Catharsis

Frank Rich, writing in his NY Times column, surmises that in the course of a single day (election day), this nation underwent a tearful catharsis that ended in unadulterated joy.

Our nation was still in the same ditch it had been the day before, but the atmosphere was giddy. We felt good not only because we had breached a racial barrier as old as the Republic. Dawn also brought the realization that we were at last emerging from an abusive relationship with our country’s 21st-century leaders. The festive scenes of liberation that Dick Cheney had once imagined for Iraq were finally taking place — in cities all over America.

It really did feel like the turning of an emotional page, and now the challenge will be to maintain the emotion while employing a calm, thoughtful, reasoned manner of governing. We haven't had national unity like this since immediately after 9/11, and that opportunity was squandered. Let's make sure history doesn't repeat.