I was thinking yesterday about how strange McCain’s rallying cry had become, particularly the moment where he shouts, “We don’t hide from history, we make history!” It sounded to me like a tacit Obama endorsement. Really, which candidate’s election would have “made history”? The one from the incumbent party? And what does that even mean that “we don’t hide from history”? I guess it means that we learn from and face up to our mistakes, like, say, 200 years of racial oppression.

My point is this: McCain was right. History was made. Everything has changed. Even after everything last night, that was really driven home to me when I was watching Oprah this morning (don’t judge, I took the day off to bask), and she showed clips from around the world. Celebration. It was all celebration. For all the talk (sprung accidentally from Biden, of course) of the world itching to test Obama, I think it’s fairly clear the world has been waiting for Obama.

Another quick thought: When I was in the long line at the polls on Tuesday, I read the latest Harper’s, which ran a sort of symposium on how to fix the economy, with essays by economics professors and authors from around the country. It’s fascinating stuff, much of it I can only grasp at. And then last night, I realized that for the first time in eight years, we have an intellectually curious president, who would probably read that article, and consult with those experts. Just the idea of that hasn’t been present for at least eight years. What a rush! That’s why, in a speech full of great lines, this was my favorite:

I will listen to you, especially when we disagree.

What an enormous change.