My mother and I always talked politics. Even when we were supposed to be discussing something else, our discussions inevitably wandered back to whatever was going on in the world. It was our most comfortable topic and we were both passionate about it.

Not every one in my family was of the same mind. My elder sister is another dyed-in-the-wool liberal like my mother and me. My younger sister is a Republican. I think my brother is a swing voter; certainly politics is not something he follows as closely as my mother and me. My dad… well, my dad is a mystery, although I am pretty confident that he is a liberal (this is a guy who failed out of Harvard in the 50s because he was spending too much time volunteering at the Red Cross). In any case, they all live in Massachusetts, which is serious blue country.

My mother was hardcore liberal. She wanted Bush impeached. She wanted our civil liberties restored. She wanted to have a government she could be proud of and which the rest of the world would respect.

In August, I told my mother that we would get the bastards out of power. Actually, I might have used the word "scumbags." The held my hand and said "Good!" She died less than two weeks later.

As the election approached and more and more discussion focused on Pennsylvania, I was concerned that not only would we be stuck with more misleadership, but that I would not be able to keep that promise.

Thank you, my fellow Pennsylvanians and my fellow Americans. None of you knew you were helping a computer geek in Pittsburgh keep a promise to his dead mother, but you did it. I will never forget this.

Thank you.