It can’t be denied that something good happened last night. Those of us who supported John McCain would be wrong to deny it, and we would, quite simply, be denying reality. The good thing that happened was the election of the first African-American president in our history. That in itself is remarkable because even a few years ago, it was unthinkable. And it is an important step forward for our country in freeing ourselves from the stain of slavery, racism and Jim Crow.

I haven’t the slightest idea what sort of president Barack Obama will be, but we will all find out soon enough. 

It is incumbent upon all those who voted for John McCain and felt strongly that he was the better man to show the same grace and dignity that he showed in his concession speech last night. 

There will be plenty of time to regroup and to fight the good fight another day. I wouldn’t change my vote yesterday, but I can accept the outcome without rancor and with some sense of the joy that spilled over from Grant Park in Chicago into every living room in America. 

Perhaps it was meant to be from the beginning. He does seem like a man of destiny. And our future is now joined with his, at least for the next four years. So let us do what Americans have always done, rally behind our next president to pray that God may give him wisdom to choose those things that are best for our nation and strength when he is tested as he surely will be.

As I write these words, he is speaking in Grant Park. It is an amazing sight, and an amazing moment, and we would do well to be glad about it even if we voted for someone else.