Like so many of you, I am still somewhat in awe of what we accomplished as a nation last Tuesday night. After eight long years of George Bush and Dick Cheney, of Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, with unprecedented challenges facing us on the economy, energy, the environment, and health care -- in one instant, by electing a new generation of leadership, we sent an unmistakable signal to the entire world that America is back.

(Jim Himes is running against Chris Shays in CT-04. Please welcome him in the comments, and you can make a valuable end-of-quarter contribution to his campaign here -- jh)

(Please welcome in the comments author Drew Westen, author of The Political Brain, and Jim Himes, our Blue America candidate who is running against Chris Shays in CT-04 -- JH) Two years ago, I was days away from giving a speech at the annual fundraising dinner for the affordable housing foundation that I lead in New York.