Bush's last day has come to an end

It's just past Midnight in the Eastern Time Zone. President George W. Bush's last full day in office has ended. The disasters that began eight years ago are still going to be with us, but the element of leadership that created some of them and made others worse has run its course.

While the danger is far from over, I feel the relief. For the next four years, we have an opportunity to change the terms of debate. We have an opportunity to explore different policy options to address the challenges our country faces. We will not be limited by suspicion of science, sexuality, minorities, and blindness masking itself as patriotism.

We will be limited by an economy in decline, debt, and a world weary of our foreign policy.

I don't know what is possible over the next four years, but I am ready to see. Here's to the next four years and here's to you, President Obama.