I've been incommunicado for many months, I know. I was busy finding a job, finishing up my postdoctoral research (or at least attempting to do so), moving across the country, and trying to keep my head above water as a new assistant professor. But I miss the blogging and I'm going to try to resume, now with a fresh post-postdoctoral perspective!
For this first post, I just want to state how proud I am of my fellow Americans this week. It was not at all clear for a long while that they would manage to ignore the smears, transcend their fears, and finally choose change in their own best interests. Truthfully, they probably wouldn't have done it if the economy hadn't exhibited such a dramatic turn at just the right time to wake them up to the consequences of many years of mismanagement. But they did do it, and I am proud. I knew as soon as Pennsylvania and Ohio were called that the election was over, and the rest of the former red state inroads were just icing on the cake.
Kudos also to John McCain for being such a gracious loser. I had lost a lot of respect for him during this campaign, particularly after his appeal to the lowest common denominator with the Palin pick. But his concession speech choked me up. I hope that he really does continue his long years of public service by supporting his new president, especially on the priorities they share like reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Barack Obama may have won a clear mandate for change from the majority of the electorate, but given the current confluence of immediate and long term crises, he will need all the help he can get.
