I was at work Tuesday night from well before returns started coming in (except those two New Hampshire hamlets) until some hours after Obama had been declared the winner.
As soon as Pennsylvania was declared for him, I knew.
I knew it was only a matter of time -- until 10 central (I live in Texas) -- before the West Coast triumvirate of California, Washington and Oregon would be declared, thus giving Obama the electoral votes needed.
And I knew I would cry. I prepared myself to hold back because, hey, I needed to be able to see to do my job. (I work with words. Please try to control your shock.)
But it took a while to understand exactly where those tears were coming from.
They were coming from a lot of places. If we can be said to cry on behalf of, or because of, others, then I and about 63 million other people cried for not only all the black people who came before us and might have won in a more perfect union but, as I have since realized, all the people for whom that is the case -- irrespective of anything but American birth.
It's that last factor that finally surfaced, helped by something Gov. Bill Richardson said on MSNBC about what this means for other minorities.
This is about black people, but it is not just about black people.
This is about young people, but it is not just about young people.
This is about the American people (and it is not just about even the American people, as the world's celebrations have shown).
As of Jan. 20, 2009, you do not have to be a straight white Christian man to win the White House. (Rumors aside regarding Presidents James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln, as well as the presidents rumored to have been part black. I mean people running as black or gay or whatever.)
Because Barack Obama won, Bill Richardson could win. In four years? Who knows? Probably not. But you cannot now make the argument that the presidency is only for straight white Christian men.
Because Barack Obama won, Hillary Clinton could win. In four years? (I actually think she'll have a hell of a good shot in eight years -- with four as Obama's VP in his second term. Yeah, she'll be 69, but by that point, advances in medicine will have made 69 reasonably young. Anyway.)
Because Barack Obama won, Keith Ellison could win. And the current GOP would have run much the same campaign against him -- except the Muslim smears would have been true, so to speak, and the whispers (and occasional shouts) about terrorism would have been a lot more than whispers and occasional shouts.
Because Barack Obama won, Rahm Emanuel could win. Sound politician, great ideas, scary name? The Obama comparisons don't end there.
Because Barack Obama won, David Paterson -- who is legally blind -- could win. Yes, we've had a disabled president, but the press went to significant lengths to keep that kind of a secret.
Because Barack Obama won, Barney Frank could win. Not in the next 20 years, and probably not in the next 40 -- but 40 years after bans on interracial marriage were tossed by SCOTUS, we have a black president. Here's hoping we can soon get the clock ticking on SCOTUS' rejection of gay marriage bans.
But because Barack Obama won, you can't say that you have to be this or that. All you have to be is 35 and American by birth.
That's IT.
Those are the ONLY requirements.
Does it take a hell of a lot more?
Damn fucking right.
But because of Barack Obama, a queer black female Jew born with flipperism with parents hailing from Iran could win.
Because she was an American who had the right ideas for the country and a hell of a lot of energy and people skills.
And enough people wouldn't vote against her because she was gay or black or female or Jewish or her sleeves were very short or her parents had funny accents.
Are we ready for that queer black female Jew with no arms and Iranian parents?
No. Not enough of us, at least.
But as of Tuesday night, there is a place for me, the bisexual atheist, in the White House.
There is a place for my co-worker, who is part Native American.
The majority of my office is Latino. Any one of them could be president.
A woman who quit to go back to school two months ago could wind up president some day. I'm pretty sure she's Latino, and a friend from the office is pretty sure she is bisexual too. (Wish I'd known, but we often don't ping unless we choose to.) There's a place for her in the presidency in 15 years.
There is a place for all of America in the White House now because America voted for the better American to lead this country forward -- and by the way, he's black.
And I don't know when I'm going to stop crying at the thought of that.
And I'm pretty sure I don't want to stop.