Grace in Defeat and in Victory

I know everyone and anyone is talking about this today...and I hate to be repetitive...but here goes.

I have to say that I was surprised at how quickly everything played out last night. The first news reports were all about the states that were "too close to call"....of course they didn't play up the fact that they were too close to call because the polls had been closed all of two minutes.

Watching all of it unfold, I was both mesmerized and annoyed. Mesmerized by the movement, the power, the grass roots, and the enthusiasm of the people - the everyday people - who were voting and then celebrating as if we were a brand new democracy. Annoyed by listening to the media coverage that just could not capture the essence of this event and instead kept interrupting and detracting from it.

Regardless however, the evening completed on a high note. Watching Senator McCain speak so gracefully and graciously in defeat, and his call for unity and support despite our differences to solve the critical issues we face as a nation, I was reminded of what a great man he is. The fact that he subverted that with his pursuit of power was in fact, his undoing. Compromising his values, his independence, and allowing his campaign to use scare tactics to try and capture this election was unworthy of the great patriot and public servant he has always been. This country was founded on the great debate. If we think that all of the men who formed our union did so with gracious smiles and unanimous decisions we are deluding ourselves. There was tremendous debate, significant arm-twisting and powerplays, and no small amount of railroading. But in the end, what they created is still ONE of the greatest governments and nations in the world.

Following Senator McCain's speech was our next president, Barack Obama. I love typing that. President Barack Obama. His speech was incredible, as always. He continues to inspire me every time. But it was not overly celebretory; there was no rubbing it in, it was all about inclusiveness and a shared vision and purpose. He recognized that many people did not vote for him, but he promised to still listen to them and to represent their interests to the best of his ability.

It has been said that a person running for president is consumed with the ideas of what they can accomplish, but once elected, is equally as consumed by what cannot be achieved.

I hope that President-elect Obama finds that his ability to inspire overcomes this. And while he inherits a broken and suffering nation, if he can mobilize and lead the people, rather than belittle and exclude them, he has the power to achieve and accomplish great things.

I have long been a fan of that idealistic White House created in the West Wing. In fact, I may just dig up my old vhs tapes and watch a few of my favorite episodes, and just hope that some semblance of that fiction is part of the Obama administration reality.

And in keeping with the West Wing and its ongoing theme of patriotism, service, and leadership, I hope and believe that President-elect Obama will create an environment where people seriously stop and say, "I serve at the pleasure of the president."

Today. Now. DO IT!!!!

You did it already?

I'm proud to know you.

A New Citizen Speaks

This is well worth the 8:45,but if you are impatient, at least watch the last minute.

Does This Count As Equal Time?

No? Damn. I knew I should have gone for the Tina Fey Sarah Palin impression.

My Vote for Hope

Vote for your Hope.

I Sense a Theme

Countdown 4 days.

A Nightmare on My Street

A friend sent this to me to ensure I was just scared enough to go vote. There was never any doubt - I'll be there!

Equality for Women

Throughout my career in the white male dominated industry of engineering, I've pooh poohed the claims of my female colleagues that we are not taken seriously, that we are 2nd class citizens, that our opinions are not considered. After 18 years at this company, where I was given the opportunity to grow from an administrative assistant to a group manager, I was not willing to say I would have gotten farther faster as a man. I've had 6 promotions in those 18 years and I feel my hard work has been recognized and rewarded...well most of the time.


Maybe I don't have the same driving and unrealized ambitions of my female colleagues. Or maybe I'm just deluded.


When Hillary was making her push for the highest office in U.S. politics, I watched with interest, and I was fascinated with the idea of a female president and also by the fact that here we are in 2008, and that idea is still "new and different". There have been female rulers in so many countries for so many centuries that it is astounding that the U.S. - so often thought of as a leader in innovation and forward thinking - can still be so backward on this point.


I remember when I was on the editorial team for my high school yearbook and we were putting together the Year in Review page for 1983-1984, we recognized the achievement of Sally Ride. Next to her photo was a quote, "It's too bad that society isn't to the point yet where the country could just send up a woman astronaut and nobody would think twice about it." Amen Sally.


So now, that we see the Republican's answer to capturing those people who want to see the glass ceiling finally shattering, I just want to remind all of you women out there who are so interested in furthering the cause of equality for women that you might forget this one key fact.

These women?

ARE. NOT. EQUAL.

I felt I needed to point that out, because I fear that there are actually women out there willing to cast their vote ONLY for the gender of the person on the ticket. Now that being said - if you read up on the Republican VP candidate's positions and career history and feel that you are in agreement, vote away. But please, please, please, do not throw away the woman's hard won right to vote merely to make a point about the equality of women. Because, after all, isn't true equality about the right person for the right job, not the person that most looks like me? Isn't that what started all the problems in the first place? And isn't that still the problem when people are hesitating to vote for a black man purely due to the color of his skin rather than the platform he represents?


I'm with Sally Ride. I hope someday NONE of this makes news. Maybe then we can spend more time learning about qualfications than worrying about gender, race, and other characteristics that give no indication about whether the person in question can do the job.


I hope I live to really see Equal rights for all.