Dear President-Elect Obama,

At the risk of being crucified in the same manner as your impeccable wife was for saying such things, this is one of the few moments in my life where I can feel truly proud of my country. I was born into the Vietnam War, on the heels of the Kennedy assassination. I came of age during Watergate and endured the Disco era. I bought into the Reaganomics that set the table for the very financial mess we are in today. Two Gulf Wars. Three terms under a Bush, watching corporate greed and corruption rot the core of American ingenuity. And just a few days ago I saw Mayor Bloomberg extend term limits in his own self interest in a manner that circumvented a public referendum and put democracy to shame. Is it no wonder that I have become disenfranchised?

What a joy it was to pull the lever (why is that New York still votes in this antiquated fashion?) for someone I actually believe in. To not view the election as a choice between the lesser of two evils, but to honestly feel that both candidates were the best possible choices each party could have presented at this time. I waited in line to vote for the first time in my life. I witnessed parents taking their children with them into the voting booth... sharing the experience and the ownership of the process. I saw people of color walking a little taller, with a greater sense of ownership in this country that has historically wronged them in the most heinous of ways. And I was moved. Tears came to my eyes when I pulled that lever.

Please, Mr. President-Elect, make good on your hopeful promise of an administration that is intelligent, diverse, levelheaded, bipartisan and focused on the long term. Help us to join hands with the rest of the world and eliminate the prejudices that are based in fear and ignorance. Nurture creativity, the arts, the sciences... feed the American ingenuity that has withered on the vine. Because we, the American People, are behind you and hunger for your integrity and bold leadership. Please tell me that finding unity will mean striking a new path rather than merely finding consensus and compromise within the old boundaries.

You have a moment not unlike the one President Bush had after 9/11. We are poised and ready to serve for the sake of the common good. Lead us down that difficult path. Don't succumb to the seduction of money and power. Remain true and steady and good. You are our one last hope, Obama-Wan Kenobi... don't fuck it up.