Checks and Balances Still Intact

There is one important thing that Obama can learn from George Bush. He made essentially the same promise that Obama made in his victory speech below, but not nearly as eloquently. He promised to be a uniter, not a divider. As soon as he was elected, he ignored half of the country and became president for the other half. That is what has destroyed the Republican party, and it will take them years to rebuild it. Obama, and the congress, must not mistake this for a mandate to turn hard left like bush turned hard right. It was an electoral landslide but the popular vote is still split. Half the country doesn't want him to be president. Just look at the numbers in the red states. McCain won by double digits in most of them.

I'm glad the Democrats didn't get their fillibuster-proof majority. The Democrats now have control of the executive and legislative branch of the government with the checks and balances left intact. Obama used the word, "immaturity" in his speech. Good choice of words. Let's hope they can all act like grown-ups now and get something done.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.