August 8th

In my mind, and in my heart, the Eighth of August will always remain "Ned Lamont Day".

Since that day, our nation has seen many significant changes. Huge, dynamic, encompassing changes to the course of American history.

It's hard to believe everything that's happened in the last three years. We went from a nation being subjected to a Republican President, a Republican Senate, and a Republican House, and we now have a Democratic President, Senate, and House.

All of that can be indirectly traced back to an amazing, and seemingly quixotic run for Senate by some guy from Greenwich that nobody ever heard of:

Ned Lamont.

Ned spoke of "change" long before Barack Obama adopted it for his campaign's theme. The very night he beat the oddsmakers and astounded the establishment by defeating a three-term Democratic senator in his own party's primary, Ned Lamont had this to say:

"They call Connecticut the land of steady habits...tonight we voted for a big change."

And Ned helped immensely in bringing about that change. Because of Ned's courage and selfless audacity, he influenced many people who became involved in the democratic process. He showed that it's possible to win against overwhelming odds, and that by sticking to your values, people will respect and support you.

It doesn't matter so much that he didn't eventually win that seat in the Senate. Ned has done so much to show that a person with a good understanding of the character of our nation and a recognition of our true potential can move mountains. It's likely that Ned's influence on the American psyche has paid off in many different ways.

At least in part, because of Ned we gained huge majorities in both houses of Congress. And likely because of Ned, we have a president who will actually lead our nation!

Because of Ned, we now know that anything is possible; and we thank him for doing everything he did. He was the "Yes We Can" guy well before Barack Obama.

Thanks, Ned!

UPDATE: A minute or so of pure joy, requested by Spazeboy!