gym class heroes chokehold

This was the most beautiful experience of my life and I have absolutely no regrets.

Tuesday night was enormously emotional for us all and I could not be more proud of my father.  The person you saw on that stage was the gracious, honest and tender human being whom I have had the privilege to call "dad" for 24 years. My girls, Shannon and Heather, were there filming and taking photographs; however, this is the first time in the history of the Blogette that I have decided to keep the documentation for myself and my family and not publish it on the site. I hope everyone understands that I don't feel as open to sharing such an emotional night as I once did.  It is not that I don't believe our readers would be sensitive to the material, it is that I don't believe that some in the media would.

I want to thank all of you who have been with us on this ride.  We've received thousands of emails in the last few days and your words of encouragement and thanks have meant the world to Shannon, Heather, my family, and me.  I am always thrilled when we get frequent email from voters, both young and old, who have felt more connected to this moment in history and to my Dad as a result of this site. Thank you all for your support, prayers and encouragement. I hope that by showing you the perspective of a presidential campaign through the eyes of the candidate's daughter, it has made the process more accessible to readers of all ages.  Hopefully, in the future, another crazy, independent child of a politician will also draw back the curtain on a journey that so few people get the chance to see up close, and not adhere to an image that is long overdue for change. This has truly been the most liberating experience of my life and I am grateful for every moment.

Nothing like this happens without the support of some amazing people.  Frank, Melissa, Claire, Diane, Rob, Nancy and Josh have always been working behind the scenes and on the road to make this a success. I know it hasn't always been easy, but I thank them so much for their perseverance and patience. They have meant so much to me through this experience and I truly could not have done it without them.

Which brings me to Shannon and Heather. Quite simply, I would not have survived without you. You have been my friends through some of the highest, and lowest, points of my life. Through the good times and bad, you were always there for me and this would not have been possible without you. You are my best friends in the entire world and I will always love you both.  You are two of the most incredible people I have ever known and have the honor of calling my best friends.

Finally, I want to thank the two people who made this all possible, my mom and dad. Not the business owner and the candidate, but the mother and father whose strength, generosity and selflessness have been such a source of inspiration to me and who are the core of who I am today.  I am so incredibly thankful for their love and support.  I am very much my father's daughter and share many personality traits with him, but it is my mother who has always taught me to retain grace and class and to maintain a sense of humor during turbulent times.  She has showcased those traits to me more than ever in the past year and a half.

To everyone else, you know who you are.

And now this experience ends. So, where do I go from here? I ask my readers for time while I figure that out. Stay tuned and don't get rid of this bookmark just yet!

In the meantime, I am decompressing in Sedona, eating my Dad's grilled ribs with my brothers, and playing "Rock Band" with Bridget.

With much love and gratitude to all our badass readers!!!

xoxoxo,

Meghan

Final Campaign Song of the Day: Dad's remarks from last night...

"Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening. My friends, we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly."

"A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him. To congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love. In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving. This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight."

"I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too. But we both recognize that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound."

"A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States."

"Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth. Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer him my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day. Though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise."

"Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain. These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face. I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited."

"Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that. It's natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again. We fought - we fought as hard as we could. And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours."

"I am so deeply grateful to all of you for the great honor of your support and for all you have done for me. I wish the outcome had been different, my friends. The road was a difficult one from the outset, but your support and friendship never wavered. I cannot adequately express how deeply indebted I am to you."

"I'm especially grateful to my wife, Cindy, my children, my dear mother and all my family, and to the many old and dear friends who have stood by my side through the many ups and downs of this long campaign. I have always been a fortunate man, and never more so for the love and encouragement you have given me. You know, campaigns are often harder on a candidate's family than on the candidate, and that's been true in this campaign. All I can offer in compensation is my love and gratitude and the promise of more peaceful years ahead."

"I am also, of course, very thankful to Governor Sarah Palin, one of the best campaigners I have ever seen, and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength... her husband Todd and their five beautiful children... for their tireless dedication to our cause, and the courage and grace they showed in the rough and tumble of a presidential campaign. We can all look forward with great interest to her future service to Alaska, the Republican Party and our country."

"To all my campaign comrades, from Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, to every last volunteer who fought so hard and valiantly, month after month, in what at times seemed to be the most challenged campaign in modern times, thank you so much. A lost election will never mean more to me than the privilege of your faith and friendship."

"I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I'll leave that to others to determine. Every candidate makes mistakes, and I'm sure I made my share of them. But I won't spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been."

"This campaign was and will remain the great honor of my life, and my h