McCain’s concession speech was indeed gracious, and had he acted more like that throughout the campaign, I think the race would have been closer. Let us hope that as he makes nice again with the media, no one entirely forgets how he pandered to the worst in people. With that in mind, I would just like to say: in your face, you big douchenozzle.
But really, I’m not thinking all that much about McCain right now; I just continue to be amazed by almost otherworldly headlines like "OBAMA SETTING UP TRANSITION TEAM." It’s like a small detail I would have drawn in a cartoon fantasizing about the end of the Bush administration. Except it’s real. (My smile will turn into a frown, though, if he picks Larry Summers as Treasury Secretary.)
I’ve been especially heartened by the images of celebrations around the world. To echo Nicholas Kristof’s column from today, whatever Obama actually manages to achieve, or not, in terms of policy, the symbolism of his victory is itself a great accomplishment. He probably did more for the cause of democracy in one night than the neocons have tried to do at gunpoint for years.
