Shane Life

To those — to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

- President-Elect Barack Obama

Even going into last night, I had concerns. Would the alleged “Bradley effect” rear its head? Were the pollsters completely wrong?

They were not.

I believe that Barack Obama has the potential to be one of the great presidents of American history. The way in which he has energized the nation with his message of hope is nothing short of amazing. On an historic night, he was gracious, inspiring and firm…giving a speech to 125,000+ onlookers in Grant Park in Chicago and showing that hope always trumps fear.

I watched that speech with tears in my eyes. This is something that people will remember for a very long time. We’ll tell future generations about watching this election and I feel blessed to be a part of it.

I am looking forward to the next few months as President-Elect Obama puts together his transition team – a team that he has stated will be bi-partisan and contain very few hold-overs (most believe that one of the only hold-overs will be Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense). Whomever he brings in, the administration has many challenges ahead, the first of which is carrying the energy and inspiration of the campaign into true action as well as reaching out to those who were strong McCain supporters.

Either way, it’s an exciting time.