I have always been fascinated with the thought of witnessing history being made. Furthermore, I hope, perhaps against hope, that the breaching of the race barrier in the nation's highest office will lay to rest some of the animosity that has lingered in our country from the wrongs of the past. I hope, again perhaps against hope, that our country has by and large grown to the point that we no longer judge men "by the color of their skin but by the content of their character". On the other hand, this is clearly not the president that I was hoping to see being sworn in, and I have very serious reservations about Mr. Obama on a number of levels (see a good summary of some of these written by Fred Barnes), and about the policies that he advocates.
All of this aside, we have to wish Mr. Obama the best -- for the good of the nation; if he falls on his face, we may get the White House back in four years, but the country will suffer in the meantime. I do, however, anticipate continued, vigorous disagreement with him (while keeping an eye open for a suitable Republican challenger in 2012). The caveat for Democrats is that Obama-mania, which reached a messianic fervor during the campaign (consider a Maryland state senator's recent statement: "It doesn't matter if the state of Maryland is broke, so long as Barack Obama is president"), will very quickly meet reality. Obama cannot live up to the hype -- no one could. For this reason, I anticipate that Obama will follow the trend for most Democratic presidents since LBJ to serve only one term. But I suppose it's still early for handicapping the next election.
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