Brave Heart

For the past two weeks, I've been replaying a scene from Braveheart in my head.

The camera cuts back and forth between the charging enemy cavalry and Wallace's troops holding their line. Wallace yells out his command "HOLD!" three times as the tension mounts. Finally, once the cavalry are close enough, he yells out "NOW!". The troops drop their melee weapons, pick up the spears hidden in the tall grass and brace them into the ground. The cavalry, suffice to say, is decimated.

For the past two weeks, I have been holding my enthusiasm for the election for fear that my hopes would be dashed. Anything can happen in an election, particularly in the final weeks. And though I'm not a superstitious man, the threat of a jinx had a tangible quality for me. Therefore, while others were revelling in polls and the promise of a new Democratic administration, I have been holding it back, tension be damned.

Ah, but now, at 11:00pm on November 4th, 2008, as the major networks make the call, comes the sigh of relief and release.

Congratulations, President-Elect Obama. You earned it.