Wednesday, November 05, 2008

President Barack Obama. Perhaps the Civil War was worthwhile, after all.

I'm taking the day off on Wednesday. Comment if you wish. We'll consider the local races on Thursday. Right now, there are larger matters to consider.

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President Obama, an editorial in The Guardian.

They did it. They really did it. So often crudely caricatured by others, the American people yesterday stood in the eye of history and made an emphatic choice for change for themselves and the world. Though bombarded by a blizzard of last-minute negative advertising that should shame the Republican party, American voters held their nerve and elected Barack Obama as their new president to succeed George Bush. Elected him, what is more, by a clearer majority than one of those bitter narrow margins that marked the last two elections.

Having snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in 2000 and 2004 it felt at times fated that the Democrats would somehow complete a hat-trick of failures on election day 2008. Instead, fuelled by unprecedented financial support, the key things went right for them yesterday, from the moment just after midnight when Dixville Notch voted 15 to six for Mr Obama (the first time the early-voting New Hampshire hamlet had gone for a Democrat in 40 years), through to the early Obama success last night in the prized swing state of Pennsylvania and on into the battleground areas of middle America.

In the last two presidential elections, the American people divided down the middle, producing a both a geographical and a demographic divide that seemed increasingly set in stone. Blue Democratic America consisted of the west and the east coasts plus the upper Midwest. Red Republican America covered the swaths in between. Women, minorities, the poor and the highly educated voted Democratic. Men, white people, the rich and the religious delivered for the Republicans. In the mind of Mr Bush's strategist Karl Rove this division was the template of 21st century American politics, a base for a conservative counter-attack against 20th-century liberalism.

Rove's America was not just turned on its head yesterday. It was broken up and recast in a very different mould. One of Mr Obama's many achievements has been his refusal to accept the permanence of the blue-red divide. He has reached out across the divide to states and voters that the embattled Democratic party of the Reagan-Bush years had forgotten about, places like the South and the Rockies, voters like farmers and small business people.

With the Democrats powerfully consolidating their position in both houses of Congress yesterday, the shift was consolidated at state and district level. This marks the end of the conservative ascendancy of the past 30 years. Whether it now marks a new, sustained era of American liberalism of the sort which followed the election of 1932 must remain to be seen. What is not open to doubt is that Mr Obama's win is a milestone in America's racial and cultural evolution. It is 45 years since Martin Luther King, in the greatest of all late-20th century American speeches looked forward to the day when his children would not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character. Almost unbelievably, that dream has now become a reality in the shape of America's first African-American leader and its first black first family. It is a day many thought they would never see. It is hard to know whether to weep or shout for joy now that it has arrived - probably both - but it is a lesson to the world.

Mr Obama will take office in January amid massive unrealisable expectations and facing a daunting list of problems - the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the broken healthcare system, the spiralling federal budget and America's profligate energy regime all prominent among them. Eclipsing them all, as Mr Obama has made clear in recent days, is the challenge of rebuilding the economy and the banking system. These, though, are issues for another day. Today is for celebration, for happiness and for reflected human glory. Savour those words: President Barack Obama, America's hope and, in no small way, ours too.

24 comments:

  1. I guess we all now live in that place called.."Hope".

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  2. Is that close to Birdseye?

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  3. My analysis of the Indiana vote is that Indiana is still very racist, and I shouldn't be surprised post Mr Ward's comments.

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  4. Why is Indiana still racist? Is it because the vote was so close? Some don't like his stance on issues regardless of the color of his skin.

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  5. I'm not sure where the "facts" are behind the suggestion that Indiana is still "very racist" based on an analysis of the election data. With 45+ million votes for McCain, its not like he didnt have rather strong support everywhere in the country. Besides, as Indiana actually went for Obama & Democrats for the first time in ages, I just cant see the logic behind that suggestion.

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  6. IMO, there is still plenty of racism in Indiana but I have to agree with Lawguy. I think this election shows that Indiana is only 50 years behind instead of a 100 or so.

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  7. We aren't years behind anything and any suggestion that Hoosiers are racist because Obama didn't pull the numbers you thought he would is a false premise. My God, Indiana voted Democrat for the first time in decades.

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  8. The fact that this was even close, let alone a victory for Obama in Indiana is just monumentous to me. I'm not sure where the racist comment came from, of course there is still racism in this state..it's everywhere. This is just another brick taken out of the wall, IMO.

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  9. I voted for Obama, but now that he is president-elect, I am afraid we are in for 4 or 8 years of the racism card being slapped down everytime he is questioned, everytime the senate or congress does not agree with him completely.
    We can make this work, or we can all ready begin to look for the reasons why will make this fail.
    We have been through 8 years of hell all ready, lets not start looking for reasons to in-fight so soon.
    As Mr. Gonder so well said over on his blog, its time to GET UP

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  10. Again, it saddens me we are still talking about this. Barack Obama is a man and the president elect. We will judge him on his decisions, not his skin. Let the race thing go. Most of America has.

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  11. 5 November 2008

    Senator Barack Obama,

    Chicago

    Dear Senator Obama,

    We join people in your country and around the world in congratulating you on becoming the President-Elect of the United States. Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place.

    We note and applaud your commitment to supporting the cause of peace and security around the world. We trust that you will also make it the mission of your Presidency to combat the scourge of poverty and disease everywhere.

    We wish you strength and fortitude in the challenging days and years that lie ahead. We are sure you will ultimately achieve your dream making the United States of America a full partner in a community of nations committed to peace and prosperity for all.

    Sincerely,

    N R Mandela

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  12. Daniel,
    Please read just a little closer. I said that I agreed with Lawguy.

    That doesn't change my opinion that there is still a large amount of racism. No one has said that everyone who voted for McCain was racist. I believe this election does show that Indiana has made progress. It just needs a lot more progress in many areas.

    Would it make you feel better if I told you that I voted for several Republicans, including Daniels?

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  13. Mark, I read it close the first time. The fact is, we all need work. None of us are perfect, but to say we are still behind the times seems to negate the progress that has been made. We are with the times, it's just that the culture isn't quite there. One day Mark, we will be able to discuss our leaders without someone butting in with no other point than skin color...and that is not directed at you. It doesn't surprise me that you voted for Daniels, you are a smart man. :) Let the discourse continue without the undertones of race.

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  14. "I'm not sure where the "facts" are behind the suggestion that Indiana is still "very racist" based on an analysis of the election data."

    The "facts", as usual, can be found in tables of numbers published by the state and local election offices.

    "Very racist" comes from noting that Obama received (in Floyd County) 44.35% of the vote while all other Democrats who won, the majority of offices, ended with universally higher vote numbers and percentages. How do you explain that fact?

    I shouldn't have extrapolated floyd County to the whole of Indiana, but I wouldn't be surprised if the comparison proves apt.

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  15. Local politics is very different than national politics. Are you suggesting that Floyd county residents vote straight tickets to prove they are not racist? Your argument is flawed and it is time to move on. The fact that someone voted for a democrat for county commissioner and not president does not make them racist.

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  16. Daniel,
    Agreed.

    (especially the part about me being smart--LOL)

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  17. Mitch Daniels has made my working life much, much more difficult over the past couple of years. I didn't vote for him although I doubt a new governor could have put a halt to the privatization of public assistance. Now it means full steam ahead, even if it isn't working.

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  18. Bayernfan,
    And GOD KNOWS that the privatization initiatives are definately NOT working, most evident in the human services catagories.
    What used to take laboring weeks, now takes months!
    Oh, but we were able to save a buck or two, who cares if the indigent patient with lung cancer has to wait 3 months to get medicaid!

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  19. From the Trib regarding the Clere/Cochran race:

    The race not only came down to the last precinct, but also provided some fireworks late Tuesday night inside the clerk’s office. After the last precinct reported in Floyd County, which was from Prosser School of Technology, Cochran and some of his supporters were witnessed by The Tribune entering County Clerk Linda Moeller’s private office, closing the door behind them.

    Moeller was in an adjacent office reviewing election results with other members of her staff. When Clere saw the door closed, he immediately brought it to the attention of Moeller and threatened to call the sheriff.

    Moeller immediately entered the room and ordered everyone out. Cochran and his supporters then left the building.

    Clere said Moeller did a great job of ensuring nothing wrong was going on. He added that in such a close election, he wanted to make sure everything was legit.


    Wowzers. Can anyone shed more light on this?

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  20. Christopher, I can only promise you that the state workers are working as fast as we can to get those applications taken care of. At one point last week, we were nearly a month behind on authorizations, as of this morning we were about 1 week behind. Slowly but surely, we're trying to get it caught up, but no thanks to Mitch.

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  21. B.W., I was still in the clerk's office. I suspect Daniel Suddeath, who was stringing for the AP and had no writing assignment that night, added the "wowzer" when he returned to the newsroom.

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  22. That makes more sense...unless you were part of the conspiracy, which would be an easy rumor to start around these parts. (joke!)

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  23. The "Hope" that I mentioned, I think is a town near Birdseye, but, it is also a state of mind. It is the trust and confidence, that We The People, blacks, and whites, young and old, put behind Mr. Obama. It is the "Hope", that a candidate running for an office..be it the highest office in the land, who uses the old familiar battle cry.."it's time for a change", can actually produce a positive change. For all of those who voted against Mr. Obama merely because of the color of his skin, just look at how many of us voted for him, because of his ideas, his values, and because he offers us that "Hope". I think that we will see a President who will dedicate himself to the issues that he ran on...because he is the first African American President of The United States, and, I think that the People, all People, will recognize, and appreciate that effort..and, for a change, we have "Hope".

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  24. I suspect Daniel Suddeath, who was stringing for the AP and had no writing assignment that night, added the "wowzer" when he returned to the newsroom.

    So, are you implying that this was all made up?

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