Michelle Bachmann 2

The chorus for Barack Obama is loud enough that I don' t feel the need to add my voice. I'm truly happy about it, and it does feel a little different in this country already. But I'm also anxious about whether or not he'll be able to keep this vibe going. The threat of harsh economic times hasn't become a reality yet, and so it feels as abstract as everything else, including "hope" and "change." I'll be so happy to start seeing things get undone-- troops coming home (though will they be deployed again right away to Afghanistan?) and wiretapping stopping, and Guantanamo closing... at the same time, it seems like there could be a lot of bad stuff that will be uncovered about how our country has behaved in the past eight years. I hope I'm wrong, but the rock is soon to be overturned and we're going to see what was under it (dare I say, Cheney?).

I'm also very aware that I live in the "red" part of the country. Not even a red state, but Stearns County, a red county despite its city, St. Cloud. The New York Times election map shows Stearns County voted for McCain, and somehow Michelle Bachmann got re-elected, which is a bitter pill to swallow! The news about the city council and the mayor of this town, also is not good.

After going to the wrong polling place, I found out that I live in the township. So my ballot did not even give me the option of voting for council members or mayor. And these people might decide in the next coming years to put a road right through our house. That was a bit deflating! Especially since the candidate that did win for mayor won by only 50 votes.

So as with all elections, it's a mixed bag. I am truly looking forward to the kind of leadership I think we will see from our president in these next years. I am looking forward to having this very real family in the White House. But I am also glad the speech last night in Grant Park had the sober tone it did. I heard for the first time what I've been waiting for a leader to say-- that hard times are here and we're going to have to be in this together. That not just the president but we ALL have some hard work ahead.