Obama's Time To Shine

I make no secret of the fact that my money was on the other man. I didn't want Obama to win, fair and square. At the end of the day, it's lucky that I'm a teacher and not a bookie, because on November 5th, I would have been bankrupted.

Watching the results coming in, it became abundantly clear that America was heading in a very interesting direction and that the the impossible had indeed become reality. Where to go to from there? What could I do to salvage the minuscule crumbs of dignity that I held in my being?

I decided to move on and face the facts. I decided to look at the man and give him a chance. Maybe, just a teeny little maybe, he might not be as dreadful an advocate for Israel that I had prejudged him to be.

That is where I am today. I acknowledge that he has made some interesting choices, Rahm Emanuel being particularly surprising. Whether or not Hilary Clinton will be any good (in terms of Israel) also remains to be seen. But notwithstanding any of the above, this is indeed a great day for the Nation of America.

This is Obama's moment to shine. A new voice, the figurehead of a nation who, let's face it, have had a pretty rough deal over the centuries. Barack Obama may not present himself as being America's first black president, but everyone else in the world sees him in that light. He has a heavy cross to bear at the same time as a coruscating flame to protect and although I don't envy him one bit, I do feel the sense of the moment - the historical shard that is bookending this very violent decade. If we started it with the horror of September 11th, let's at least finish it on a high note.

Today, my dear friends, is that note.