From President-elect Obama’s weekly radio address:

From landing on the moon, to sequencing the human genome, to inventing the Internet, America has been the first to cross that new frontier because we had leaders who paved the way: leaders like President Kennedy, who inspired us to push the boundaries of the known world and achieve the impossible; leaders who not only invested in our scientists, but who respected the integrity of the scientific process.

Because the truth is that promoting science isn’t just about providing resources—it’s about protecting free and open inquiry. It’s about ensuring that facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology. It’s about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it’s inconvenient—especially when it’s inconvenient. Because the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us.

Amen to that.

This isn’t a political blog, so I’ve kept my often strong opinions on the issues to myself. Until now. Though I don’t intend to make political commentary a habit, I couldn’t let such a momentous event in the history of the United States pass without comment.

We Americans have managed, against formidable odds, to elect to our highest office not only a person of color but a person of intellect, education, and achievement who understands that our country needs leaders and decision-makers who are our best and brightest and who are willing to serve the best interests of the nation and its people without regard to partisanism, cronyism or their own ambitions.

This historic event has special significance for me. I grew up in Texas during the turbulent days of the Civil Rights Movement and school desegregation. As African American families began moving into the relatively new suburbs of Fort Worth, my father, an old-school bigot and xenophobe, sacrificed his family’s financial and emotional security and the quality of his children’s education to his irrational fear of people of color. He tolerated all sorts of degenerate behavior from his white neighbors, but when a perfectly nice black family moved in down the street he sold the only home I had ever known—a house he built on a street he named—and moved us into a cheap tract home in a “safe” redneck exurb. My more worldly-wise and open-minded mother, who taught me to appreciate such urban amenities as libraries, museums, theaters, and parks, got caught up in the hysteria only to find herself exiled on a cultural and social desert island. This ultimately destroyed my family and drove my mother to alcoholism and an early death. As petty as it may sound, Tuesday was the first time in my 35-year estrangement from my father that I wished we were still on speaking terms so that I could savor his comeuppance.

But enough about me. President-elect Obama won my vote during the campaign with both the content and quality of his speeches, his performance in the debates, and his rejection of smear politics. His acceptance speech was deeply moving, but he really won my heart with his promise to his daughters that a new puppy would accompany the family to the White House.

There’s a long tradition of purebreds in the White House, from to George Washington’s Black and Tan Coonhounds and John Tyler’s Italian Greyhound to the Bushes’ English Springer Spaniel and Scotties. Though there are many perfectly legitimate reasons for choosing a purebred puppy, my first thought was that choosing a shelter or rescue dog would be more consistent with the principles Barack Obama stands for.

I was already drafting a blog post about this when I took a break to watch today’s press conference. After outlining his strategy for economic recovery, national security, and energy independence, the President-elect answered a question about his choice of a First Canine by saying that it would need to be hypoallergenic because daughter Malia is allergic, but that “our preference is to get a shelter dog.” I cried (again).

I’m sure the Obamas will be deluged with offers of assistance from shelters and rescue groups around the country to help them find just the right puppy to become a part of the First Family. What a lucky dog.

(For the record, I appreciated the spirit of reconciliation and cooperation expressed in John McCain’s concession speech as well as the apparently genuine pride and good will expressed by George W. Bush in his address congratulating the President-elect. Maybe it’s not too much to hope that these are the first steps toward a post-partisan future. )

I want to give a quick shout-out to fellow artist and Bisbee neighbor Kate Drew-Wilkinson, who made me a spontaneous gift on election night of a beautiful pair of crystal teardrop earrings. Thank you, Kate—I’ll treasure them as a memento of a momentous evening.

• Wikipedia: List of Presidential Pets
• President Adams’ Alligator and Other White House Pets by Peter W. Barnes and Cheryl Shaw Barnes
• First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Best Friends by Roy Rowan and Brooke Janis
• Wackiest White House Pets by Kathryn Gibbs Davis and David A. Johnson
• All the Presidents’ Pets by Mo Rocca (satire)