I think it's over and now it begins.

[FightingIrish]

This was a day I should have been on my bike filling my lungs with spring air. It was a gorgeous end to an unusually dreary month of May. Unfortunately I could not tear myself away from the Rules and By-laws committee high drama in D.C. There was lot riding on it so I’ll forgive myself for not getting off my butt and out of the house. Four generations of my family have a stake in what happened today. In the end, it was worth it because there is now closure as well as some meaningful revelations about those who would stand in the way of the candidacy of a true Democrat. I even learned a new word, “FuckIckes”

Threats to further muddy the waters aside, we now have a presumed nominee. Meaning no disrespect to Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota, I have got to believe that we can now fully focus our attention on the self-destructive Republican candidate, the default standard bearer of their fading fortunes. It was messy and unpleasant but that part is now over.

The first analogy that hit me this evening came from a neurosurgeon who put my son back together four years ago. He’s on the launching pad and where he goes from here is up to him and all who support him. Watching Discovery leap into space gave me a tingle of irony. The challenge ahead is not insignificant but it is a whole lot more welcome than the family feud we hopefully ended today.

The trauma we have been through, and any coming aftershocks from what happened today, mean nothing if we do not achieve what has been denied us since November of 1996. We now have to pull together and possibly part ways with a few we mistakenly thought were with us all these years. We started this campaign with an embarrassment of riches and ended with what was quite frankly an embarrassment. In Barack Obama we have a candidate who is pulling people together across political lines. He is all about hope and we have a responsibility to see that hope fulfilled. If Obama is to be all we hope for, we have to first be better Democrats and then better Americans. As much as I love this man, I don’t give him a prayer unless we all do our part.

[Colobo]

1. I think we will be unified. I'm optimistic.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

2. Hillary is being pushed by 'them' to win

that was the deal. One day we'll find who 'they' are?