Our long national nightmare is almost over
Michelle and Barack Obama were great on "60 Minutes" the other night...the ratings went through the roof.
From The Associated Press: "NEW YORK — The campaign is over, but Barack Obama is still a TV hit.
CBS' "60 Minutes" had its highest overnight ratings in nearly a decade with Sunday's episode featuring Steve Kroft interviewing the president-elect and future first lady. Nielsen Media Research's preliminary estimate the show was seen by 24.5 million people on Sunday.
That's more than any other episode of a prime-time show seen this season, and the biggest audience for "60 Minutes" since January 1999.[..]"
If you didn't catch 60-Minutes, here's a segment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-ZPR3Ognd0
I had to keep pinching myself as I watched Michelle and Barack Obama, it's like a dream come true that these two extraordinary individuals will be living in the White House in just a few weeks.
Gone will be the greedy, jingoistic, arrogant bungling of the past eight years, replaced by obvious intelligence, grace and, above all, normality.
It will take some getting used to though...having a president who answers direct questions with substance, depth and nuance. It's a sign that this president is not only a mature adult, but that he assumes we are as well. Gone are the sound-bytes strung together masquerading as answers. This guy knows what he's talking about and wants us to understand as well.
Then there's Michelle, our future First Lady. No Stepford wife there. She's smart and accomplished in her own right. She's also the kind of mom that every kid deserves. Just let the superficial rightie "family values" crowd mess with her or her family -- please -- because I want to watch that show.
Yes, a new face for the White House, for the world. I kept thinking back to the campaign, remembering how supporters of Sarah Palin crowed loudly that "she's just like us." Well, she may have been just like them, but the majority of voters showed that she's not like the rest of us. It turned out on election day that the "us" she is just like are a minority of Americans...proof that the rest of us are NOT like Sarah Palin. Not even close.
I'm so, so tired of America's lowest-common denominators running our government, having control over things that affect our quality of life. You know, like the economy, the military and the environment...all of which they trashed in 8 short years. Because they, too, were just like Sarah Palin -- the political version of idiot-savants -- savants when it comes to theocratic rabble-rousing, idiots when it comes to running the government.
Yes, I'm very happy and optimistic about America's future -- but not naive. Barack Obama isn't the second coming. He'll have his troubles, as every president does...and we all won't like every decision he makes.
But how wonderful to finally have a leader who doesn't scare us or embarrass us every time he opens his mouth.
