W.

I had a thought last week about trying to organize an Irish wake or New Orleans funeral-type event to mark the last full day of the Bush administration, but my birthday festivities last weekend were enough for awhile.

It is amazing that we have lived the past eight years with W as our president. For me, I know I've spend too much of that time in denial about how awful he is since there really wasn't anything I could do about it. How was it he never got impeached? Is that a short-coming of the Democratic party that no one was willing to try?

I am so relieved that it is finally over. Maybe someday I'll be able to watch Oliver Stone's movie and gain some perspective but right now, I am so happy I won't have to have him "actively" in my life.

There was a point last summer when I realized that I would be happy with either candidate running for the Presidency, even if John McCain seemed a sell-out of the man I voted for in the primaries of 2000. (Then, of course, he chose Palin and it did really matter that the Democrats won this one!)

I am amazed at the excitement about tomorrow's inauguration. I can't recall people making the effort for the swearing in of a President this way. It's a wonderful thing to see in a democracy. Perhaps some of the credit goes to W, who ignited democratic forces in this country if not elsewhere in the world. But most of the credit is due to the historic nature of Barack Obama, America's first President of color.

Last spring, I was skeptical that Obama could win. I feared that America was still too racist a nation to elect a black man to the Presidency. What a thrill to be wrong! (although there is still a fear he won't make it through his term(s) since he is such a historic figure.)

But now, let's take a moment and breathe a sigh of relief that W's reign of ineptitude is almost over. We survived, even if so much of what we love about America suffered. Sláinte!