“you’ll only know a world where this is possible,” I whispered to my niece. Less than a year old, she bounced and drooled on my lap as her mother screamed with joy in the background.

Obama is president.

For a moment my eyes stung with tears. But I smiled. Listening to him calmly and humbly accepting the job that 52% of the population granted him.

I didn’t cry until today. Moved as I was. Proud. Surprised by the ease and the quickness that ushered him in…I cried not at his acceptance, or sight of his family on stage, not even matched against the panel of bullet proof glass that flanked him – somber reminders of potential violence.

But visions of Kenya…of Indonesia…Japan…places the word over rejoicing in this…our collective moment. Watching these reactions touched me in a way that allowed me to truly soak in this presidential reality.

We are being invited back into the international community. And what we do with this invitation and warm welcome remains to be seen…but today isn’t about that. Today is about the tears running down my cheeks, the hope caught in my throat, the moment at once suspended in time and propelling us forward.

Can we be more? Yes. Yes we can.

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