The people of the United States elected their first African American president yesterday in the person of Barack Obama. Wherever you fall on the Democrat or Republican scale, whether you consider yourself liberal, moderate or conservative, it must be acknowledged that this is an exciting milestone for our country.

It was exceptionally moving to see the reactions of people as they heard the news. Oprah Winfrey and Jesse Jackson were shown with tears in their eyes on TV, and while I don’t want to take away from their emotions, I was much more interested in seeing the thousands upon thousands of everyday citizens-of every color-celebrating with cheers, dancing, laughter and tears. I’m thrilled that I was able to experience and participate in this historic election.

Our new president will not have any substantive time to relax, and he certainly won’t be able to rest on his laurels. This country needs a lot of help. The question now becomes: Will Obama be able to facilitate the “change” he spoke of so much throughout the campaign? Particularly, will he be good for manufacturers? Please share your thoughts by adding a comment below.