Congratulations, Mr President

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, it's finally over. Barack Obama has won well over the necessary 270 votes required in the electoral college to become the 44th President of the United States.

Congratulations, sir. To Senator McCain, equal congratulations are due for fighting so hard to win. I do not agree with some of the tactics of either side, and I continue to hold my breath in hope that Obama will live up to his rhetoric in practice, but the long war is over.

McCain, in his concession speech, said it very well: it's time to try and work together to fix the problems the US, and the world, face.

The election remains historic: one of my favourite moments was watching the Rev. Jesse Jackson break down into tears when he heard the news that an African American, at long last, was elected to the highest office in the land. While it is going to take more than just four years in office to turn things around, I hope, now, that this is a sign that the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., are at last coming true. He did not live to see the day when all people within the United States might hold hands together and declare they were one nation, and that all men and women had the same opportunities to live the life they chose for themselves, in truth as well as in the letter of the law... but he set us on the path that Obama now walks.

Congratulations, Mr President. Do us all proud.

Chris