I watched the inauguration with a large group of very enthusiastic people. We stood and cheered the new president on the TV, knowing that at long last the war criminals were gone and that finally—finally—everything was going to be alright. Sure enough, that evening I arrived home to discover the immediate personal impact of Obama on my life. The dogs had learned algebra and French over the course of the day, my bank account was bursting at the seams, there were fresh cut flowers in hand-blown vases in every room of the house, and, in fact, the house itself had doubled in size. Wow. And that was just Day One. more ›