This just in...Obama in a landslide!

Normally, I'm well on my way to sweet dreams by this time of night. Couldn't do it tonight, though. Had to stay up to see what happened.

I'll probably be awfully tired at school tomorrow, but I think the energy and excitement surrounding the news will make up for it. The newspaper staff got permission to send one page tomorrow (our deadline was tonight at 5), so they get to have one page of election coverage. We've got to meet at school at 7:10 to get the page done, and have it sent by 10 a.m. Hopefully as I type this, the two columnists are typing their own words, and we'll dump them on the page first thing in the a.m.

He did it. We did it. And this isn't one that's going to be contested in courts for the next two months. Obama won, and he won big.

As I watch the footage of celebrations in Times Square and Grant Park, where he'll be speaking (hopefully) soon, I'm only thinking one thing - please, let this energy and level of political engagement continue. The kids at school (who aren't even old enough to vote yet, in most cases) were abuzz with election politics the last few weeks.

This has been an inspiring campaign, one that I hope will turn into an inspiring presidency. President-elect (!) Obama and his crew have proven that they know how to organize and mobilize the electorate. Will that grass-roots involvement continue? Can we make some things happen?

I truly believe that Barack Obama has the promise of being a president for all Americans, not just the ones who fall in lock-step with his beliefs. Open exchange of ideas and partnership can help us move in the right direction.

Change has been a long time coming, and it's finally here.