Babeled

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change.  Our union can be perfected.  And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow. (President Barack Obama)

The Leader and the Landslide

Any doubt about Barack Obama’s executive ability should have been allayed by his landslide victory over Senator John McCain.

What Barack Obama demonstrated on Nov. 4, 2008 is that community organizing is the key to uniting a country that has spent the last two presidential elections almost perfectly divided and resorting to frustrating tie-breakers.

By systematically going from house to house, street to street, Obama was able to reassert the importance of the individual in the democratic process.  Voter turnout was at an all time high.  Early voting was also record breaking.  The success of his strategy of working from the ground up was first made obvious with his victory in Pennsylvania, and on a larger scale by his campaign’s ability to “flip” many Republican-friendly states.

His ability to reshape the electoral map speaks volumes about the kind of president he will be.  Obama brings to the table a potent mix of visionary idealism grounded in patient perseverance.

With the Democrats in control of both the House and the Senate, Obama will certainly have the opportunity to fulfill his promise of Change.  Where bipartisan deadlock has ruined the productivity of past presidents, a unified legislative/executive branch will give Obama the opportunity to make history, for better or for worse.

A Second Chance at the 21st Century

Before today, September 11th, 2001 was the defining moment for the American experience in the 21st Century.

During the days and years that followed these attacks, the Bush Administration and the Republican Party became the face of America’s reaction to global interdependence.  Diplomacy was replaced with preemptive war.  An economic surplus was replaced with a historic deficit that ended in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930’s.  The role model of the Free World fell from it’s pedestal in the face of glaring hypocrisy and contradiction.

The inability of John McCain to differentiate himself from George W. Bush has less to do with his abilities as a candidate, and more to do with the overwhelming disgust the majority of Americans have towards the ideology of the current Republican Party.

This is not the Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln.  Nor is it the Party of Teddy Roosevelt.  Some might say it isn’t even the party of Ronald Reagen. Something changed for the worse.  The positive ideals of conservatism and small government were replaced by impulsive war-making, impulsive spending, and an unprecedented expansion of the powers of the federal government.

In America, power is a gift from the People to the Chosen, and thus it should never be abused or taken for granted by the Chosen. The Republican Party has forsaken this country, and for this they have been punished by the People they were chosen to serve.

The People Have Spoken

The Democrats, under the leadership of Barack Obama, have been chosen to lead this country in a new direction.  With so many challenges on the horizon, time is of the essence, and only time will tell whether this was a wise choice of leadership.

No matter what your opinion is about this election, it is hard to deny that we are living through historic times.  Pay attention, and enjoy it.  We are experiencing a renaissance of democracy, idealism, and hope.  There is a real sense that our patriotism is no longer rooted in fear and reaction to terrorists, but rather that it is rooted in the pride that comes from knowing that the election of Barack Obama could only have happened in this country.

We are a unique land.  The rest of the world knows this, and because of this we are scrutinized and held to a higher standard.  America, and the world, have given Barack Obama their approval to make the changes he sees fit.  Now it is up to him to fulfill his side of the bargain.

Don’t let us down Barack.