And Then There Were Two

It's over. Finally. After 6 official months, and many more unofficial.

I remember during Hillary Clinton's reelection campaign of 2006, her challenger accused her of planning on neglecting her senatorial duties in favor of a run for the White House. She denied the certainty of such a run, stating that she had not made any decisions about that particular issue. I remember thinking how that was a joke. Of course she was going to run, and of course she was going to win. Except...

I remember sitting at home, watching Barack Obama stand in the cold on the steps of the old Illinois capitol in Springfield, IL, announcing his candidacy for the nation's highest office to a sea of people. I remember how his words that day -- and the days to follow -- made me feel like I wanted to get involved. How his speech following his victory in Iowa made me think in surprise: He's going to win.

And through it all -- the debates and the stump speeches, Joe Biden's un-PC descriptions, $400 haircuts, floating crosses, crying candidates, not black enough, not christian enough, Florida, Michigan, Rev. Wright, the many faces of Clinton, Tony Rezko, Iran, Hamas, gas price misdirection, Karl Rove tactics, the popular vote, delegate counts, and superdelegates -- we have learned a valuable lesson: These campaigns go on too long and make me want to pull my hair out!

Obviously, some of the above mentioned items will come up again in the next 5 months. And whether Obama can defeat McCain will be argued and not known until November 4th. But I am a big believer that the process matters more than the outcome. Obama is the candidate I want running for president, and let the chips fall where they may.

And then there were two.