"I was never the likeliest candidate for this office."

i had heard about him after his 2004 speech at the DNC, and thought "gee, he's smart... i miss wellstone." and then i saw him on the daily show about a year later (i'm pretty sure it was this interview), and thought "oh yeah, that guy. he seems smart and funny."

after i saw him on the daily show, i disregarded work for a couple of hours one afternoon, and read through some of his speeches on his not-so-polished senate website. that was the first time he made me cry.

i didn't hear his voice in my head when i read his speeches like i do today, but i heard empathy, and intelligence, and common sense. more importantly, i did not hear arrogance, spin, or phony politics-speak. and after 5 years of bush, and after we had lost wellstone, i really never thought that i would be able to vote for another politician that i could trust. a politician who, like wellstone, seemed to be a human first, and a politician second (i realize how cheesy that reads, but i don't know how else to describe it).

and after i read his speeches, i wrote this blog in myspace;


i wrote those two sentences in that blog, and then i moved to more realistic and pressing matters - thanksgiving food. and when i wrote those two sentences in that blog, i could have never imagined that last night would have ever happened. ever.

just as he has said that he will not be a perfect president, i am sure that i will not necessarily agree with every decision he makes in his four (eight?) years. i already don't agree with his policy of leaving gay marriage decisions up to the states (we're already seeing how well that's worked out for california... home of hollywood and san francisco - and he expects me to believe that someplace like wyoming is going to have the open-mindedness to allow two loving ladies to get married? uh-huh.)

but, i honestly believe that he will use the same common sense and empathy that i read in his speeches three years ago to make his decisions. and unless i'm interested in running for public office (which i am not, unless i can do that from my couch?), i am happy to accept him as a compromise.

i was watching the daily show when jon stewart announced that obama had won. and everyone at the election party said... "really? are they just messing with us?" and then we flipped to cnn, and...

and we shrieked. and we hugged. and we still didn't believe it. "remember 2004??" and i teared up. and then i held them back. and then we smiled.

this was it.

and i floated back to my apartment, and settled in for his first speech as president elect, knowing that he wouldn't mispronounce any words, and knowing that he would probably make me cry again.