Feeling blue?

If you could use a little pick-me-up after the truly dispiriting events of the last week or 52, I recommend Brent Budowski's latest blog post over at The Hill. Just give it a read and let the hope wash over you.

Here is a preview of my post for Nov. 4, 2008, after the polls close:

The voting is over, the people have spoken, and a new era of reform and renewal for America begins tonight.

What was most moving, when the results were clear and the Democratic president-elect had claimed victory, was the way young people gathered spontaneously in capitals across the free world and waved little American flags because one dark era is ending and our country will soon resume its role as a beacon of light.

Looking back on a hard-fought campaign, the die was cast when Gen. David Petraeus came to Washington and said he did not know whether his plan would make America safer. It is no coincidence that when George Bush called the president-elect with congratulations, the transition began with the news that Gen. Petraeus was being recalled to Washington and replaced by retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, who had long opposed what he called the American occupation and is now returning to active duty.

[...]

The mood in America tonight is a spirit of coming together. From the opponents of the war who took their stand from a deep wellspring of patriotism to the military moms who took their stand for love of country and love of family, the American people are coming coming together once again, with the unified hope of the American idea and the unified faith of the American spirit.

Some of the darkest days in the history of our Republic are over, with those responsible for those days with nothing left to do except await the cruel verdict of history that will harshly judge what they have done.

With a Democratic president and large new majorities in Congress preparing to assume power in January, there is talk of another New Frontier, with ideas for renewal that circulate by the hour, with programs for change percolating from the think tanks to the college campuses, from the Internet to talk radio, from another generation preparing to come to Washington not for wealth, war or power but to begin the next great chapter for the American idea.

The Constitution has never shined brighter, the rule of law has never stood taller, the honor of America has never radiated so brilliantly, the future of America has never looked better because the good people of America have spoken with the thundering power of a good and great nation returning to who we are, and what we stand for, now and forever.

I can't wait.

I mean it. I really can't wait.