And oh! The towering feeling
Just to know somehow you are near.
The overpowering feeling
That any second you may suddenly appear.
People stop and stare. They don't bother me.
There's no where else on earth that I would rather be.
Let the time go by, I won't care if I
Can be here on the street where you live.
Am I in love? No. Well, yes, but that's not the reason I'm singing "On the Street Where You Live." On the street where I live, I can see the White House. And it looked brighter this morning, the morning after the 2008 presidential election. As corny as it sounds, a change of attitude swept over me. I no longer felt the need to scowl as I looked down 16th Street to Pennsylvania Avenue.
Make no mistake, I don't think America's problems have been solved overnight by the election of Barack Obama. In fact, as of 10 a.m. I can think of only one problem that has been solved. But it's a significant one: the U.S. government is once again of the people, for the people.
Why do I feel this way? Because Obama didn't have a powerful father to place him into things, or get him out of things. Our new president studied and worked hard to become the 44th president of the United States. Compared to George W. Bush, Obama is of the people -- which tends to make a person for the people.
I'm not the only person feeling a wave of positivity.
"Bush didn't even pretend to care about anyone except the wealthy. I've felt excluded from the conversation for the past eight years. But not anymore," said new D.C. resident Amy Stromberg, who relocated from Buffalo, New York. "Obama cares about all kinds of people and by his example, I believe we're all going to do a better job caring for each other. I feel a greater sense of community already."
"Strangers said good morning to me as I walked along 17th Street," retailer Darian Crouse told Huffington Post. "I believe Obama is going to do what he promised. He has to -- he has the whole world behind him. Everywhere he goes, Obama shatters attendance records. Bush never had that kind of intouchness."
"I feel a double difference today," Nelson Ramos told Huffington Post. "One guy's leaving -- and by the way don't let the doorknob hit you on the way out -- and a new guy is coming in bringing hope and change. Obama's not getting here soon enough. This morning in my shoe repair shop, customers were practically jumping up and kicking their heels."
As I walked down 16th Street with a CNN producer, I asked him if he, too, felt differently about the White House on Day One of the Obama Administration.
"Less schmoozing, more decision-making," he said.
I hope he's right.
