barack my world

Wow, what a great night. I was in the newsroom until about 1 a.m. Wednesday, spending my final hour or so just staring at the TV and being proud of how many people were so engaged this year in the political process.

Check out Alan's excellent election night blog posts here.

I'd hardly describe myself as a "political junkie," and I'll admit that there are days when Washington's headlines go completely over my head.

But election day seems to snatch my emotions the same way every year.

While living in California, I worked for the Associated Press each election night. I'd hang out in the county election office until the wee hours of the morning, periodically phoning in results and any other info they needed.

During those hours, I'd watch people pour their hearts and energy into minute percentage point differences in things as seemingly inconsequential as water board and utility district races.

They saw a potential for change, even at the most uber-local level -- the chance for a communal brightening of spirits that began with expedited repair of Flume No. 89.

I saw that same belief in change Tuesday night, only amplified, and I still couldn't turn away.

The only post-election downside? The sea of bitter Facebook statuses. Seriously. Put it in a journal, people.