In which Barack Obama says a lot of very powerful things, and I listen.

I am so phenomenally pleased that we have a brand new president. One who, as Sam pointed out today in Biology, used the phrase "bitter swill" in his inauguration speech. Look, I may have been feeling sorry for Dubya lately, because no matter what he's done he's still a person, and to know that a nation pretty much hates you, that has to be hard-- I may have been feeling sorry for him, but I will unabashedly revel in the fact that President Obama (whee!) said "bitter swill," and you and I both know ol' shrubby wouldn't have done that.

Which leads me to:

I firmly maintain that my President ought to be smarter than me. He ought to be smarter, and kinder, more patient, more willing to compromise, more steadfast, more idealistic, more pragmatic (hey there, Mr. Iverson!); the guy we choose to lead the entire country should be exceptional. And while I don't object to, you know, myself, I am not presidential material. I want to elect someone to that office who is just plain better than me. I don't want someone "just like me," some "ordinary Joe Six Pack," negotiating with foreign nuclear powers, or responding to natural disasters, or dealing with the aftermath of 9/11. I don't think I could do that. I don't think an "ordinary" anyone could do that. Being president is a job which is terrifyingly demanding, and it belongs to someone who has the capacity to meet its demands.

I'm pretty sure we now officially have one of those someones leading the country. I certainly hope I'm right. And I guess now we get to wait and see. But for now, cheesy and idealistic as it is, I'm going to believe every single one of the promises our (brand, shiny, new!) president made this morning, thank you very much.

"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals."

"[T]he stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified."

"We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet."

"We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost."

"[W]e will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age."

"[K]now that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more."

"Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met."

I'm saying it right now, and I really, really hope I'll be able to say it without hesitation for the next eight years: if you say so, Mr. President, then what the heck. Let's give it a shot.