I'm feeling optimistic about the next 4 years (rianjs.net (Hanser)) by Rian
Yes, another blogosphere election entry. I'm not here to gloat, though, but merely to point out that I am feeling really optimistic about an Obama administration. It is certainly landmark in this country's history, and it's something that I believe all rational Americans can feel proud of, regardless of who they voted for, if for no other reason than we've accomplished a few major things in one fell swoop:
- We have elevated America's status in the world. This was very important to me when it came time to choose, and this map (preserved here against link rot) played no small part in my choice. Globalization is here to stay, and Americans need to think more about what's going on outside their borders.
- We have broken the final racial barrier in this country once and for all. (I look forward to the day when we have a female Commander-in-Chief as well.)
- We have undermined real terrorist — as opposed to made-up terrorist — ideology in the Middle East and elsewhere by demonstrating that a black man with the name Barack Hussein Obama can be elected leader of the free world, showing much better than words could ever tell that we are indeed a nation that looks deeper than skin color; a nation that sees past a foreign-sounding name.
Senator McCain's concession speech was graceful, and I hope that this election did a lot to heal the wounds inflicted by the last two cycles that were further deepened by lawsuits before finally being ended prematurely by the Supreme Court, in the case of the 2000 election. I sincerely hope that we don't see any more elections like those for a long, long time. Senator McCain, despite his disaster of a campaign is, and always will be, a very classy man, and a man to be admired and respected. It is a pity that I could not vote for him. (I was too young in 2000, and he wasn't the best candidate in 2008.)
I voted for Senator Obama for many, many other reasons than the three I've mentioned above, not the least of which was the innate curiosity and equanimity with which he has approached everything from real politics to his day-to-day campaigning. More surprisingly, his message has not deviated over the years. Go back and watch his 2004 speech at the Democratic National Convention (part 1, part 2) and then go watch his acceptance speech at this year's DNC, and then watch his victory speech from a few nights ago.
His message hasn't changed in the last four years. That kind of consistency speaks volumes about a person and their convictions. No other candidate since I've been walking this earth has done anything even remotely similar. Every other candidate has been characterized by trying to find their voice and their message, but not Senator Obama. I like that.
Today Senator Obama gave his first news conference as President-Elect, and I watched the whole thing. It wasn't nearly as flashy or practiced as the speeches linked above, and this is to be expected: the audiences are different. What I was particularly interested in was the message, and it's not very similar to his campaign messages, except perhaps with more detail and less polish. Beginning at the 6 minute mark, Senator Obama begins taking questions from the reporters there, and it's clear that he intends to honor his campaign promises inasmuch as he humanly can in terms of policy, but more importantly, the promise he made about frank and honest communication with the public. This is in stark contrast to Bush in 2004 where he ran a campaign based on the premise of keeping America safe from terrorists, but instead went after gay marriage and aggressively tried to privatize social security after he won.
Back to Senator Obama's news conference, which I have embedded below. If you're not interested in the details, skip ahead to the six minute mark and listen to the questions, and the thoughtful and direct manner with which Senator Obama tries to answer them. This is a huge departure from American politics as usual, and it's this kind of behavior that leads me to believe even now, that Senator Obama is, and always was, the real deal. It's these kinds of subtleties that thrill me as a voter, and more importantly, as an American.