It's Election Day 2012! Tonight's results were great in almost every respect: Donnelly wins Indiana, keeping Mourdock out of the Senate (all according to God's plan); Kaine wins in Virginia, giving Virginia the Warner/Kaine former Governor duo control in Congress; and two more states accept same-sex marriage by a popular vote, a critical step in the right direction towards our nation's acceptance of all individuals, regardless of who they are or who they love. And to top things off, President Obama wins reelection, earning four more years to accomplish his goal of hope, change, and progress for America. Now, not everyone may agree with our President's policies. But if you believed in his vision in 2008, it's only right that he earn the full opportunity our Constitution provides to accomplish his and our goals. It was one of the most challenging times in recent history to accept the Presidency, and while I never believed we would have dramatic improvement in just four short years, I remain hopeful of what we have accomplished, and am confident in our nation's ability to continue to improve and persevere. We have made significant improvements in many aspects of life over the past four years, from becoming more secure as a nation and bringing our country out of war, to making great steps in improving the liberties of all citizens, as evidenced by tonight's results on same-sex marriage, and finally, in improving our nation's health care system under a responsible program that promotes free market principles while attempting to compensate for the market failures experienced by the private sector operating alone. Our economic problems extend beyond any one election or any one administration, and I don't expect us to fully escape this challenging time this year or even in the next four years of Obama's presidency. But I am confident that by continuing the path we are on we can lay a foundation that will take us towards a brighter future in the generations to come. Congratulations to everyone who voted, regardless of which way it was, and best wishes to everyone who goes back to work tomorrow as we continue to forge ahead.
On a lighter note, I had an interesting moment while deciding to celebrate the outcome of this exciting election night. I decided to break open a bottle of sparkling wine for the occasion, and found it would be the perfect occasion to break open a bottle of Saint-Hilaire, one I have been waiting for over two years to try. Coincidentally, my bottle was a 2008 Saint-Hilaire, bottled when this administration first won the office. I first discovered Saint-Hilaire at a wine shop on M Street in Northwest Washington, D.C., when shopping for a wine-swapping Christmas Party. One of the workers suggested a bottle, as it is a great sparkling wine which is produced at the oldest vineyard in France, one that has been around since the 1400s and began producing Saint-Hilaire over a hundred years before champagne found its existence. To get to today's story, I unsealed the bottle and took off the safety top, but left the cork in while the bottle was sitting on the table. I figured I would wait until the President addressed the crowd to pop the bottle and have a glass. While waiting, I heard a loud POP and had no idea what it was; the bottle had been sitting on the table almost an hour at that point, so I assumed something had fallen. Then I noticed that the cork had popped, and immediately heard the reporter on CNN announce, "The President will be taking the stage in just under one minute." Perfect timing for the champagne bottle, as it seemed to know what I was waiting for. This is not my first interesting experience with champagne. Back in 2008 (really, it was 2008, this is not just a coincidence), I had set a bottle of champagne out prior to the Steelers taking on the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. After Santonio Holmes made his last minute touchdown catch in the endzone to secure the Steelers' record sixth Super Bowl Championship, it was time to pop the bottle. I let the cork fly, and went to retrieve it, but couldn't find it. After drinking the celebratory glass, we looked all over the room for the cork, and after about 30 minutes of searching, found it behind a picture frame, wedged into the framing of a wrought-iron stand near the end of the bar. The cork had hit the ceiling after the pop, ricocheted, and wedged itself in the stand before hitting the ground. I picked it out of the stand, put it back in the bottle, and still have the bottle at home. To this day, that cork has never touched the ground, and remains flawless as the celebratory sixth Lombardi drink.
