Click the play button to see what Jack and our viewers had to say. (PHOTO CREDIT: AP PHOTO)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
There was perhaps no more profound way to slam the door on eight years of the Bush administration than to elect the first African-American to replace him. The symbolism is powerful; the history is breathtaking. We changed a lot more than our political orientation last night. The country finally grew up.
Something stirred us in a profound way. The disillusionment and disappointment of failed polices everywhere you look were the catalysts. Barack Obama was the spark. Watching him in Grant Park last night, it occurred to me that just like Hemingway was born to write and Tiger Woods to hit a golf ball, this man, Obama, was born to do this, to lead.
Watch: Cafferty: African-American Pres
He has single-handedly carried the country on his back beyond the racial boundaries that have divided us for more than 200 years. That's a pretty good day's work, but he has done more. He has rekindled hope and optimism in a country that was running short on both.
When he says, "Yes we can," it's hard not to believe him.
Here’s my question to you: What does it mean that the U.S. has its first African-American president?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Brian from Miami, Florida writes:
Perhaps Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream really has come true, because I (and millions of other Americans) elected him not because of the color of his skin, but rather for his character. We didn't see a black man; we saw a great leader and communicator who has been able to excite the American people once again.
Melanie from Iowa writes:
As a baby boomer it means a lot. I'm thankful that my generation got to see this wonderful turn of events and that so many young people took an active role in this historic election.
Rob from New Freedom, Penn. writes:
I sat there last night and wished my Dad had lived to encounter the feelings that I, and many Americans felt. He died 2 years ago, after working 42 years for local government. I saw his sacrifice and hard work scoffed at, and I watched him be turned down for promotions although he was more qualified than others. I heard him speak about the days when he had to take my mom into the back of a restaurant to get something to eat, and after paying, be told that he had to take it somewhere (off the property) to eat it. To see someone finally be given the highest office in the land because he was the most qualified, and to know that it took more than African Americans to vote him in is humbling. I told someone today...it took all types of Americans to achieve this, and I am proud of my American extended family for making this to happen.
John from Arizona writes:
Jack, when Barack, Michelle, Malia and Sasha Obama move into the iconic White House (with their new puppy), they will be moving in next door, in a figurative and very real way. All Americans are eventually going to embrace them, and ultimately become much more comfortable with their neighbors – all of their neighbors – as a result.