The Morning After

By BJ

And the hangover begins.

Not the political one yet, just the one from staying up late last night celebrating.  I’d be interested to see what kind of dive productivity numbers take for the day.

As to election results still trickling in that are surprising.  It looks like convicted felon Ted Stevens will hold onto his Senate seat.  And here Alaskans thought people’s view of their state couldn’t sink any lower.  They’re now in a league with Louisiana, which keeps electing a guy found with bribe money in his freezer.

For Barack Obama, he is going to be glad of all of that “presumptuous” preparation he put into the transition team.  As CNN points out, Obama will have little spare time to savor his victory, (and on a sober note, there is a funeral for him to attend in the very near future).

As for Obama’s speech, it was notable for its unifying theme, but then so was George Bush’s not so long ago.  Obama’s mandate is far clearer than any Bush won, and I’m certain there are more than a few on the left who are eager to repay the right for the slights of the last eight years.  While I have much more faith in Obama’s sincerity than I did in Bush’s, it remains for him to prove himself now, and the transition team and picks he makes in the next few weeks will begin to show us which way he intends to lead the country.

As for world reaction, the Moderate Voice has a good round-up here, and another great round-up post here.

And to cap things off, world markets are experiencing a surge.