History is made

I spent last night watching history unfold. It certainly was a night to remember. I even gave up a college football game on ESPN2 to watch the election results. Now that is pretty amazing.

I worked last night, and whenever the opportunity presented itself, I turned on a television in an empty room to see how the Minnesota senate election was panning out. At 6:00 AM it was tied. This afternoon Coleman and Franken are separated by something like 475 votes, with 100% precincts reporting. Can you believe that? Out of 2.8 million votes cast, they are separated by just 475.

Look at it this way; picture the Rose Bowl filled to capacity. Now picture 28 of those stadiums laid side-by-side. That’s about 2.8 million people.

Now picture the Falls Ballroom in Little Falls, Minnesota, filled to capacity. That’s about 475 people.

Twenty-eight Rose Bowls are separated by one Falls Ballroom. Wow.

So the ugliest campaign in Minnesota political history will now progress into the ugliest post-election litigation in Minnesota political history. If you thought Franken and Coleman made asses of themselves during the campaign, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

I wonder if 1,000 Franken votes will be found “misplaced” in a Hibbing warehouse in December? Hmmm…

Also, my buddy David Pundt, who raped me of my privacy last month, was absolutely demolished in the district 12A race last night. I like to think, in my own "Joe the Plumber" sort of way that I had something to do with it.

Of course, the biggest news of the night was the presidential election. Last night we witnessed one of the biggest -- perhaps the biggest -- turning points in American history: the election of a person of color to the most powerful office in the nation -- and arguably, the world.

Love him or hate him, Barack Obama is our new president-elect. Is he capable of leading this country through the tough times ahead? To be honest with you, I don’t know… I really don’t know. But now that he is about to become the 44th President of the United States, I hope and pray he knows what he’s doing, and that the 62 million Americans who voted for him were not dazzled by empty rhetoric (commonly known in my world as “bullshit”).

Unlike many who hate Obama -- and I think that hate is palpable and cause for grave concern -- I do not think Obama is an evil man. I do not think he is un-American (quite the contrary, I think he is living proof that anything is possible in America). I do not think he is a terrorist. I do not think he is in cahoots with Al-Qaeda in some vast conspiracy to topple the U.S. government.

I also do not think Obama is Muslim, although I would be quick to add that I don't believe one’s choice of religion has any bearing on their ability to lead the country. Nowhere in the constitution does it say that the president must be Christian (any more than it says the president must be white and male).

Will I catch hell for even touching on the topic of religion? Probably, but there’s a turd in the swimming pool and somebody has to speak up.

I thought John McCain’s concession speech was eloquent and revealing of the man he truly is. McCain would have made an excellent president. I believe the election results had everything do with the country’s disgust with George Bush, rather than discontentment with John McCain. You were in the right place at the wrong time, Senator McCain. That’s all.

This brings us to a new chapter in American history. And I think we, as Americans, need to turn to a fresh, clean page. We must, at long last, learn to tolerate our differences. We must accept that change really is inevitable. We can only go forward from here. There’s no looking back.

Simply put, if you’re not part of the future, then get out of the way.

I, just one American in a sea of millions, am excited to be a part of this moment in our country's history.