Joy & Hope & Affirmation: The Election of Barack Hussein Obama

While anticipated, predicted, & even expected, the election of Barack Obama nevertheless was an amazing moment: the lifelong dreams and aspirations of millions realized.

It happened. It really happened.

Whether or not one voted for Barack Obama, I think there's one thing that we all shared tonight: a realization that anything is possible, and that the only real limits in our lives exists in our own minds and hearts. For a moment, all that was lifted, and we saw what was — and is — possible.

And so while I didn't vote for Barack Obama, I was nevertheless thrilled to see him win. The moment of his election was almost a miracle, and I believe it elevated all our hearts and minds and dreams.

The coming months will be one of governance, and there I have my concerns and doubts, but tonight -- I have no doubts about the human spirit in all of us, and no matter what happens, I know everything is going to work out.

I guess this is why, ultimately, he won. Maybe it was meant to be.

So, words, my favorite things in all the world, cannot describe or do justice to the feeling and emotions that overtook all of us, especially black Americans, but their pictures tell the beautiful story of the moment that passed through their hearts, that opened and revealed them, and that transformed all of us:

We are men and women, we are Americans, and we are Free.