A change of pace.

When Barack Obama announced he was running for president in February of 2007, my gut told me not only would he beat Hillary Clinton in the primaries, but that he would be able to beat any Republican candidate he would eventually face ... in a landslide. I didn't feel this was possible because of the favorable political climate or the anti-Republican winds that would be at his back, but I felt this was because what of many thought was his liability --> who he was. To me that was his strength. Tonight, we saw happen what most people would have never thought would have been possible 8 years ago; that a skinny 47 year old black man, with a 'funny name' would become our president. But his leadership during an almost 2 year campaign, defeating two of the biggest political machines today, the Clintons and the Republicans, shows just what we have in store for the next 4 years, and possibly 8. Determination, brains, energy and the sharp mind to get the job done.

The long past 8 years is finally over.

Ladies and germs, the 44th President of the United States, President Barack Hussein Obama ...