There was a lot of talk in the office Wednesday morning about who had stayed up to wait for news of the election returns. I didn’t; having voted at about 6:10 a.m., I put myself to bed while the outcome was still in doubt. But my first waking thought was to flick on the radio and get the news. Along with many other Americans, I believed this was the most important election in decades. 

However one feels about President-elect Obama, particularly about his record and platform on abortion, it is impossible to deny that his election marks a bright turning point in our history. However flawed he may be, there has to be a certain euphoria about the fact that our nation, where segregation was enshrined in law within the living memories of many, has elected a black man to lead us. I thought his acceptance speech was wonderful—serious as befitting serious times, while still optimistic—and Senator John McCain’s concession a model of gracious patriotism. 

I personally have struggled mightily with the question of single-issue voting. While trying to look at candidates’ entire platforms, I still felt that being in favor of legal abortion was an absolutely disqualifying issue. But having lived through the terms of such avowedly pro-life leaders as President Reagan and the two Presidents Bush, none of whom seemed able even to diminish the numbers of abortions being committed, I now question the utility of using such a criterion in that way.

I hope that a person pledged to promote other human rights might be educable about the most basic right to life from conception until natural death. We who strive to uphold that right can get busy now letting our next president know that whether we voted for him or not, we are profoundly dedicated to the pro-life cause and hope that, just as we will accept him as our president, he will accept us as his constituents and give our arguments a fair hearing. 

President-elect Obama will take office in the middle of two wars and a serious economic recession. He’s going to have his hands very full. He has promised to seek the counsel of the wisest people he can find, of whatever political stripe. I am hopeful that he will do that, and will be able to begin to fix all that is broken in our country. And I am hopeful that in nominating Supreme Court Justices, he will not allow Catholicism or a pro-life record to be a disqualifying factor, but will instead seek out the wisest jurists in the land. His election is all about the American dream, about a person of color from a disadvantaged background attaining the highest office in the land, and that is cause for rejoicing; let’s pray that he comes to understand that every American has a right to that dream.