Well, it's finally over

Last night, I fell asleep too early to hear the speeches, but the results were waiting for me this morning.

Barack Obama will be the 44th president of the United States in January.

While I don't agree with some of the tactics he and John McCain used in their campaigns, and I really don't like some of the reports of fraud and intimidation I've heard, the election seems to have been relatively clean overall.

I'm not going to congratulate Obama. He's signed up for a tough, thankless job that will only get worse as he goes along. I hope he has more up his sleeve than hope, because he's going to need it. If he can manage to be a good president when 2012 rolls around, I'll congratulate him then.

My opinion of the man hasn't changed, but he has 4 years to convince me that his presidency wasn't a mistake.

If more than a couple of the following things come true under his watch, then he's failed:

1. A major terrorist attack occurs somewhere in the homeland, and he does not respond in kind to those who conducted the attack.
2. The economy continues to go into recession and stays anemic for more than a year.
3. Either Iraq or Afghanistan becomes a failed state again. He's been handed a relatively finished product in Iraq, and he has to figure out what to do in Afghanistan.
4. The crime rate in our country continues to climb, and he does nothing to try to stop it.

Anyhoo, the next 4 years will tell us if all of the hype was deserved. I don't care about his approval ratings, or whether or not he's skewered by the press. I want to see results based on what I feel is important for the country as a whole and me as an individual.

I may not respect the man, but I do respect the office he will be holding. For the sake of the country, I hope he exceeds my expectations and earns my respect.