Yes We Did!!

When I created this site in the days following the Nomination of Barack Obama as the first African American candidate for the Presidency, and Sarah Palin as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate I was filled with a sense of fear, and urgency, at not letting the politics of fear and division continue. My family's support for Obama over the last several months has taken the form of several phone calls, dozens of email conversations, over 100 blog posts, more than $15,000 raised, and several thousand tears shed since the words "President-elect Barack Obama" flashed across my screen on Tuesday night.

I kept my four-year old son up to watch Obama's speech. Four years ago, as I bemoaned the fact that the Democrats' only argument for electing Kerry seemed to be "not Bush," I named my son Martin, in part in tribute to my mother's father, and in part in tribute to the many Martins who have stood up for what was right when it was not easy. I hoped that over the long haul, his name would remind him of a battle worth waging, and I never dreamed that one of the key battlegrounds of the fight for justice would be won so early in his young life. My six month-old daughter will never know a world in which women are not considered serious contenders for the highest offices.

This space has been a powerful cathartic for me, and has invited many of you into the conversation--more than 100 of you checked in on election day. The purpose of this site is now fulfilled, though.

Nevertheless, there is much work to be done, and a new conversation to be had about how to govern in a world mired in economic contraction and political confrontation. A few weeks ago I told you I was launching a sister site to keep the conversation going after the election. I hope you will join me there to explore how to forge a new kind of conversation about the issues that matter to us as we move ahead. While I have a progressive bent to my policy positions, I believe more strongly than ever that any future forged must be forged together.

Please join me to continue the conversation at middlegroundmatters.blogspot.com. May the conversation continue.