I'm calling this race early and jumping ahead of the curve in what is sure to be a historic and very emotional night.
First, the race. I expect Obama to collect between 311-349 electoral votes, handily winning the election. Speficially, I semi-abstractly named 322 as his final tally. I think I even awarded him 51% of the popular vote and I think he could get as high as 53%.
Second, the response. We are about to witness not just American but world history. As much bitching & moaning about our government and our nation and its imperfections go around, it's now important to treat it and our founders with unparalleled respect and undue gratitude because we are the youngest nation yet have the oldest-standing government. We were born of revolutionaries and luminaries alike and carefully crafted to be mankind's rightful, egalitarian land that provided opportunity for all, barriers for none. We certainly haven't been perfect and we've certainly stumbled along the way, but we remain the model and the hope of the world.
Regardless of how Barack Obama may govern and how partisan some of his agenda may be, his victory is not only a symbolic link to Dr. Martin Luther King's dream & legacy, but a testament to all the sacrifice & tragedy, hard work & triumph that has always made America unique and great. For all the centuries of supposed European refinement, it is us who have freely elected an ethnic minority whose brethren were once enslaved by the nation that soon will call him President. It is us who have once again broken the mold and set a new standard. Renewed our spirit, freshened our blood.
We'll have our disagreements going forward just as we have had at any other point. People like me may not have voted-for but neither did we vote-against Obama. Sure, we've done so from the perspective that our side has become inadequate and in need of repair and so we are hopeful that Obama truly turns out being about advancing Opportunity & Optimism (see Reagan, JFK) moreso than he is about fostering Change (to eurocentric government models that ironically represent barriers to opportunity-for-all that permitted Obama to achieve his place in America), but we see a reasonable guy who can be worked with to improve the affairs of our nation and the lives of its people.
So through the thick & thin and no matter what happens, there's nothing that can ever take away this historic achievement and what it means both symbolically and tangibly for our nation, our world, and our human experience as we head into the next century of civilisation. And none of us should ever forget nor neglect to recognize that the fabric of America is truly the land of opportunity and Earth's greatest hope.
Cheers to you, President-Elect Obama. As I work to help my Republican party recapture its positive attributes, principles, and essence that complement society and our nation, I will be pulling for you as any President deserves all Americans' consideration and fair judgement--so don't get all euroliberal about things.
2 comments:
Rick, it's historic, but it was bought. Bought with historic amounts of dollars, many of them from dubious sources. We "freely" elected him? No, the cost was great, considering the choices we had.
I appreciate your perspective, but it's late on election night and I'm not feeling all philosophical quite yet. Too much to get past and around.
Our president-elect jettisoned his church and pastor (and friend) of 20 years when they threatened his own ambition. I'm guessing that's pretty historic, too? You didn't see Romney divesting himself of any connection to Mormonism.
Our senior population helped build the wealth of opportunity our new president has just taken advantage of, yet he precision-targeted seniors (whom some would say are among our more vulnerable citizens) with totally false ads about McCain's supposed cuts in Social Security (see it in FactCheck.org's September archive, if it hasn't been cleansed yet).
Wow ... I'm getting paranoid about Obama removing anything damning from the internet, and thus from our memories. Not at all like me, before tonight. I simply do not trust the man.
Even though this victory showed up fairly systemic on the map, any hope or notion that our voting system isn't or hasn't been tampered with is wishful thinking. I can't get past ACORN, and should I? I've always found that there's no comfort in an untruth.
I hope to see many more presidential elections, but the lying and misrepresentation and unjustly claimed high ground by both parties was reprehensible.
I'm a sane person, up late trying to find some way to get to sleep about this. I'll try again in the morning, but so far there's no comfort I can find.
I wish I could embrace your optimism.
Perhaps it's the knowing how insidious and covert the socialist agenda is.
Perhaps it's the realization that "change" is already bringing with it the same old political circle.
Perhaps it's that his call for bipartisanship has had the reverse effect on his followers.
Perhaps it's the remembering the Carter administration and seeing so many parallels already.
Perhaps it's the realization that the more money you spend on a campaign, the greater your probability of being elected.
Whatever the reason, I wish I could embrace your optimism.
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