Relief. I feel like a sad and turbulent 8 years will come to an end. Iraq, Katrina, 9/11, the economy. It was a tough period for our nation.
Euphoria. It's always great when "your guy" wins. I believe that Obama will be "our guy" and a great American leader.
Somberness. Although I am white, I feel like this is a major milestone for our country. We are at a point where we can embrace a minority President. We have moved on.
Affirmation. All the years of cynicism, this election affirms my belief in democracy. We get it wrong, and sometimes we get it wrong in a big way. George Bush. But we as a nation can come together and do great things.
Hope. I could not vote for and support Obama without having hope. Hope for my future. Hope for my child's future. Hope for our nation's future long after I am gone. We can continue to be a great nation. We can recover from adversity.
Sadness. The grandmother of President Elect Obama passed one day before this awesome day. Her absentee vote will count, so she was able in her last act of democracy to vote for her grandson and the next President of the United States.
Forgiveness. As John McCain said tonight, we are fellow Americans. He gave a humbling and uniting concession speech. Let's move past this nasty election process and advance this country.
Change. Change is coming. Thank God!
I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.We just made history.
And I don't want you to forget how we did it.
You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change.
I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign.
We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next.
But I want to be very clear about one thing...
All of this happened because of you.
Thank you,
Barack