Don't. Don't. Don't Believe The Hype.

It was quite a moving speech last night from President-Elect Barack Obama. Truly my "JFK" political moment. The speech validated my decision to keep my eight year old up late, so that one day he can say that he witnessed this most monumental of occasions. Don't get me wrong, he won't remember a word, but he got to see his parents well-up with emotion. He got to experience the complete refutation of the mistakes and greed and fear-mongering of the previous administration and all of its supporters. And while it does nothing to erase all the ugliness of the previous eight years, it must surely be considered the start of the healing.

Mad props to Senator McCain for his also moving concession speech, which, despite the boos and heckling from the crowd, was gracious and classy. There was also no way it was prepared that night. It may be true that McCain saw the writing on the wall a long time ago. I think it's telling that there were many at the McCain rally waving red flags and all that I saw at the Obama rally were American flags. Regardless, it was easy to see the man that Jon Stewart said he would have voted for in 2000 over Gore had he been the Republican nominee, instead of the bitter shadow-of-his-former-self 2008 nominee that McCain had become under the watchful eye of Mordor, um, I mean Cheney.

Another thing that Jon Stewart had said on his show last week, was that if Senator Obama were elected President Of The United States, it would finally be the first "show, not tell" moment in our country's history, that is, that one who was not a middle-aged (or old) white guy (or destined to grow up to be one) would finally be able to believe it when it was said that "you could be President one day." While I believe that to be true, I would like to take the present time to remind you all to keep your critical faculties operating when faced with the central conceit of last nights' awesomeness, as represented by the following:

OBAMA ELECTED PRESIDENT AS RACIAL BARRIER FALLS

Which was the headline on the front page of the New York Times political section at their website. And also, total bullshit. Racial acrimony in this country is not limited to two races, but I think it is safe to say that in our social consciousness, as Americans, things have always boiled down to the oppressed (People of Color) and the oppressor (Whitey.) I think it is also safe to say, that despite their increasing status as a minority Minority, African-Americans have become shorthand for all Minorities, especially in the press. So, when everybody (and by everybody I mean all media outlets, the girls at the bar, your barber) try to tell you that the election of Barrack Obama is proof that race is no longer a factor in this country, or that we as Americans, ie., White people, have overcome "our" prejudices, realize that it's a lie.

Make no mistake, last night was historic, and it was historic because of the racial implications of the election, but not for the reasons you think: The majority of Whites in this country DID NOT vote for Barrack Obama. If you followed the election results live last night, there was no mistaking the continued reddening of the Southern States, but it wasn't just the Crackers. The majority of White Men voted for McCain. The majority of White Women voted for McCain. Educated Whites voted for McCain 51% of the time and for Obama, 47%, and ignorant Whites (or Whites - No College) voted for McCain 58% of the time and for Obama 40% of the time. The election results were not the final nail in the coffin of that fetid corpse of bigotry, in fact, it was simply business as usual in these United States Of America, prejudice wise, at least. Well, there was one group of Whites that voted for Obama (54-44) and that was those Whites ages 18-29, so perhaps things are changing for the better.

No, the real history-in-the-making can be summed up with just one set of numbers from the CNN exit poll quoted above: All Others (Non-Whites) 80% for Obama, 18% for McCain. You read that right: Senator Obama was elected last night by the Minorities of this country, or at the very least a coalition of African-Americans, Asians, Latinos, Others and Whites. Yes sir, that is the sound of change you hear ringing. No longer will elections in this country be decided by the White majority. No longer will an atmosphere of accepted racism that allows for serious discussion of "The Bradley Effect" be the norm. No longer will "...the best of America [be] in these small towns ... in these wonderful little pockets of ...real America..." It's a new day my friends, one that I'm excited to be a part of, and one that was provided by all people of all colors in this great Nation of ours.

While I believe that President-Elect Obama will invariably disappoint the most liberal of his backers with a centrist and more conservative presidency than was expected of him, I also believe that he is the right man for the job and the right man to lead us into the future. So, to everyone who voted for him, regardless of race, I only have one thing to say: Thank you very much.