4 thoughts on “2008 Election: Barack Obama is President”
* 150 years ago, black people were slaves. Today, a half-black is president elect of the United States of America, slated to be the most powerful person in the world.
* The way we transfer power is remarkable. In the USA, McCain accepts his loss, accepts the rules of the game and the outcome. Then he urges his supporters to come together and support the new president. Bush will leave office gracefully. He won’t try to claim the election was rigged and send out killers after anyone who feels otherwise.
so a few thoughts on this election, in no particular order….
1. I can’t think of a more historical event in my lifetime. The only things that come close in terms of their impact on our country and the world are 9/11 and the fall of the Soviet Union. I will always remember this day as one that made me very proud of this country.
2. I hope Obama is wise enough to govern from the center, and resist the inevitable temptations from the far left wing of the House. We have enough major issues to deal with in this country that we can strike common sense, bipartisan, middle-of-the-road deals on a variety of critical fronts, and have a huge positive impact. He needs these victories and, in my opinion, runs the risk of losing (to borrow a phrase from our current President) a significant amount of political capital if he adopts stances on any of these issues that are not consistent with the theme of coalition building that was a central part of his campaign.
3. The very fact that we elected Obama creates much needed goodwill on the international stage. Had we chosen McCain much of the world–rightly or wrongly–would have continued to view us as an antagonistic nation in search of a fight. Obama will have his challenges, but the very fact that it is he, rather than McCain, who will face these problems means that the US will be in a more favorable starting position that the alternative.
4. I sincerely hope the GOP becomes an effective political force once more. Many of the core components of the historical Republican platform are worth supporting, but these principles have been sacrificed at the alter of political expediency. For example, given the current economic situation, and our reaction to it, it will no doubt be beneficial to have an effective voice in support of limited government intervention at some point during the Obama tenure–hopefully before it is too late. There is danger in the pendulum swinging too far in the other direction.
5. One of their major problems (among many others) for the GOP is demographic. There is not a single black member of congress, nor did they have a minority candidate of any kind on the ticket this year. Latinos–historically no ally of blacks on many issues–voted for Obama 2:1–this in an election where the GOP candidate was an individual who made a politically courageous, yet ultimately futile attempt to reform immigration.
* 150 years ago, black people were slaves. Today, a half-black is president elect of the United States of America, slated to be the most powerful person in the world.
* The way we transfer power is remarkable. In the USA, McCain accepts his loss, accepts the rules of the game and the outcome. Then he urges his supporters to come together and support the new president. Bush will leave office gracefully. He won’t try to claim the election was rigged and send out killers after anyone who feels otherwise.
so a few thoughts on this election, in no particular order….
1. I can’t think of a more historical event in my lifetime. The only things that come close in terms of their impact on our country and the world are 9/11 and the fall of the Soviet Union. I will always remember this day as one that made me very proud of this country.
2. I hope Obama is wise enough to govern from the center, and resist the inevitable temptations from the far left wing of the House. We have enough major issues to deal with in this country that we can strike common sense, bipartisan, middle-of-the-road deals on a variety of critical fronts, and have a huge positive impact. He needs these victories and, in my opinion, runs the risk of losing (to borrow a phrase from our current President) a significant amount of political capital if he adopts stances on any of these issues that are not consistent with the theme of coalition building that was a central part of his campaign.
3. The very fact that we elected Obama creates much needed goodwill on the international stage. Had we chosen McCain much of the world–rightly or wrongly–would have continued to view us as an antagonistic nation in search of a fight. Obama will have his challenges, but the very fact that it is he, rather than McCain, who will face these problems means that the US will be in a more favorable starting position that the alternative.
4. I sincerely hope the GOP becomes an effective political force once more. Many of the core components of the historical Republican platform are worth supporting, but these principles have been sacrificed at the alter of political expediency. For example, given the current economic situation, and our reaction to it, it will no doubt be beneficial to have an effective voice in support of limited government intervention at some point during the Obama tenure–hopefully before it is too late. There is danger in the pendulum swinging too far in the other direction.
5. One of their major problems (among many others) for the GOP is demographic. There is not a single black member of congress, nor did they have a minority candidate of any kind on the ticket this year. Latinos–historically no ally of blacks on many issues–voted for Obama 2:1–this in an election where the GOP candidate was an individual who made a politically courageous, yet ultimately futile attempt to reform immigration.
What do we do now???
*WHEW*