This morning, even on this blog, there's a lot of commentary about Antonio Villaraigosa's status as the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since, as the Times puts it, "the city's pioneer days."

The election is a landmark, and one of which Los Angeles' Latinos can well be proud. That being said, Villaraigosa has pledged to be a mayor for "all the people" -- and Latinos should, more than anyone, be hoping that will be the case. For Villaraigosa is going to be one of the country's most visible Latino elected officials, and rightly or wrongly (as with most trailblazers), a lot of non-Latino Angelenos and Americans will be watching to see if, indeed, he is both willing and able to transcend the narrow and often destructive forces of ethnic and racial politics.