Yes. We can.

My friend Rosemary, a die-hard Hillary supporter, wrote this today. It's beautiful.

I am proud to be an American today. I woke up today feeling for the first time, in a long time, that there is hope for this nation and its people....even though it isn't Hillary.

Last night as I watched Barack Obama address a cheering crowd of 125,000 [240,000] in a Chicago park, I realized that the "change" Obama has been talking about for so many months has already arrived.

As the cameras scanned the faces of thousands upon thousands of ordinary people who had assembled in this park to welcome their future President, the "real change" became abundantly clear: Everyone was welcome to attend this party! Black people, white people, Asian, Hispanic people, disabled and able-bodied people, old people and young people were all there. And they were all celebrating. They were celebrating the victory of the man who had somehow managed to bring them all together: a man who was once a community organizer and would now become the next President of the United States.

Watching Obama as he strolled (not sauntered, not strutted) onto that stage holding the hand of his little daughter, with his wife and older child at his side, I was struck by the humility of the man. He didn't smile much as he gave his acceptance speech. He didn't raise his voice. He didn't engage in a lot of self-congratulatory rhetoric. Instead, he asked us all to examine our own doubts…doubts about the possibility that a minority member of our society could rise to the highest position of leadership in this land…and to put those doubts to rest forever.


Obama was gracious in his thanks to Joe Biden, who he referred to as his "partner," to his campaign manager, but especially to his wife, Michelle, who he referred to as his "best friend" and his "rock." Watching the Obamas as they have traveled the countryside over the past year, it is impossibly not to notice the consideration, tenderness, care, and respect with which Barack treats his wife and young daughters. Their frequent embraces, smiles, and whispered words, so often caught on camera, speak volumes about this man and his relationship with his wife, the future first lady of the United States.

Throughout his acceptance speech, Obama employed a literary device frequently used by black preachers in the pulpit: the repetition of a single phrase that hammers home the point. The phrase he used last night was "yes, we can." The first time I heard this phrase used in a political context, it was not spoken in English. It was spoken in Spanish: "si, se puede." "Yes, it is possible" was the rallying cry of Hispanics on the streets of Phoenix, Arizona, as they protested their treatment at the hands of immigration and law enforcement officials. Obama borrowed those simple words and translated them into a mantra of hope for all Americans.



Last night, Obama made us all see that anything is possible in this country of ours. He turned the tables on all of us…by acknowledging that as a people we can accomplish whatever we set out to do, if only we will pull together to try to get it done.

Spoken like a true community organizer! And what better credentials are needed today to reach across the isle, to reach across the ocean, to reach out to our friends and to our enemies in an effort to resolve the global crises that we face today?

Thank God that as a country we are now preparing ourselves to move forward as one nation, the United States of America. Ever hopeful...with fingers crossed....Yes, we can."

Having been there in Chicago last night, I can confirm everything Rosemary, and all of you, saw on TV. It was a totally joyous, awe-inspiring night. 240,000 people acting as ONE nation with a shared vision, a shared hope. I almost have no words for how powerful it was. I will never forget it.


There we were on a gorgeous warm November night under the stars and the city lights...


...shoulder to shoulder as Americans, weeping and cheering.

We hugged total strangers and friends alike.

Together we were making history and making change.

Emerging from these long dark years we've been through, it was like breathing air after being underwater to the breaking point. We breathed deep. We screamed and shouted. We laughed. We were alive. We were breaking through.

Words can't describe my love for dear friends and fellow adventurers, Mari and Caitlin, who are always the first to say...Yes. We should.


More pictures here.