Yesterday was a truly monumental day in American history. I am excited and proud that America has finally been able to put the dark pages of its racist history behind her and elect a black man to the highest office in the country. President-elect Obama is a profound orator and his voice has stirred a nation starving for inspiration.

“In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let’s resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let’s remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.”

While I share his hopes and have been inspired by his words, I must reserve some degree of skepticism. It is very easy for the victor to speak so loquaciously about unity and coming together, but it is a far more arduous task to see executed.

The hopes President-elect Obama speaks of are not new. They have been shared often and repeatedly by newly elected officials from both parties in the past. How will this time be different?

We shall see...