Wow.

President-elect Obama. What an election cycle this has been. Now that the pre-election polls have become results, here are a few thoughts:

1. Pray. Pray for our nation, for all those who serve in positions of leadership. That's easy if your candidate won. But, it's incumbent upon all Christ-followers to remember them regardless of politics. I know that a lot of people had a lot vested in both candidates, and when your candidate loses, it's disappointing. Remember John Wayne's answer to reporters when Kennedy defeated Nixon in 1960: "Well, I didn't vote for him. But he's my president and I hope he does a good job."
2. John McCain is a great public servant. Whatever you think of his politics, you cannot intelligently argue this. After enduring what he did in Viet Nam, the fact that he can get up in the morning and have a coherent conversation is a miracle. The fact that he chooses to get up in the morning and go to work for his nation tells you everything you need to know about his priorities.
3. John McCain ran a lousy campaign. I don't mean a dirty or immoral campaign. I mean a dog. Low-down, dirty, egg-sucking dog of a campaign. He never forged a coherent message or gave a compelling reason to vote for him. He botched the economic meltdown because he tried to politic it. At that point, game over.
4. Barack Obama is an honorable man. Whatever you think of his politics, you cannot intelligently argue this. Everything that we've seen indicates that he loves his wife and daughters and he genuinely wants to serve the nation.
5. Barack Obama ran a genius campaign. Look at the electoral map. Consistent in his message, few details, no leaks, no in-fighting...All he did was unseat Hillary Clinton as the presumptive Democratic nominee and trounce a bona fide war hero on his way to the White House.
6. Now, the hard part starts. Seriously, can you imagine what it would be like to wake up this morning and realize that you had to begin assembling a team and a plan for holding the most powerful job in the world?

That brings us full circle to #1: PRAY for those who lead us.