Congratulations Abraham Lincoln!

Just in case you were wondering who won the other election last night . . .

And Congratulations to Barack Obama, our next President-elect.

If you had told me, a year ago, that our choices would have come down to McCain / Palin or Obama / Biden, I would have said you were crazy.

Shows you what I know.

Years ago, I was good-and lost in San Francisco. It was dark, (it may have been raining) and I had a car full of 5 adults with 7 opinions between them about the best way to get out of the mobius loop of serpentine San-Fran streets we seemed to be trapped in and get ourselves onto the freeway.

To add to the confusion, a car of friends were following us, calling on the cell phone with their opinions on the matter every 2 minutes or so.

Finally I stopped the car and suggested to the car behind us, "How about you take the lead since you know where you are going and I will call you on the cell phone every couple of minutes to heckle you from behind for a while? . . ."

"No thanks." came the quick reply.

Somehow, the story seems fitting this morning . . .

So now begins the process. Republicans will most likely slowly learn that Obama is not intent on burning the country to the ground and dancing in the ashes (and even if he wanted to, there are other forces at work that will prevent him from doing so).

Democrats will most likely slowly learn that Obama cannot actually walk on water or single-handidly "heal our land" (and even if he wanted to, there are other forces at work that will prevent him from doing so).

If you ask me, politics is about convincing the people that you are doing the right thing for them individually and for the country as a whole. On that score, the Republicans earned their defeat and the Democrats earned their victory.

These are perilous times both home and abroad and our new president will need all our prayers.

One thing has stuck with me throughout this election cycle; John McCain's slogan "Country First". I believe that we would all be better off if we did not put a candidate first, or a party first but instead, held our candidates and our parties to account whenever we feel they are not putting the Country First.

We should all have the courage to support politicians from across the aisle when they get it right - we should also have the courage to criticize and oppose politicians who come from either side of the aisle when they get it wrong. But in all opposition, we should always comport ourselves with dignity and grace and not descend into ad hominim attacks that offer heat but no light.

It would do us all well to recall that it was a short time ago that Republicans controlled all three branches of government and yet they did not usher in a new era of conservative nirvana that their supporters had hoped for.

Now that the Democrats control all three branches of government, they most likely will not be able to usher in a new era of liberal nirvana any more effectively.

And yet, the sun will continue to rise, we will all continue to get up, go to work, struggle to pay the bills, support our government where we can and oppose it where we must - and through it all, friends of all political stripes will sit around our dining room tables and share frequent meals and occasional well-meaning debates before setting the issues aside in favor of discussing how much our friendships mean to one another - it is what makes America great.

God bless Barack Obama and God bless America. Here's to four great years of peace and prosperity.