Y'know, the hope in the air. It's strangely tangible, even though things are tough all over.

Isn't it interesting that at the very end of Bush's reign, after all the patting of his own back and sniping about getting credit for the wonderful things he did for us, a miracle happened.

Not a tragedy. Nope, we had a genuine miracle--at least as far as our modern times will allow. We had a huge plane crash and no one died.

Who saw that one coming?

And, then again, maybe we all did. We are all strangely happy about this governmental conversion.

Maybe all is too big a word. Trust me, there are bits of grumbling from those who voted for the other side. But not bitingly so, just in that they lost. And they don't like losing. But I haven't heard about Obama being the anti-Christ lately.

He's not the anti-Christ. In a couple of days, he's the President. He's been President-elect for a few months. And soon he'll be in charge.

I probably won't see the inauguration live on TV. I'll be working, and there aren't any TVs at my office. But I'm sure I'll see it rerun on Tuesday night.

Tuesday is symbolic, but it's not the work that must be done. It's not the heavy lifting.

But the hope in the air makes everything seem possible. It's a lifting of the fog of fear. If you reacted negatively to the way Bush and Cheney have been talking about their eight years of doom, it's because the fear isn't working anymore. They can't scare us into thinking their actions were good for this country. The boogyman has left the building.

One of my personal hopes, however, is that Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber learn how to shut their mouths. Why is it we haven't heard much from McCain, but these two reality TV cast-offs can't stop flocking to a camera?

I was at the local Circuit City yesterday, checking out the liquidation. 25% off. I wanted 50% off (because it was off of CC's rather high sticker prices, and 25% is pretty much a regular sale), and I wasn't the only one. There was a long enough line of people waiting to buy things, but about the same amount (myself included) walked out with nothing.

But no shoving. No pushing. Everyone was rather polite. We're not killing ourselves for a little bit of merchandise.

Maybe nothing has changed. Maybe it's all in my head. Maybe it's always been this way, and I've been putting this dark cloud in my head.

I still had to slam on my brakes yesterday because someone ran a stop sign right in front of me. And there was this guy standing outside of a burrito shop near work who, right after I got out of my car, started hassling me for change. And Wal-Mart is still filled with some of the worst tempered people in the world. Is it because they hate having to shop at Wal-Mart, or is it something about that store? Low prices equal the sick fear that things aren't going to get better?

I don't think things will miraculously change after Tuesday. I don't think people will stop fighting each other for stupid reasons not fully explained. I don't think the Dow will immediately rise back to where it was last summer. I don't think all cars will suddenly stop using gas and become hyper efficient. And I probably won't win the lottery either.

But I do think our national mood has lifted--even in the midst of this tragic economic downturn. And that will help us float above the muck until things truly do get better.

Matt Worley believes in the trickle up theory of hope.