Wow. I’m writing this as President Obama is starting his speech, and there’s tears in my eyes. I didn’t realize just how much it would affect me, seeing him sworn in.

This morning, I woke up with a realization- the inauguration of a black guy as President is a bigger deal, even to me personally, than I’d fully thought about beforehand. I can only imagine what it must be like for our black brothers and sisters.

I’m married to a wonderful woman- who happens to be Korean-American. I grew up in an era when kids were deliberately told that anyone, of any gender, of any race, could be anything they wanted. Astronaut, ballplayer, doctor, lawyer… in theory, it didn’t matter.

The reality, of course, has been different. The reality is that we STILL have some differences that effectively prohibit or preclude some roles. Does anyone think that an atheist, or a homosexual, could be elected President, even today?

And yet, with the election and inauguration of Obama, we’re a step closer- a HUGE step closer- to that ideal day that all men and women of good conscience (and of all political persuasion) desire to see. That day when it truly doesn’t matter what color your skin is, or what your religion is, or what your sexual preference is.

Ginger and I don’t know if we’re going to have children- but this morning I woke up realizing that if we did, and if they grew up motivated and smart and able to give a good speech and fired up and ready to go, they could be President of the United States.

Across the entire land, people woke up and realized it. When President Obama swore the oath of office (that it looked like Roberts screwed up, BTW- what a goof) it became concrete and real.

No longer must black kids grow up, being told one thing (“you can be President”) and seeing, in practice, something else. And it’s not just black kids- even a hapa kid, the child of a white parent and an Asian parent, can now grow up in a nation that doesn’t just SAY that a person of any color can be President; it’s a nation which actually WILL elect a “person of color”.

Obviously, the other main hurdle is for us is to elect a woman. Personally, I have little doubt that had Hillary Clinton won the nomination, she would have won the election; it just wasn’t the Republicans’ year. (Though I do think there is a good chance she would have screwed it up; the more I read about how she ran her campaign, the more I realize she’s a lousy manager.)

But today, a foggy and grey day in Seattle but a gorgeous (albeit cold) clear day in Washington DC, we see that we in America not only talk the talk, but we walk the walk, too. We see, in Barack Hussein Obama, the promise of America. An African student comes to the United States for education, in the hope of a better future for himself and his family, meets a white woman and they have a baby.

And that baby- the child of an immigrant- grows up and is able to wind up becoming the President of the United States.

This is truly a great nation, and Obama is the man to be President at this time. His speech is about the possibility and promise of America, without huge recrimination, but respectful of the past, pointing out that 60 years ago his own father wouldn’t have been served in restaurants in America but today Barack can take the oath of office.

Today, I have more hope and faith and belief that if we have a child, they will grow up in a better nation. For those that don’t get Obama’s power of rhetoric, that’s in part what he represents. That’s the CHANGE that he represents.

Let’s hope he can deliver on even just a small part of that promise and hope and change.