Huffpost Election Reaction

The election of Barack Obama last week proved Alexis de Tocqueville's claim that democracies have a unique ability to correct themselves.

A curious thing has happened as Americans were choosing their first black president. Democracy suddenly ceased to be a bad word for many genuine democrats in the Middle East.

If the rest of the America is anything like Rock Creek Park on Sunday -- then this is a country suddenly filled with hope.

Now that long journey into darkness has finally come to an end -- my own view is that the 2006 Congressional elections may have been the turning point.

Obama will automatically be a good president not because he's the first black man to be elected, or because he's a Democrat, but because he is an actual, evolved, progressive, intelligent American.

For all of us who love America, such a time of jubilation and triumph must also be a time of sober focus on the work that must still be done to make our union more perfect.

Everywhere we went, from Mumbai to Jodhpur to Delhi, people were curious and engaged in our election, and everyone knew the players. They were all rooting for Obama.

In the wake of Obama's overwhelming victory, and Democratic gains in the House and Senate, conservatives are desperately trying to convince the world that these results are meaningless. "Democrats should not make the mistake of viewing Tuesday's results as a repudiation of conservatism," insisted John Boehner. "Barack Obama understands this is a center-right country," claimed Karl Rove. "This country remains every bit as center-right as it has for a generation," parroted Brent Bozell. And David Brooks dreamed of an Obama administration that understands "this was an election where the middle asserted itself." Drunk on self-delusion, a staggering GOP whistles past the electoral graveyard, missing the whole point of this election: the center has shifted, and positions that used to be considered left-wing -- on healthcare, on global warming, on corporate responsibility, on Iraq -- are now solidly mainstream.

Europe is rejoicing in the Obama victory and claiming it as a direct result of their moral superiority over Americans while at the same time hiding their own shortcomings and intolerances.

Barack Obama's victory could well be the third realigning election in the past century -- one that will be seen by historians as the beginning of an emerging Democratic majority.

Dear Karl: Since I'm the guy largely responsible for giving you a reputation as being very smart, then it seems appropriate that I also deliver the news that, as it turns out, you aren't too bright.

Bill Ayers was not Barack Obama's touchstone; rather, it was Sam Cooke and his never-ending refrain, Change is gonna come. And now change has arrived, and we embrace it.

Further polling results will help to answer the critical question of why religious voters cast their ballots the way they did. But three factors are likely key to understanding the religious shift.

We do not choose the presidents who are truly ours, who shape our lives and our psyches. They are chosen for us when we are too young to vote.

Sadly, many voters did not see past their fears to understand how denying LGBT people rights is cut from the same cloth of discrimination that made Obama's election such a poignant event.

On election night as we proudly watched our new president-elect we wondered what Hillary felt as she watched in her Dutch Colonial down the road.

The one thing that all US Army personnel have in common is their choice to wear the uniform and volunteer to serve the nation, regardless of who is in charge and regardless of if they agree.

But embracing someone for where he comes from rather than for what he may do has been the hubris of politics throughout history.

November 4, 2008 will never get fuzzy. It is my very first, unforgettable day of public joy.

What we have seen in the last year is a rebirth of participatory democracy, infused by the energy of millions. Imagine what this energy can do if it channeled into ongoing action.

Best of all was the surge of hope -- to feed a starving country. As if Obama took a fresh batch of cookies out of the oven, and the scent floated all over the world, impossible to resist.