And what a thrill it was and still is: the countdown to victory

There's a nice little piece on CNN.com today about all the videos made of the CNN countdown on election night, including mention of a blog at Blogger that is collecting as many videos as it can from around the country and even around the world. The CNN article is here, and the blog with all the inspiring videos, some of which still give me chills and a tear, is called countdowntovictory. (At the countdown blog site, I can especially recommend the video from Norman, Oklahoma -- talk about a RED state -- which starts out even rowdier than most but which leads to a poignant ending.)

CNN asked for comments, and here is mine:

That night, I was fortunate to be in a room of about 60-70 Obama fans just outside Kerrville, Texas, in a county whose voters went almost 80% for the straight GOP ticket. We shouted out the count down as well and went nuts, a bunch of old folks, old white folks, senior citizens mostly, with a few blacks and Hispanics and youngish people in the crowd. We all just went nuts, and seeing the videos still gives me chills.

In the tough times ahead, my hope is that President Obama will be able to help bring us together with his persistent message of inclusiveness and the power of his speaking. The CNN countdown and, an hour later, the introduction of the cheerfully smiling and waving Obama family and (as President-elect for the first time) Obama's masterful speech in Grant Park will live on as one of the greatest, proudest moments in American history -- even decades, perhaps centuries from now -- and we knew that and felt that the night of November 4th, 2008.