Whether you are a republican or democrat, today is an historic day in American history. To harken back to a blog posting written just after the November presidential election, for many Americans, especially if you are white, it is difficult to understand the significance of Barack Obama becoming the next President of the United States.

Since the election, we have seen many of the white television pundits speak to the immense sea change this signifies in American culture. But unless you are a minority who has lived through oppression or discrimination - like blacks in the U.S. who grew up in the Jim Crow South - one cannot truly comprehend the magnitude of the reality that the President Obama is a man of color.

Certainly many of us can only imagine what it was like to be a black student as southern schools went through integration in the 1960s. Think about being one of say 12 black children integrating into a high school of 500, or being called the "N" word as if it didn't matter, having to enter buildings through back doors, or having to use a bathroom or water fountain designated by color.

What is more amazing is that these conditions existed just 40 years ago, and sadly, racism still exists today in some sectors of American society. But as Washington Redskins linebacker London Fletcher told Sports Illustrated's Peter King for a "Monday Morning QB" column, "This changes the perception of how African-Americans are looked at by society, and also how African-Americans look at themselves. Did I really think I could be anything I wanted to be as a kid? Was it really possible? No, but for it to actually happen now is a great thing for our country.''

Indeed, Obama's election is a watershed moment in history - like when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, or akin to the pure elation that some East Germans must have felt when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down. And the election of Mr. Obama clearly serves as inspiration for the Mustached American people. We see hope that we can once again assume positions of leadership and respect as we attained in the 1970s.

Where once Mustached Americans were trusted White House aides, in the 1980s and 1990s we became relegated to nail technicians. Where once we were represented on television each evening by the most trusted man in the nation - Walter Cronkite - today we are lucky to be a radio meteorologist in Grand Junction, Colorado.

But things have changed for people of Mustached American descent - especially in 2008. President Obama's trusted aide David Axelrod and the president's choice for Attorney General (Eric Holder) have vaulted the lip curtain back into national politics. Brad Pitt and George Clooney are wearing mustaches. And Jason Giambi helped usher the greatness of cookie dusting back into baseball.

Yes, there are greater days ahead and I wish to lay out my intentions for the American Mustache Institute and the people of Mustached American descent we represent. Moving forward, we will:

• Lobby President-elect Obama to grow a presidential mustache sometime during his first term to demonstrate solidarity with another disenfranchised group.
  
• Continue our work in identifying Mustached Americans who can run for public offices as we work toward the day when we, too, can celebrate one of our own reaching the nation's highest office.
  
• Continue to lobby Congress to ensure that Burt Reynolds birthday - February 11 - is made into a federal holiday.
  
• Push for our annual event - 'Stache Bash - to evolve into the "Million Mustache March."
  
• Battle the Beard Congress, who first lobbied and helped institute the Federal Mustache Tax Amendment in 1965 (which ironically was a ride on the National Voting Rights Act).
  
• Work with local, state and federal governments to ensure that police recruits continue to be issued mustaches when joining law enforcement organizations. - Step up efforts to pressure corporate America to place Mustached Americans in executive roles.
  
• Continue pressuring traditional and new media to highlight the challenges faced by Mustached Americans - such as the recent disgusting display by the Sylvania Township (Ohio) suspension of a Mustached American officer.
  
• Reach across the aisle to the other facial hair lobbyists to pass tax credits for non-shavers. This has an economic benefit and green impact as it results in lower energy use and a decrease in hair-based landfills.