Last night, I had the the astounding privilege of watching my country chose the 44th President of the United States. It was truly a monumental day, to see the first bi-racial man elected president. As I watched him give his speech, I saw the millions of people in the crowds, cheering, crying, holding each other - and looking to this man in an almost messianc light. It is a tremendous achievement to show the world and ourselves how far we have come in the last 100 years regarding race.

That being said, I did not vote for Barack Obama. I voted for a different man, one who perhaps represented in HIS age and skin color and party, too much of what we have had in America for too long. One who perhaps was unable to truly break down predjudices against HIMSELF, enough to get people from all sides to truly listen. This was a man, that when I heard him speak, it was not the voice of charisma that i heard, and there was nothing hypnotizing about his words. It was the simple, naked voice of the wounded, the tired, the undeniably strong: the ragged voice of a true American. And when I saw his face, I did not see the face of youth, of boundless energy and naivety: I saw the face of wisdom. I saw the body of a tortured prisoner, and the teary eyes of a man who so loves his country, he would die for it. I felt the spirit of a man who truly believes in the principles our country was founded on, and wanted to spend his last days on earth getting us back on track to restoring those principles, both in this land and in every heart of every American.

John McCain has and will always have, my unwavering respect. If I could shake one person's hand in this world, it would be his. He has restored my patriotism and my love of country. And I have never heard a more heart-felt, truly humble and genuine speech as I did last night when he conceded. He said last night, that running for this office was the greatest honor of his life. Well John, voting for you will no doubt be one of mine.

As to the future, I will respect my President for his office, and I will throw aside my ill-feelings and I will work with him to make America better as best I can. I do not believe he was the right man for the job, but I hope and pray that his 4 year term will bring good to our world. I hope to God that the facts i have learned about him over the past 7 months are not true, or that even if they were, that God will help mold his heart and help him to be wise in his decisions. If he is truly willing to work with "all of us", he will not be so radical in the plans he has set forth during his campaign.

My prayer every morning for the next 4 years will be that every American will realize that we live in the greatest land on earth. That we are a country not of socialist ideas, but built on the idea that if you work HARD enough, if you NEVER quit, you can have your wildest dreams. I hope they will all realize that the purpose of the government is not to "fix all your problems", but simply to oversee. It is not its purpose to be a charitable organization, who takes money from those they deem rich enough and then give it to those them deem worthy of it. That responsibility belongs to each of us individually. I love my country, I love this crazy melting pot of individuals. And I only pray we will be stronger for this new President regarding the issues that matter to us most.

Today I am flying out to Los Angeles, California for two major music conventions, the TAXI ROAD RALLY 08' and the ASCAP/BILLBOARD FILM AND TV CONVENTION. With me, I will be taking a brand new recorded song...

It's called "Dear God, Please Bless America", and it is a patriotic, uniting song which I wrote and recorded with the help of an amazing black gospel choir, along with many musicians of different race and religious backgrounds. I think its the perfect time for this song, and I feel very confident someone will take interest in it. I shall post it next week!

I am excited to be going - to feel the rush of the plane, the roar of its engines beneath my feet; to be lifted into the clouds above all this worlds ugliness. To feel hope again. I am excited to have 10 days to myself, to restore myself and to devote my hours to nothing but music. It's been a long year, and my fire has dwindled. I need a spark again. I need to believe in my dreams again.

May God Bless me on my journey, you on yours, our President, America, and this volatile world, in which we must find a way to come together, or ultimately perish.

Much love,
Anj