What a difference a day makes! Election Day 2008, that is.

Has anyone else noticed that the sun seems to be shining a little bit brighter, people are smiling more, and we’re all sleeping better?

Every time I open my e-mail, I receive more pictures of people from around the United States and the world celebrating the election of Barack Obama. Newspaper headlines from nations across the globe joyfully announce Obama’s election. Best of all, these stories proclaim redemption of the American Dream and revived respect for Americans’ values. It was said that if the world could have voted, Obama would have won not just by a landslide, but an avalanche.

Barack Obama ran on a platform of change. He has already proven throughout his campaign that this was not just an empty phrase. He changed the way he financed his campaign and he ran a positive campaign. While he criticized the policies that his opponents proposed, he didn’t attack them on a personal level. Even when he was under slanderous attacks by his adversaries, he remained calm and kept to the high road. This is indeed  “Change we can believe in.”

Obama ran a “grassroots campaign,” and those who were involved in it can attest to the fact that it was the best organized campaign anyone has ever run. The Obama website connected people from neighbor to neighbor and across the nation. The level of communication through e-mails, text messages, and conference calls kept volunteers informed and feeling that they were really part of this campaign for change.

Obama’s transition team is in place and at work. A website has been set up so that we can all learn more about the presidential transition. Visit http://www.change.gov and you can see what’s taking place, and even tell your own story about what this campaign and election mean to you. You can share your hopes for an Obama Administration and a government for the people.

On this website it says, “Across the country, national leaders and ethics experts praised President-elect Barack Obama's strict new ethics rules for the transition team, which place restrictions on registered lobbyists and former lobbyists.” That sure sounds like the kind of change we’re looking for. And he’s only just begun.

President-elect Obama said, “Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today.” That’s exactly my idea of the American Dream.

The fact that Barack Obama has been elected to be the first African American President in the history of the United States makes this victory even sweeter. While it doesn’t mean that we’ve completely overcome racism in this country, it is certainly a significant milestone that many of us have longed for, for many years. I hope it removes those barriers forever. While I celebrate this as a civil rights’ victory, it’s not the main reason I wanted to see Barack Obama elected to be our next president. That was a bonus.

I confess that I just want to have a smart president who can speak in complete sentences. I want a president with integrity who understands and respects our constitution. I want a president who cares about people. On January 20th, 2009, I’ll have one.

Congratulations, President-elect Obama. I’m counting the days.