The Queen (May She Live Forever) and I enjoyed last night's speeches by Arnold and the First Lady. (No, we didn't really enjoy the twins but I'm sure that despite how young my wife may appear, neither of us were the target audience.)

In my opinion, the most notable quote from Laura Bush was this one:

As we watch the people of Iraq and Afghanistan take the first steps to build free countries, I am reminded of what Vaclav Havel once told me. Vaclav Havel -- playwright, intellectual, freedom fighter, political prisoner, then president of the Czech Republic -- said to me, "Laura, you know, democracy is hard; it requires the participation of everybody."

I think of how long it took us in our country, even though we were given such a perfect document by our founders. It took almost 100 years after the founders declared that all men are created equal to abolish slavery. And not until 84 years ago this month did American women get the right to vote.

Our nation has not always lived up to its ideals, yet those ideals have never ceased to guide us.

They expose our flaws, and they lead us to mend them. We are the beneficiaries of the work of the generations before us, and it is each generation's responsibility to continue that work.