Bittersweet Edition

"Elections belong to the people. It is their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters."

--Abraham Lincoln

John Nichols, writing for The Nation, once again eloquently draws parallels between Obama and Lincoln: "Eight years of George Bush's tragically flawed attempt at a presidency have strained the very fabric of the American experiment. Our debates about war and peace, taxes and spending, civil rights and civil liberties have developed bitter edges that suggest we are enemies: Democrat versus Republican, Red State versus Blue State, liberal versus conservative. The banner-carrier of Lincoln's Republican party in this fall's election, John McCain, has torn open holes in that fabric, exploiting the oldest and ugliest of our differences. And yet, most Americans are still touched by the better angels of our nature. We still believe that this great nation can and should be what Lincoln imagined: "the last best hope of Earth." That, more than any of the vagaries of campaign finance, battleground-state calculations or simplistic candidate comparisons, explains why Barack Obama's campaign for the presidency has been so successful -- and why its success has become an imperative no less consequential than those of other historic candidacies: Jefferson in 1800, Lincoln in 1860, Roosevelt in 1932."

Today the sad news came over CNN that Obama's grandmother has passed away. Although I know everyone would have wanted her to live to see the day her grandson became president, I also can't help but think how symbolic it is of the passing of a generation, just as a new generation takes the lead. Obama took some heat for his decision last week to take time out to see her in Hawaii, but as usual, Obama clearly made the right decision, as we hope he does in all things, great and small. What a kid she raised.

Madelyn Dunham passed away early in the morning (East Coast time) and Obama already knew before he spoke at rallies this morning.