good morning, America!

So many commentators are warning of an excess of rejoicing at the election of Barack Obama as the next President of the USA, and I know quite well that he is not the Messiah. Yet as I walked the dogs this morning, I, who am usually pretty gloomy and cynical about politics, really couldn't help but feel, to coin a phrase, the audacity of hope. Everybody's nervous, of course. These are nervous times. But the fact that Mr. Obama is being given a chance to lead restores my faith in ordinary people to hang their hats on a dream. I'm told by some that this is foolish and perhaps it is. But it's also what keeps the ball bouncing and that, surely, is what human progress is all about. So Good Morning, America! It's a bit early to drink a toast so, in the same spirit, I'm eating some instead.