This New England

Republicans file out after McCain's concession speech. Picture by Nancy Spears.

What was most surprising to me about the Obama victory was how well McCain did. If the Arizona senator had not had the bad luck of the financial crisis (which he had nothing to do with causing) hitting in the heart of the campaign, he might well have won, even with his self-inflicted Palin problem -- despite the lead weight of an administration whose chief he obviously can't stand.

Now that Barack Obama is the president-elect, let's hope that the public, distaught about the economy, shows some patience and doesn't let excessive hope in "That One'' simply presage more disilusionment and anger when the euphoria runs out next year when the recession becomes his. We do, after all, place excessive hopes in the power of one person with a big title to change things he has remarkably little control over -- such as the world economy.

What Obama has done most notably is to open the doors of American opportunity wider than ever and renewed the image of America as the most open society of any major country. And those are wonderful and probably permanent achievements.

What an implausible scenario this would have seemed five years ago! But America is the most implausible country.

President-elect Obama was a brilliant candidate, which doesn't necessarily prevent him from being a great president.

And now the Republicans should read a little Edmund Burke and act like real conservatives again, instead of as porkmeister busybodies.

 Tags  Bush McCain Obama Palin

---