By the night of the day after election day, I had gotten myself a head-cold, just a mild little one. I blame staying up until 7 am and hanging around in crowds, the travel of the last few weeks. But I found myself, as I walked around, also having to stifle the grin that kept coming up. I wished I hadn't loaned my Obama-Biden button to a friend to wear while the returns were coming in. I want it as much today as I did Monday.

Imelda pointed me to the Daily Show's introduction for Wednesday's episode, Jon Stewart's comments on the mood in New York. If I weren't in Germany, the land of the stare, I'd be making eye contact and smiling, too.

Judith Warner points out (and I'll confirm it even as someone who was under 2 when Reagan won), that the way forward somehow really seems forward, it's a reaffirmation of a social contract that we have seen fade in recent years. Having a piece of the "our", the beliefs we cherish as highly as those of "values voters", as she puts it, is a great thing to hold with you. Given that this was in some ways a moderate political victory, I'd like to think that there are more of us invested in that piece that is "ours" than not.

The interesting thing, in talking with my friends and folks about this, is that as elated as we are, as historic as it feels, people are also very realistic. Not everyone is enchanted with Rahm Emanuel, for one, there are still 2 months left in the Bush administration, and so forth (what kind of puppy will they choose?!?!). We all know that politics is politics, that there are three branches of government, that there will be trouble ahead. Maybe the current sense of having a say in government is addled, will be fleeting, but there remains a sense of ownership that will, I hope, translate into a continued participation. It's the only way things will really get done. And it remains to be seen, too, how different things will be. For my part, I do think politics as usual will be different from now on, even if it takes some time - years - to percolate.