Obama and the Dawn of the Fourth Age

I knew I was noticing something oddly familiar as I read this article on "The Fourth American Republic". I kept wanting to call it The Fourth Age.

Obviously I am being silly. But not really that silly. It is the beginning of a new era. Obama has probbaly done more for America's international reputation by getting elected than Bush has done in eight years.

But as we all know, Obama will have no time to rest on his laurels. He has inherited a broken world. And closer to home, literally, is the sobering fact that Proposition 8 won. We have work to do.

On a side note, listening to John McCain's concession speech was almost moving. You could see a trace of the old McCain, the one who winced visibly at his supporters' booing when he congratulated Obama. You could tell he knew that when he sold out to the Bush brigade, he let them turn him into something unrecognizable from the man who ran eight years ago. He carries the blame, not Palin, for the train wreck of his campaign. But in that speech I saw him as a tragic figure, fully aware that he has brought upon his own downfall by compromising his integrity. Too bad, John. But in another sense, McCain never stood a chance in the first place. It is Obama's time.