Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States. While I will openly admit I didn’t vote for the Democratic candidate, I still have high hopes for his presidency. Our president-elect has a tough job ahead of him, and I pray that he is up for the challenge.

I sincerely hope he will be the breath of fresh air that our country needs and that he will be able to affect the positive change necessary to strengthen this nation. But he will not be able to do it alone. He will need the support of the House and the Senate, as well as the American people.

I was heartened by John McCain’s speech, conceding the election to Obama. He spoke of cooperation, rather than partisan politics. That is what this country will need to thrive in the future.

Even though my candidate may not have been victorious, I am still glad to have exercised my Constitutional right to vote. And I’m proud to say I didn’t need a star-shaped doughnut with patriotic sprinkles or a cup of free coffee (with cream and two sugars, please) to sweeten the deal, so to speak. Heck, I didn’t even get a sticker to prove to my boss that I actually had a valid reason for being late to work on Tuesday.

No, I didn’t need any added inducement to get me to my designated polling station at 6 a.m. on Election Day. For me, knowing that I was doing my civic duty and that my vote would be counted along with those of my fellow Americans was enough of a reward.

But apparently, not everyone felt that way. Silly me. I thought participating in the political/electoral process, helping to select local, state and national leaders was reason enough to visit the polls. Obviously, I was mistaken. Why else would corporations like Krispy Kreme and Starbucks make such offers? Could they be trying to capitalize on the electoral process as a marketing opportunity? Oh, no, perish the thought. I’m sure they were just trying to encourage people to get out and vote.