Election night

The votes are cast, and Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States. It's 11:30 p.m., and I should have been in bed long ago. The outcome is hardly surprising, and I could have read the results in tomorrow's headlines. But there is something historic about tonight, and I had to feel a part of it. It's a night I'll look forward to telling my children and grandchildren about.

Obama's speech tonight resounded with hope, and like many of those who gathered at Grant Park, my face was wet with tears. No matter what we think of Barack Obama, we can remember the words of another black man, a pastor from a generation ago whose personal faith in Jesus inspired a dream. That we've elected a black man to the highest political office signals something profoundly good for America. 

I didn't vote for Barack Obama. And neither did I vote for John McCain. The arguments matter little now. What matters is the future.