The election: Gawd! It feels soooo good to finally be emerging from America’s Dark Ages under President Bush. Elated would be inadequate to describe my feelings. During the last eight years my country has morphed into something almost unrecognizable. I have such high expectations for President Obama … I only hope he can live up to my (and my country’s) expectations. He has a monumental job ahead of him.

The first time in my entire life that I ever got truly pumped up about an election was 1980. The second time was 2008!! Reagan, in my view, was a great president. His election and presidency was a turning point for the country; wherein the nation embraced a new wave of Conservatism. After Reagan left office, George Bush, Sr. won the office, but fumbled the metaphoric football hand-off from Reagan. Clinton was a pretty good president – some say one of the best “politicians” ever. The country flourished under Clinton. Following Clinton’s presidency, the 2000 election between Clinton’s VP ( Al Gore) and George W. Bush (son of the former President Bush) was the closest in American history. So close, in fact, that it took a ruling from the United States Supreme Court to determine the outcome: Bush won – though some still take issue with that ruling.

Thus began eight years of what I call “America’s Dark Ages.” Bush attempted (and was largely successful) at undoing many of the social advancements of the past forty years that our Boomer generation had started to take for granted; squandered the huge monetary surplus accumulated during the Clinton years; devastated our relations with foreign nations around the globe; turned the country toward the extreme Right; invaded a foreign nation for no apparent reason, sending that nation into chaos and stretching our military to the point that many wonder if we might have the remaining forces to respond to any sort of world crisis that may arise in the immediate future; divided America into what has now become so colorfully known as Blue States and Red States – causing combustible friction and hostility between citizens, friends and family members of differing views; over-spent the nation into economic despair and presided over the worst economic mess of my lifetime; and increased big government in ways that Republicans like me find completely unacceptable. Bush has single-handedly destroyed the party of Reagan.

The American people have finally had enough. They are crying UNCLE! … or rather, Obama! Not being overly Liberal in my politics, I find the notion of the Dems rampaging through congress and the Oval Office to be actually a tad bit disconcerting. However, after eight years of the nation being thrown so violently to the Right, a good dose of Liberalism may be just what the country needs to right our nation’s listing ship. In fact, more than merely being a right-leaning ship gone aground, our nation appears on the verge of sinking entirely.

What we need now is someone who is more than charismatic and knows how to delegate (as was Reagan), someone who is more than a great politician (as was Clinton) – what we truly need now is someone who will actually be a great statesman. I believe Obama has that potential. An Obama presidency bringing the nation toward the Left may be as good for the nation as the Reagan presidency was in bringing the nation to the Right.

No one can know how good a leader Obama might be, since he is a young man (at the youngest end of our Baby Boomer generation)without a lengthy history of holding public office. But he has accomplished much in his life so far: top of his class at Harvard Law, an extremely persuasive and eloquent speaker, all the charisma of Ronald Reagan or J.F.K., an apparent passion for justice … and my gut feeling is that he is exactly what this country needs. We shall see.

Election night was a turning point of historic proportion, now it is up to Mr. Obama.

“Enjoy the champagne of congratulations. Please do remember… Champagne loses all its bubbles, fascination and fizz, soon after being opened. After that… it’s just a flat, cheap wine that nobody likes to taste or swallow.”

That statement is quite telling.

I also hope the media pundits, print and press, its journalists, reporters, editorialists, evaluate their own behavior and actions in this campaign. I submit objectivity and fairness were casualties of this election that will be hard to get back or change the public’s perception of it or them.

I listened to the analysis on BBC radio and found myself profoundly moved by the choice of President that America had made – yes, I’ll admit it, I felt choked up with emotion (and I’m a supposedly restrained Brit). It was exciting. It opens the way for the USA to play its unique and vital role in the world again. If I were an American, I would feel proud to be American at this particular moment.

But now the hard work begins. I don’t envy Obama with the weight of expectation on his shoulders (not to mention the terrible legacy that he will inherit), but I feel that he has the intellectual weight and the energy to take on the burden of the presidency. I’m reading “Dreams From My Father” at the moment. I know the book was written ten or more years ago, but he comes over as a thoughtful person, someone who has had challenging experiences, who has reflected and learned and who has accepted the challenges.

Clips on the BBC TV news last night showed some of the Obama parties that had taken place in London. British people, black and white, were cheering for Mr O.

I remember vividly that day in 1997 when Tony and Cherie Blair moved into Downing Street, glad-handing the cheering crowds as they went. That was the moment when it became possible for the British to hold their heads up with pride once more. Blair, like all leaders, subsequently made terrible errors, but he gave us a sense of possibility that had been lost in the preceding decade.

Let’s hope that the Obama factor can kick-start all sorts of good things in the US.

Oh, yes, and I agree with your comments about the graciousness of McCain’s concession speech. It was a beautiful piece of public oratory. Now, if he’d been able to do that during the campaign…