Congratulations Mr. President

Well here I am at only 9:24 pm local time and the election has been called. Congratulations to President Obama and all of the hard working campaign workers and volunteers. Congratulations too to my Democratic friends in the US. I must say I am surprised that the presidential election was decided so early (it seems Mitt Romney is as well and is refusing to concede at this time). But then again perhaps the talking heads have it right...many Americans were afraid of the tea party side of the Republican Party and this image was not helped by the abundance of negative advertising that flowed throughout this campaign.

I don't mean to take anything away from the support for President Obama or from the very well organized and effective Get out the Vote program that his organization runs. I have to admit, I am on his email list and am always impressed by his messaging and ability to get people involved and make them feel a part of the team.

Will it be an easy road ahead, certainly not? Has the electorate decided to stick with what they know and trust that things will get better...it looks like it.

With the Senate and House not changing, I truly hope there is a move toward constructive bi-partisanship in the style of Ronald Reagan. As Vice President Biden said in the debate, he was there, he worked with President Reagan and while the two men did not see eye to eye on many issues, Vice President Biden should take a page from Reagan's book and work with those across the aisle for the best of his country.

Having worked in a minority government, I know just how hard it can be to get things done when the opposition is sniping and grumbling across the aisle, never allowing a political opportunity to go by without making the most of it. Unfortunately, this does not benefit the country. Thankfully, we now have a strong, stable, majority, conservative government in Canada (ok, I couldn't resist throwing that in). Our Prime Minister, cabinet and caucus have worked very hard to keep our economy strong and as my daughter tells me repeatedly, has made things much better for Canadian families.

I guess the point I am making is that politicians of every stripe must remember why they were elected. This does not mean governing by polls, this means making the tough decisions and making things happen for the benefit of your electorate. This won't be easy after such a nasty and angry campaign but the for the good of our closest neighbour, I sincerely hope it will happen.

miss kimmy