My voice is hoarse, my head is spinning, and I can’t get to sleep. I kept hearing the charging rhythm of our daughter’s strong, light footsteps. Before turning in we checked our voice mail. Jackie had somehow accidently dialed her parents while running.
I had to get out of bed, put my clothes back on, and collect some thoughts after an evening I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
I just enjoyed the wildest night I’ve ever had in Seattle. The Westin Hotel was overrun with happy voters as our state’s Democratic Party celebrated. Our two senators and newly re-elected governor (all women) raised their hands in jubilation from a stage overlooking a jam-packed ballroom filled with the new and diverse political landscape of America.
During the party my iPhone was busy with emails from friends in Europe — Matteo in the Cinque Terre wrote “Ciao Rick, You Americans gave to the entire world, after many years, a big sign of an historical changement. Obama President is the right person in the right place for a new world.” Another Italian, Luca, said for America it was “like winning the world cup.” Steven from Ireland is now planning a road trip across the USA with his girlfriend.
And both our kids spontaneously and simultaneously had an animal instinct to rush to the charismatic new leader — the hope of their generation and suddenly a global political icon. In Washington DC, Jackie and her girlfriends ran from her Georgetown University dorm across town all the way to the White House just to jump up and down and scream for joy at the gates of the most powerful house in the world.
Meanwhile, in Indiana, Andy and his buddies had jumped into a car and drove two hours from their Notre Dame campus in South Bend to be at Grant Park in Chicago with a quarter of a million people to welcome our president-elect.
Back in Seattle, at nearly midnight Anne and I were high-fiving the garage attendant and dancing among the taxis blinking their lights and honking their horns. I hugged every color in the rainbow. It seemed every car had its windows rolled down, as if everyone wanted to savor every ounce of the convivial one-ness that was sweeping our city’s streets.
Speeches from both a gracious loser and a gracious victor reminded us that our greatest bond is not our party affiliation but the fact that we are Americans, and that we are one nation with a big job ahead. Talking with Jackie — now about 3 a.m. for her in DC — we celebrated the fact that for her very first presidential election we had just witnessed a peaceful revolution of sorts, and the resilient wonders of American democracy.