History Made Today: Barack Obama Nominated to Run for President:

History was made today, in Denver. Barack Obama was nominated as the Democratic party's presidential candidate. This is the first time in American history that a black man has been a major party's Presidential candidate.

I'm glad that I've lived long enough to see this happen, but I'm not surprised that it did. America has a pretty good track record for giving people a chance to succeed: even if they're simply not the proper sort.

In my youth, I saw a smooth-talking Irishman run for president: and win. This was only a few generations after one of my ancestors said, of another of my ancestors, "he doesn't have family: he's Irish."

Whether we see President Obama sworn in or not, history has been made.

I have reservations about a number of Barack Obama's policies and views, but that's par for the course for me and a presidential candidate. Or president, for that matter. Despite these differences, I am glad to see that America has passed another milestone in accepting people who don't fit the Yankee/Boston Brahman mold.

Who knows, I may last long enough to see America's first Hispanic president. Or the child of someone who made it out of Vietnam or China working in the Oval Office.

Recent posts about Barack Obama:

• "Barack Obama: Upstart Young Whippersnapper?
  (August 26, 2008)
• "Obama Assassination Plot and/or Meth Bust: Close Call in Colorado"
  (August 26, 2008)