Oh Happy Day

I have one thing to say which I have said before in various ways. We get the government we are. Not the government we deserve, but the government we are. It's merely a reflection of us and that's all it can ever be. In the broadest sense, I think we twice elected George W. Bush because our fears outweighed everything else - particularly the second time. But two terms of his reckless policies re-energized our hopes and visions of what could be. Then, we saw in Barack Obama a man who most closely matched our own inclinations. We inspired him and he inspired us and round and round it went and round and round it will go.

So as we prepare to inaugurate him and to pave the way for a new chapter of American history, let us remember not to hold him responsible for single-handedly fixing and healing everything and anything that ails us. He will be our president and, as such, he will do the job as he sees fit. And he will remind us that we, too, must continue to do our parts; to be optimistic and hopeful, to be of service, to take responsibility for the parts of our lives and experiences that have nothing at all to do with government. But most importantly, as we look at him and see hope and confidence and competence and the ability to inspire, we must also see that those qualities in ourselves as well.

Congratulations to us all.