One last thought on the election

I know that everyone has had it up to their balls in politics lately and get physically sick at the mention of the word, but I feel the need to quickly put in my two cents worth.

Obviously this has been a historic election. Everyone on tv has told us this over and over. But outside of that, it has been for me, an election pulled straight out of a made-for-tv movie. The twists and turns have been ridiculous, like McCain boldly picking Palin and initially succeeding until she opened up her dumass mouth and Tina Fey got a hold of her. Add the fact that the financial crisis rocked the very foundation we were used to, and the race became almost overwhelming. It was hard to fathom the seriousness of it all. Each day the stakes grew higher, and the speculation grew more intense.

So I was partially regretting that I could not be back in the U.S. to see it all go down. Everyone in Europe, and the whole world for that matter, has been closely watching this thing. And everyone, and I do mean everyone, wanted, no needed Obama. In a recent poll, 85% of Dutch citizens said they would have voted for Obama. Everywhere I go, people want to talk about America with me, which I am more than happy to do. Most people genuinely love Americans, but fucking hate America. They can't understand how the most powerful country in the world could be filled with so much hypocrisy, and how its people could elect the monster that is George Bush....twice.

On election night, I went to a school-sponsored party. CNN was projected on the wall, the stage had bands playing through the night, and the bar was packed. Needless to say, I starting drinking heavily. Either way the race went, I needed to be drunk for this epic occasion. I was really nervous though, and I stayed there until 3 in the morning, waiting for a definitive answer. At 7 I awoke for a breakfast the school was putting on, and discovered the answer: Obama was our president. I was at a loss for words. The impossible had come true.

Watching his acceptance speech, I was struck with the feeling of pride. Never before have I been prouder to call myself an American. Never before have I felt this way about a leader. Never before have I felt that it is an amazing thing to be at this age, with this charismatic man as the leader of the free world. He is our generation's Kennedy, someone young, full of optimism, and ready to right all the wrongs that we have suffered in the last eight years. It was like Brandon said: a brilliant and amazing sunrise, showing us that everything can and will be alright. Shit, he has got a monumental mess in front of him. But I can't think of anybody that I would have more confidence in.