Here in Washington, the excitement is building. President-elect Barack Obama and his family have moved into the Hay-Adams Hotel, just two blocks down from our building (and admittedly causing a few headaches for our commute to and from work...though certainly worth it for the girls to get started in their new school on time.)

But whether you are a Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green, independent or otherwise, there's no more special time in our country - and particularly this city - than the inauguration of a new president. It is truly an awesome thing to watch the smooth and peaceful transition of power from one president to the next, especially when they're from different parties. It really gets to the core of what makes America so great and so admired by nations around the world.

Once in office, Mr. Obama will face some incredibly tough challenges brought on by unique and challenging times in the world. Americans are struggling to keep their homes, much less heat them. They're scraping to be able to put food on the table and pay their bills. And they're doing all this while worrying about keeping their job this year.

Like most Americans, we offer him our support, our assistance and God's blessings as he leads our nation.

And we hope he'll be guided by a promise he made in his acceptance speech for the Democratic Party nomination in Denver, where Mr. Obama pledged:

"In an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class."

Indeed. It's a promise that Mr. Obama and others seeking elected office made to hard-working American families repeatedly throughout the fall campaign. And it's a promise we hope a President Obama uses to drive his agenda in the White House - and that other elected officials follow suit.