Is it OK to feel this good?

Is it OK to hold on for a long, long time to the looks on those faces in Chicago’s Grant Park early Wednesday morning?

Is it OK to believe, again, that there is a greatness in this country that can survive even the worst betrayals?

Is it OK to believe that our country grew up this week, that we finally took a hard look at the misery and embarrassment and decided we had to do better?

I know it seems a little strange to have to ask, but after the last eight years of meanness and division and grand schemes gone wrong, it’s not easy to be sure about anything. There’s some wariness. It’s impossible to know how far apart we are. We might have to reintroduce ourselves to each other now that The Decider is finally leaving the room.

The deep despair of four years ago, the realization that the country could be scared into repeating a horrible mistake, has held on like a bad rash. I don’t think it’s possible to overestimate the damage that’s been done to the basic business of talking to each other. I’ve had exchanges with people during these dark years that were stupid and insulting and darn near moronic sometimes. I am not proud of them. I got caught up in that strange competition to see which side could take the meanest shot. It was a competition that seemed to go on and on.

Tuesday night was sweet, not just because Barack Obama won, but because the man he defeated showed such grace in defeat. John McCain’s classy concession was a welcome attempt to signal an end to a hard, ugly season — maybe a hard, ugly political era. Even some boorish boos from Arizona Republicans could not diminish its healing promise.

So I hit the sack way past my bedtime on election night feeling really good about the possibilities. The only guy with a legitimate shot at lifting us from this deep, dark hole we’re in had won. And he had made us look a whole lot better to the rest of the world.

Wednesday was the best day in a long long time. There were a lot of high-fives but very little of that awful bluster that had accompanied the Republican victory four years ago. Some of us confessed to tears in front of the TV.

I did make the mistake of turning on the radio to see if even the really hard core hatemongers had been softened by Obama’s inspiring victory. They hadn’t. They were still taking about Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright and sounding pathetically trapped in their own foul juices. They will probably continue to feed strange needs in those conspiracy fans who spend a lot of time indoors. But I have to believe fewer and fewer people will bother to listen.

Yesterday, for reason and balance, I called Richard the Plumber. Richard really is a plumber. He has a license. And he’s really smart. He’s joined me in going a little crazy over what the current president has been up to.

I asked him if it’s OK to feel good about Obama winning the election. He said it definitely is, that Obama is moving us in the right direction.

“I think there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic,” he said.

I’m going with Richard. I’m going to be hopeful and hold on to all the good feelings from Grant Park.

And I want one of those bumper stickers Richard just ordered. He ordered 30 of them. They say “Joe the Plumber, Meet Barack the President.”

That is so good. It’s clever and funny and not mean-spirited. That’s the difference now. We can have fun again without mocking and ridiculing and howling.

It’s better. It really is. We did a good thing Tuesday.

bkerr@projo.com