We can reach for it and we can touch it. The old glass ceilings are coming down and shattering as discrimination is thrown out like old trash. Out with the old and in with the new. The new Obama team is one of excellence and drive. It embraces talent, experience and competence regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, age or politics. Obama just keeps picking the right people at the right time for the right job. It is the stuff of big dreams, audacious ideas and hard work. Let the heavy lifting begin.
And by goodness, check out all those notable women: there's Hillary, there's Janet, there's Susan, and even room for Madeline and her brilliance. Finally, a powerful man who is not intimated by strong, opinionated women in skirts, or in some cases the sisterhood of the traveling pants suit. This President elect is living social change and every day -- breathing it in and out with every breath he takes.
Only one other American leader had such insight - former President William Jefferson Clinton who had the inexplicable ability to see talent, recognize it, and harness it for maximum potential. He welcomed people with strong opinions, and created a remarkable team very much like Obama.
Going further --- a new social ethic may emerge this time with Obama. And it is this social change that may sustain us while the country is lifted out of bankruptcy. One can hope that a gentler, kinder society can and will emerge from the ashes of the Wal-Mart stampede on Black Friday. Yes, people are suffering and homes are being lost. If we can only embrace this wave of social change perhaps we can survive through these bad times, and even emerge as a stronger and better people and country. Sadly, it took the Bush years of deceit, greed, and fear mongering to bring us to the brink of change.
Ponder this as we rebuild this country and its global diplomacy brick by brick. It may be this stuff that feeds our souls, and we may emerge with a new and more resilient fabric to our culture and society. And if we do, we owe it all to the vision and perseverance of Obama, Biden and the Dream Team.