I live in a world of fiction. I’ve always subscribed to the theory that minds are more easily changed with stories than with speeches. And while reality often disappoints, I’ve been able to spend years alongside the honorable heroes, charming leaders and valiant world servants of television.

But as of tonight, as of this very moment, all that has changed. No longer is Jed Bartlett the best man to occupy the oval office. No longer do the highest ideals belong to Sam Seaborn. No longer is Toby Ziegler the leading authority on sparkling oratory or Josh Lymon the most impressive political operative.

Now we have a real hero on our hands; someone so good and smart and optimistic and inspiring that it’s difficult to believe that he’s really real. But he is.

Barack Obama has a story; he has more than one. He has a rags to riches story, an underdog story and an epic love story. He has an intellect that can dazzle even the most elitist scholar, a presence so powerful that he commands every ounce of attention in the room and a smile so endearing that one can’t help but place all their faith in him and his high ideals. His campaign is a story of struggle, of controversy, of change and the possibility of greatness; his election is a story of hope.

Obama and what he means for the future of The United States seems too good to be true, a TV ideal. But here’s the thing, this time, it really is true and no fiction could ever compare.