yes we can?

in the coming days, obama will hold a news conference to underscore that despite the great jubilation that pours forth from our country after his win, our new president elect will not be able to wave a magic wand and fix our nations woes. the problems our nation faces are substantial and the solution complex, even with a majority in both the house and senate. even i must admit that as i woke yesterday morning dreaming of our new president, it seemed like the entire world was celebrating and changing. It feels like we're living in historic times, and it feels like everything would finally change with the close of the election, that somehow we would feel more comfortable, less worried, that i'd wake up and find twenty dollars. yet really, nothing has changed in this two days. and whatever change does come is going to be slow and difficult. remember what i've been harping on forever: the first hundred days! traditionally, the president is said to have the first 100 days in office to affect any real policy change. nagourney and rutenberg for the times report that barack obama wants something more: "They said they would discourage the traditional yardstick for measuring the accomplishments of a new president — the first 100 days. Mr. Obama told an interviewer toward the end of his campaign that it was more appropriate to talk about the first 1,000 days." but words are not the actual constraints of presidency and barack is no superman. for clinton, health care reform became impossible to pass, which, as you know, has been my big issue this election, and i only hope obama finds a way to deal with this his first term. but at this point, with the country in the position that it is, i couldn't predict anything. i mean, everyone i know, including myself, figured that the stock market would sing for at least a day after obama was elected. instead, "A nearly 500-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday was a reminder that Mr. Obama’s election did not bring the financial crisis to a close." who saw that coming?

despite the uncertainty of our nation's economic and political position, as well as my own personally, i am certain that in less than two hours both sara c. and sara b. will arrive here in portland on this beautiful fall day. and by beautiful, i mean overcast and predictable. they'll get a real taste of portland weather in the cold months. booth and i have no definite plans for the saras right now, but i'm sure we'll find some way to fill our weekend. these are our first visitors from birmingham and i've missed them so much. i might cry when they have to leave on sunday.