I woke up with chills this election morning. It wasn't the crisp fall air, it was a sense of the new possibilities that lie ahead. It was because I have witnessed an epic battle for the presidency that has awakened the heart of America. It was because I feel in my bones that those alive today--and those who remain with us in spirit--will have the great honor of witnessing a giant leap toward the fulfillment of Martin Luther King's dreams and the dreams of many others who sacrificed everything for justice and equality. The rewards of pain, blood and sacrifice are rarely this tangible. There are few words to describe this moment I feel coming on: The best man will win, regardless of the color of his skin and the American Spirit that moves mountains seems more alive and well than ever.

That is where we begin after the inauguration. And it's a very fine place to start, but where we and President Obama venture after that is going to depend on each one of us:

Accountability and toughness is the only road I see to help Obama fulfill his potential and have a successful presidency. Accountability and participation is the only road I see left with any light of real change in its path .Our previous willingness to sit back and let our leaders consistently fail us-- without holding them accountable--is what made room for the destructive influences that have surrounded our leaders and destroyed their potential to do good or fight back on behalf of the people. Obama is not immune; no leader can any fight destructive influence alone. We must support Obama and the better members of Congress on the road to change, because if we step back and continue to allow destructive influences to be the loudest voice at the table, a new direction is simply not possible.

Here's why a good leader would welcome being held accountable:

A president has some real ammunition and negotiating leverage when he can say the following with a strait face to a powerful interests that is pushing an unfair, destructive policy: "The Congress must pass this law you don't like, and I must sign it, or the people will soon vote me out and also all those whose ways you paid into office. If we do not pass this law, the public will put new leaders in place of your friends, and you can take your chances that way." We are Obama's "out," we are the "out" for any good reps in Congress. Without us, any American leaders that do not please the status quo powers that have been taking us apart will be subject to direct, unmerciful attacks on their office and character, until one way or another they are replaced by someone more compliant. Counterintuitive as it may seem, holding leaders accountable is the favor all good leaders want from their constituents.

It seems clear that we can no longer afford anything but high expectations of our leaders if we are to keep our heads above water and eventually swim to shore. And history shows that massive, sustained support is what a leader requires in order to be able to do the right thing and make substantial change. If there is no sustained movement of support, and if we don't hold Obama's feet to the fire and do the same with each and every member of Congress, we will prevent them from being able to make significant change.

So we all will play a huge part in whether Obama is able to fulfill his unique potential to become a great leader--perhaps even one of the greatest leaders the world has known. We must do our part to enable him to do his part. Just as our absence and apathy has played a key role in the failing government and duplicitous leadership we have seen for so long, our sustained participation will pave the way to a better future.

Put yet another way, for those who truly want change---and there are some who do not -- our work has just begun. If we vote, go home, and expect a President Obama to take care of things for us, we will make room for those already working to replace Obama's potential for greatness with the same self-serving, short-sighted agendas that have led us so close to ruin on many fronts. If we vote and then sit on the sidelines, we forfeit the opportunity to help Obama become a great leader.

Obama will be the leader we enable and require him to be. Making excuses for Obama will not protect or help him along the road to greatness and change. So today I vote for Obama. Even more importantly, today I publicly vote for a massive, sustained movement that enables and requires our first African American president and our members of Congress to be the greatest leaders they can be.