Last night, Senator Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States. His acceptance speech was notable to me for its somber tone. The victory event included no pop songs, confetti, dancing, or balloon drop. The country has a lot of work to do, and you could see that President-elect Obama knows it.

But before we can do that work, we need to heal our divisions. I’m not talking about the divisions resulting from a hard-fought campaign, or those created under the Bush administration. I’m talking about the divisions that have polarized the country over the last 40 years. This polarization has left the major political factions in Washington so opposed to each other that they’d rather block a good idea from the other party than appear to “support the enemy.” I’m talking about the divisions in the country that cause citizens of one political stripe to say that they “hate” those of the other. We can’t get anything done if that fractiousness continues.

Barack Obama is a transformational figure for all the obvious reasons, and he has won a decisive victory. But another thing really struck me about the election results. Let’s look at the situation:

Obama’s opponent shared the party with one of the least popular sitting presidents in history. There is a severe economic crisis going on which most people are worried about it. We’re in the middle of an unpopular war which Obama has taken a stand against. He also drew huge crowds, inspired millions of young people to vote, enjoyed a huge funding advantage, and by all accounts, ran a brilliantly organized campaign.

In the history of US electoral politics, any one or two of those advantages would have translated to a landslide victory. Yesterday it did in the electoral college, but about 47% of the country still voted against him. That’s more than 50 million citizens. It is clear to me that we remain a nation divided. If we want to solve our problems, that must change.

In his acceptance speech, President-elect Obama acknowledged this:

“In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let’s resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let’s remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, ‘We are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.’

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.”

This sentiment is not new. Nearly every newly-elected president makes a similar pledge. I am hoping that this time it comes to fruition.

* Update 10-Nov: This site has an inspirational way of starting the process I’m describing.