Ok - Looks like the NY Post called the election for Obama . . . seems like the rest of the nets are tiptoing around it. So, I'll stand behind the Post and call it for Obama.
[UPDATE - It is official - McCain is in the middle of his concession speech]

He ran a great campaign and won. Now comes the hard part . . . running the most powerful country ever.

Only time will tell what is to come, but now Obama has to actually make decisions and stick by them. He has to make decisions that don't just affect a campaign, but that will affect hundreds of millions of people. Can he live up to the job? We'll see. I certainly hope so.

He has made history. He has made millions of people proud. He has been a transformational figure. I accept that.

That said, I did not vote in this election for a person, but for the ideas that the person was fighting for. We've heard a LOT about Change, but now that it is over, we need to get to these issues. No matter what we think about Obama, we have to accept him - he's ours.

I want to talk about issues, but before doing so, I think it is important to discuss the media. One thing that MUST CHANGE is the way the press covers politics. The press is clearly no longer an unbiased source of information. Will they start asking the hard questions, or be entralled with history and talk about that instead of what Obama is going to actually do now that he is the Chief? Will Obama allow the press to challenge him and answer the difficult questions? Several things concerned me in the past few weeks with the way the press was treated by the Obama campaign, and I hope it does not carry forward into Obama's presidency. Our free press is at the heart of our Democracy and we the people must fight to maintain that freedom. We must demand of our press' independence. Without that, we lose a little of ourselves and our freedom.

People are excited and have a right to be, but this election was about issues, right? Here are a few questions I have right now...

What about Iraq?
Are we going to leave Iraq as he promises? How many troops is he going to leave there? What is their role going to be? What happens if we start to see violence rise once again? Do we go back in?

What about Afghanistan?
Is there an exit strategy? How do we get out of there? He has said that we're going to send our troops to the real center of terror, but what then?

What about Pakistan?
Do we go in without their permission to get BinLaden?

What happens in Iran?
Does he continue to allow Iran to pursue Nuclear weapons?

Russia
The Russians have proven that they are looking to spread their dominance once again. How does he handle the growing power of the Russian Bear?

The Economy
How does he stimulate the economy? Is there a plan to stop the tide of foreclosures? Do the bailouts continue? Do we keep printing money to save private companies, or do we let the free market take over?

Health Care
How is he going to pay for the Universal Health Care plan he has promised?

Campaign Finance Reform
After promising to take public funds, he switched and changed his mind. Can he now get out and reform the way our elections are financed?

Immigration
What is the immigration plan for the country? Do we seal the borders? How do we handle the millions of illegals?

Energy
We've been told that we're going to push green energy. . . how does that take effect? Do we drill? What about Nuclear?

UNITER
He promised to bring people together. Who has he brought together? Some red states have turned blue, but has he really changed anything? Is he going to somehow give Republicans a say in his government? I don't personally see the Republicans suddenly agreeing with the Democrats just because of Obama. What is that UNITY going to mean?

CHANGE
Ok, we've got a new president . . . that is definitely a change. He is of the opposite party . . . that is change. GREAT! What REAL change is he going to bring to the country now that he is in power?

These are the REAL questions that we should ALL be asking after the cheering and partying ends.

The next few months until inauguration day are going to be an extremely challenging time for Mr. Obama. Lets all hope that he and President Bush come together and work on a smooth transition for the country through a most turbulent period. We cannot afford to have it any other way.

Joshua Dorkin

Podcast Guest on Show #100