QT takes control of Picks while Obama takes charge of country

The United States is celebrating a special moment in history tonight that's never been experienced before. The major news was announced at 10 p.m. Central Standard Time on this Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008. It's inspiring Americans in all corners of the country, and will be talked about for all time to come.

No, it's not QT Pie taking command of the Sunday Football Picks by going 11-2 in Week 9. She's been in first place before, and she's already captured a trio of Picks titles. Her skill at predicting NFL games is old news.

Tonight's historic development was discussed 40 years ago by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in his final speech in a crowded church in Memphis Tennessee. On April 3, 1968, speaking hours before his assassination, King delivered these prophetic words: "I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So I'm happy tonight."

King would have been absolutely thrilled on this night. That's because U.S. Senator Barack Obama from Illinois has been elected the first African-American president of the United States. The 44th leader of our great country dominated at the polls by gaining more than twice the electoral votes as U.S. Senator John McCain from Arizona. The final tally was 365 for Obama, and 173 for McCain.

In front of more than 100,000 people who gathered to cheer his victory in Chicago's Grant Park, Obama took the stage and addressed Americans for the first time as our newly elected president. His speech was powerful and inspiring, bringing tears to the eyes of many watching this historic moment, including QT herself.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer," Obama said to the flag-waving crowd, which erupted in applause.

As McCain, 72, and Obama, 47, emerged from their parties' national conventions months ago, the race was essentially a toss-up, with McCain campaigning on his experience and Obama on the promise of change. But the race was altered by the financial crisis that hit Wall Street in September.

Earlier today, poll workers reported high turnouts across many parts of the country, and some voters waited hours to cast their ballots. Obama recognized that dedication in his speech tonight, knowing that his victory extended far beyond himself.

"Above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you," he said. "I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.

"It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy, who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep. It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth. This is your victory."

The popular vote also was decidedly in favor of Obama, who collected 66.9 million votes to McCain's 58.3 million. There was no doubt who America wanted as its next commander-in-chief, and citizens young and old have never felt so hopeful about our nation's future.

"This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations," Obama said. "But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election, except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old. She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

"And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America -- the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can. At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

"When there was despair in the Dust Bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can. When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

"She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that 'We Shall Overcome.' Yes we can. A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

"America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century, if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made? This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids, to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace, to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that out of many, we are one, that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.