Barack Obama  

I'm overjoyed by Obama's election, but the sentiment seems small beside the incredible historical vertigo that accompanies his achievement. I loved going through these political cartoons, and to a lesser extent these pictures of Obama from the campaign. My daughter and I went downtown today for lunch and the air in Chicago just feels different. I don't know what else to say except wow.

Meanwhile it was really disappointing to see Prop 8 pass in California. My initial reaction though is to blame it on the bizarre institutional design that allows Californians to amend their constitution with a simple majority vote by the electorate. Isn't the whole point of having a constitution that it's less transient than the whims of the majority, and therefore offers some protection for minorities? I'm certainly not an expert on democracy, but I've always understood it as a balancing act between the will of the majority and the rights of the minority. Speaking just from an institutional standpoint, it seems to me California overemphasizes the former.