And the winner is....

They/we got it right!
David Cook is the new American Idol---and all is right with the world.

Last night, we had the pleasure of viewing the amazing finale over at Kasa Kurko's where we could see it in HDTV in all it's glitz and glory. The show was more than a Las Vegas extravaganza with all the celebrity musicians and musical numbers. When it got to the very end and Ryan was ready to announce the winner, we, too were eager, excited and holding our breath. We held our breath because John realized he had set the DVR to record it for only two hours and he was convinced that it would cut out before we knew the winner. Indeed, that self-fulfilling prophecy played out to Hollywood cinematic standards. "And the winner is . . ." And the transmission ended. Right there. It was classic timing yet I don't doubt the collective wail that we let out was heard all the way to the space station.

We quickly ran down to John's computer to go online and learn the winning results. However, I had to watch the video online this morning to see the actual finale. I noticed I held breath allover again as Cook was announced. His genuine emotion and response had me in tears. His loving support of Archuleta even through his final (and oh, so aptly titled last song, "This Is The Time of My Life") only served as confirmation that the right guy won.

Yes, I know that I blogged about the other David winning because I fell into the same mindset of race consciousness that all his giggly-prepubescent teen fans would overload the phone votes; and that of course, rockers don't win. Glad to have seen the error of my race consciousness ways. And a gracious nod to Simon for his public apology to David Cook for his short-sighted commentary on Tuesday night. Humble pie can be tasty on the right occasion.

David Cook deserved to win.

Not that Archuleta doesn't have the voice of a saint and reallllly nailed it on Tuesday night. But he is too immature to be our Idol. I cringed watching him try to parody with Mike Meyers as Guru Pitka; and when he did the homage to "Risky Business" you knew that he was trying to imitate what he saw, but he didn't get it. The kid has got enormous talent and presence but he is young and he isn't capable of being our Idol. This is America, home of rock and roll and it is about time that a rocker (and a nice one at that, right, Simon?) represented us.

The ease and grace that Cook had on Tuesday night followed him into the big finale. When he sang with Z Z Top he was so at home in the spotlight, so comfortable in his own skin, I knew he was the Idol. When Jordin Sparks came out to sing, I knew in my heart and head that David Cook had won and he had to win because we couldn't have another insipid winner. Cook was the only one who fit the bill as a headliner. When all the other Idol-ers were singing their respective numbers --with the exception of Syesha, Carly and Michael Johns (who was most definitely voted off way too soon)--they looked, danced and sounded like high-schoolers. They were trying (literally and figuratively) but no one had the stage presence to be a headliner. Even Archuleta was not in his element but David Cook was and is.

The Springsteen-esque working class bartender rocker, David Cook being voted as this year's American Idol somehow gives me hope about the state of the nation as well. 97 million votes and with a winning 12 million over the other candidate makes me think this country can and will do it right in the November election. And after also watching the season finale of "Boston Legal" where the Alan Shore character gave a monologue about the state of our United States of America, I tearfully felt hopeful again.

Now I'm Cookin' !