Congratulations, Mr. President. Lucky you.

In a week and a few hours, this long and grueling presidential race will be over — and one of these two poor saps will be declared the ... winner (?).

The next president will inherit two wars, an economy farther in the tank than it’s been in my lifetime and a nation that remains fractured along culture war fault lines.

This is like running a marathon and climbing to the podium where a tree-limbed hulk in an executioner’s hood hits you over the head with a sledgehammer.

Ain’t you glad you won?

Let’s assume the trend holds and Obama is the winner. An historic moment. Congratulations. Now, get to work.

He’ll have to assemble a transition team that immediately starts to work in concert with the Bush Administration on administering the trillion dollars in bailouts and he’ll have to participate in the pending decision whether to extend the bailout to the wheezing U.S. auto industry.

A decision will have to be made as to what to do with the dead-letter status of forces agreement in Iraq.

And on and on...

There is no time for a relaxed transition, no time for a victory lap. Obama will have to be the most active and engaged President-elect in U.S. history.

Love him, hate him, remain ambivalent, we’d all better wish the man well. I’m glad I’m not him right now.

Jim Cornelius, Editor