Americans can be proud that their nation has made significant social progress in 153 years since the Civil War. A black man will sit in the Oval Office of the White House, the most powerful political office in the world. But the iconography is simply not enough because our country needs real and decisive leadership if it is to cope with the critical problems facing it after eight years of misrule by Republicans. President-elect Obama will have a relatively short period--the so-called honeymoon--to translate some of his stirring campaign rhetoric into legislative action. If his presidency is to be truly a historic one, he must deliver for the average American. Unfortunately he will not have a filibuster proof majority in the Senate. He does have the wind at his back with a more than two to one victory in the Electoral College and a popular vote margin not achieved by a Democrat since Jimmy Carter. Carter attempted too much in his first one hundred days in office, diluting his effectiveness with congressional allies. Obama should not make the mistake of attempting too little in the nation's time of crisis. The public is undoubtably ready for some fundamental change even if Washington politicians are not. The choice of a Chicago machine politician as his chief of staff and a Clinton insider as transition chief are not particularly auspicious of the changes Senator Obama promised the electorate.US Person spent Election Day in a targeted precinct in Colorado helping protect the vote with a team of volunteer lawyers and others. The experience was heartening in some respects and disappointing in others. The turnout was high, reflecting the largest number of voters at the polls nationwide since 1960. Although McCain won the county by 57% to 41%, that vote count is a very good showing in such a deeply red jurisdiction dominated by military installations. The vote there certainly contributed to Obama's winning Colorado 53% to 46% with its 9 electoral votes. In my view the "winning the west" strategy paid off by offsetting the solid Republican deep South. Obama managed to win three western states with changing demographics and a total of 19 electoral votes. The poll watching experience in Colorado also reminded me that voting is not an easy task for the average American who must take time from work and deal with a confusing--even for lawyers--set of rules and regulations governing casting a valid ballot. About 23% of the votes cast in the precincts I observed were by provisional ballot. The reasons for such a high proportion of provisional voting were many, but most were also avoidable if the registration and voting processes were simplified, and election officials acted as facilitators and not gatekeepers. Voter fraud is in reality almost a phantom problem that does not justify the significant bureaucratic tangle the honest voter must negotiate in order to cast a vote. It is difficult not to conclude that in some cases the rules are strictly enforced to suppress voting, not encourage it. A healthy democracy does everything within fairness to facilitate participation by the citizen, not discourage it. America has a long way to go to improve its election processes. Reliance on technically sophisticated hardware, prone to failure and confusion is not the answer. Making Election Day a federal holiday, as well as requiring early voting periods and optional mail-in ballots would encourage participation, especially by working people. Adopting uniform national standards for voter registration, ballots, and election procedures in federal elections would reduce the amount of waiting for ordinary voters at the polls, insure fairness, as well as increasing opportunities for participation in the best form of government on the planet.