustion I feel pales in comparison to what Obama is probably feeling, but I'm operating on about 8 or 9 hours of sleep over the past 3 days. My sleep deprivation began on Monday when we decided to head to the final rally of the campaign. We spent the evening with about 80,000 other hopeful Virginians and it was absolutely incredible. Here are a few pics from the evening...

First arriving

Supporting our boy

We did!

There he is!

After arriving home around 1:30am from the rally I crashed for a few hours and woke at 5:40am to get to the polls. I knew I wanted to get there first thing in the morning so I could spend my time after work volunteering rather than standing in line. So that's exactly what I did and I got to the Obama office around 3pm to help any way I could. They sent me out in a team of 3 to canvass several neighborhoods. Joe, Collin, and I knocked on doors, reminded supporters to vote, and talked politics until just before the polls closed at 7pm. I made it home in time to crash for an hour and then enjoy the evening with Amanda, Jeff, and Mel. We watched the returns on TV and stayed glued to the internet so we could get up-to-the-second info. It was truly an incredible evening for all 4 of us.

I was groggy as I woke up this morning after 4 and a half hours of slumber and I stayed that way most of the day. But the idea of Bush on his way out and Obama on his way in kept me going. A renewed sense of honor and pride in our country has overwhelmed me since my class of 26 students and I stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance like we do every morning. Every single time I have said those 31 words throughout the last 8 years I have thought about George Bush and what our flag symbolizes around the world. In all honesty, every single time. As I have said it I have thought about the hatred Bush has fabricated and the lies and deception he has covered this country with like a blanket. This morning was different though. This morning I was proud.

Obama says change will not happen over night. Well, he is wrong. It happened. If perception is reality, then change has happened in the blink of an eye. I know that there is a lot of work to be done, possibly more than ever for a new president, but I believe Obama has organized and excited enough Americans to affect the change that is necessary. Those that voted for Obama yesterday realize that we can't sit around these next 4 years and let things happen, we know that we need to be active, stay involved, and work within our communities to make real change occur.

It was the end of his speech last night that I keep coming back to in my head. I can't shake his demeanor, his conviction, or his words. Every time he uttered the words "Yes we can" you could sense millions of people across the country and around the world willingly giving him their hands and running right behind him. Even if you have heard the speech please read the excerpt I'm describing and enjoy the pictures that follow...

"This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight's about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America -- the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America"

It's official