Pack Up All Your Dishes...

...make note of all good wishes.

It's done, my friends. Obama has the nomination. Finally.

I wish I could sit here and ream his opponent. I can't. She fought the good fight, she may have stayed a bit too long for me, but still the good fight.

Now it's time for us--as the Democratic Party--to come together and support the Democratic ticket. And what a wonderful day to do so.

Of course, I have to put a personal tint to this. In 2o04, I bit my tongue and voted for John Kerry. I didn't so much care for him or how he engaged the youth, i.e. me, in this country. But I stood at my kitchen counter in a 425 square foot apartment in DC and filled in my absentee ballot circle for him.

I then drank myself to sleep and did my best to expunge the memory from my brain.

Not today. I know I can go to the polls in November and be proud of my candidate. He has so much to say, and so much of it is of substance.

Obama has a fight ahead of him. He has many challenges to overcome--Rev. Wright. Leaving his church. John McCain and the amazing Republican machine that is voter turn out.

But Obama also has a fight in his corner--young people engaged in the process. We can finally say goodbye to the politics of the Baby Boomers. We can finally stand up and say that the Iraq War matters, not just for me and my generation--currently fighting--but for our children and our children's children. We can finally, as a young generation enacting change, say that we won't accept the policies and outlook of those who have come before. We must look ahead and think forward for the United States, our citizens, and those who are our future.

I believe that in Barack Obama we have a moment to enact real change. Real change for rural and urban American. Real change for Baby Boomers and Generation X and Y. Real change for America as a whole.

We can now look forward to see where we're going instead of looking behind to see where we've been.

Today is a good day for Democratic politics, but more than that it's a good day for America.

Why? Because, Yes, We Can.

L.