A Great Moment

What a moment! What a journey and what a man!

Thank goodness for Barack Obama!

Last night, so many of the ideals I cherish gained a new and brighter meaning. Meritocracy, equality, democracy, opportunity, imagination, grace, purpose, dreams, possibility, America ... they all mean so much more...and so much more differently today than yesterday.

And I have rarely been so moved by a great speech as the one Obama delivered at Grant Park, Chicago. It was powerful not with oratory but with strength and purpose. I am glad Bro, you have posted it already.

When he said, "a new dawn of America's leadership", I think of the Obama logo. Yes, its always been about a new dawn.

It is a testament to the maturity of the American nation that finally, as Martin Luther King, Jr. said, to judge a man not by the colour of his skin but by the contents of his charater. And it is a powerful testament that like probably nowhere else in this world, this is a place where people do not see the world as it is, but as what it can be. A lifelong admirer of America, I am a new admirer of America today, in its ability to progress and change.

It was 232 years since the Declaration of Independence, 221 years since the US Constitution was adopted, 145 years since Lincoln signed the Emancipation Declaration abolishing slavery and only 45 years ago when Martin Luther King, Jr. made his "I have a dream speech" and racial segregation was widespread. If Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive today he would only be 79 years old. To witness this amount of progress within a person's lifetime is truely breathtaking. This simple calculation calls into question where other nations have been during this same time? What progress have been made towards unity and equality? How much effort has our own nations made against division and prejudice? And what can be done to do better by simply doing the right thing?

I felt lucky to be witnessing change - for the better - and there will be more but it will depend on no one but each and every one of us doing the right thing.

At this point, I have a confession to make. I have been an mega-election junkie. It may not be apparent from the blog because I consciously avoided writing about it so as not to jinx it! My daily diet was 538.com, Politico, The Page, Stumper, Swampland, RCP, Huffington Post and Pollster. Now I can recite the electoral votes of Nebraska (5, 3 of which distributed by congressional seats), demographic patterns of certain swing counties and battleground states, and all the pathways for each candidate to win. It is going to be interesting figuring out what next for this hobby.

Finally, I could not resist referring to a posting I made earlier estimating the effects of Obama's ground game to be worth between 2 % and 5 %; the results in NC, FL, OH and IN showed that to be quite true, especially NC and IN. NV, CO, NM, VA, OH and FL was won by increasing voter registration. NC and IN on that as well as turnout. Obama wins not just by inspiration but also prespiration: for 2 years he meticulously built, inspired and trained an army of volunteers (estimated to be 1.5m people) to develop his support bit by bit in these states. Obama shows a new way: you create your own opportunity not just compete. That is a fine lesson for us all.