Congratulations, President-elect Obama

This a great and historic moment for America and for racial reconciliation. You campaigned and organized in a way never seen in my lifetime, and won.

Some may worry about the movement to empower women; others, about the lives yet to be born whose rights are ignored even more than slaves' were. Those fights will continue.

I hope that you will faithfully support and defend the Constitution. And that you will lead with the spirit of your eloquence back in 2004:

E pluribus unum. Out of many, one.

Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes.

Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America — there’s the United States of America.

The pundits, the pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too:

We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don’t like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States.

We coach Little League in the Blue States and yes, we’ve got some gay friends in the Red States.

There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq.

We Are One People

We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America. In the end, that’s what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or do we participate in a politics of hope?

P.S. I hope you find the intellect and/or courage to realize that a good tax cut will be more effective for our economy--in creating jobs and reducing poverty--than a stimulus package.