There was something about seeing Jesse Jackson weeping tears of perhaps humility but certainly joy that extended the meaning of Obama's victory. Words will be written, songs played, poems composed--but a moment of sheer abundance graced the troubled land and we could see a wind blowing through the American cosmos that we knew would bring fresh ideas, a new vision of the nation from all over the world, and yes, the possibility of hope that the world could become liveable again. Sure, there will be difficulties ahead; there will be challenges; the shadow will rear its ugly head and there will be disorder of various kinds. But let us savor this extended vision, this shared momentum that has come our way, and let us clap and sing of renewal, of the pride of a struggle won that would have made Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy proud. Allons! as Walt Whitman shouted in his verse.
Let us gather round and praise and move ahead with energy, faith, devotion.

This from the morning's NY Times from
Roger Cohen:

The other day I got an e-mail message saying simply this: Rosa Parks sat in 1955. Martin Luther King walked in 1963. Barack Obama ran in 2008. That our children might fly.

Tough days lie ahead. But it’s a moment to dream. Americans have earned that right, along with the renewed respect of the world.