I’m with Timmer that tonight marks a transition that takes us from the charged atmosphere of an election, with the natural partisan and sometimes raw competitive tendencies that go with such things, to a state where we all, as Americans, must respect the office that President Elect Obama has won through the voice of the people. At the risk of damning with faint praise (which is by no means intended) I sincerely hope that the pragmatism to which he has aspired in his campaign is a hallmark of his administration; that many of his seemingly contradictory convictions can now be laid to rest because there really is no higher office to which he can achieve. He now has only one constituency, and I pray that the gravity of office will so inspire him in both his aspirations and his deeds.

That is my hope tonight. I’ll call it a day with the recognition that his election carries a presumption of good will and respect predicated on the more honorable attributes of the American people, and the prayer of Godspeed to his administration. Note Mr. President elect; any such presumption has a shelf life beyond which it must be earned.

Oh yeah, the title of this post. I have to confess that I truly enjoyed a lot of the humor that was directed at past administrations – all of them – and will continue to do so. It sure beats spending the next four (hopefully not eight) years in the fever swamps that many of my liberal friends have haunted (hint to Keith Olberman et al. – your paradigm just shifted and I can’t wait to see how you evolve over the next couple of years).