When the People are Ready

The euphoria from election night lingers. It’s like stepping from a subterranean cavern into the first light of a fresh morning. The way ahead may be difficult and perplexing, but at least we can feel proud of our President as he represents us to the world. Obama reads, studies history, and speaks in complete sentences – by themselves these attributes make him radically different from the current occupant of the White House.

On January 20, 2009, intelligence and rational thought make a triumphant return to the White House. One thing is certain: willful ignorance will not be a virtue in an Obama Administration.

The reaction from people around the globe to Barack Obama’s victory proves that the idea of America is alive and kicking. Perhaps the world is reacting so favorably to Obama because he appears calm, collected and sane, reasonable and reassuring; he doesn’t swagger like a gunslinger (Bush) or talk like a fascist (Cheney). We have yet to fully appreciate the damage done by Bush and Cheney to our standing in the world. It won’t happen overnight, but Obama has a window of opportunity to repair that damage and restore our credibility and moral authority.

Tuesday night’s historic results were a relief, a catharsis -- hope that had been dammed for nearly eight years escaped in a deluge. Americans know that we are better than the last eight years. We’re hungry to rebuild our country along more equitable lines, with a stronger foundation that supports more citizens; hungry to prove that we are more than slaves to the “free” market and mindless consumerism; hungry to relate to the rest of the world in less bellicose ways; hungry to find solutions for pressing human needs.

George W. Bush is an aristocrat and he governed like one, never asking the people to sacrifice or put their collective shoulder to the wheel. Even when it came to Iraq, Bush asked for nothing but our prayers and blind faith in his word. In Bush’s twisted, out-of-touch worldview, the people need not concern themselves with complex matters of policy; instead, they should shop, watch TV and let the chosen ones at the top run things. When the people spoke about their concerns, as when millions took to the streets to protest the Iraq invasion, Bush ignored us.

When Barack Obama takes his seat in the Oval Office for the first time, he will face a daunting array of inherited challenges. Obama is stepping into a house trashed by a bunch of spoiled frat boys – light fixtures dangle from the ceiling, every toilet is clogged, furniture is upended, the kitchen is wrecked and nobody ever bothered to take out the garbage or clean out the refrigerator. What the frat boys couldn’t carry off they destroyed.

One of the great reclamation projects in American history will begin with the deck stacked against it.

But perhaps Americans owe George W. Bush a debt of gratitude, for it was Bush’s utter incompetence and failure that made it possible for Barack Obama to become President, for Obama’s message of hope to echo across the wasteland Bush bequeathed to us, and resonate with millions.

When the people are ready, the leader will appear.

My Laundry List of Hopes

The Obama Campaign machine sent me a letter the other day, appealing for a donation. That’s Ok, my name is on a lot of mailing lists, though if I receive even one solicitation from John McCain, I’ll be insulted.

So much hype, hoopla and trivial information has surrounded Barack Obama that it’s hard to get to what the man stands for. Is he a closet Muslim? Does he take policy direction from Jeremiah Wright? Will he find a place in an Obama administration for Hillary Clinton?

The Progressive community, small though it is, holds its breath and hopes that Obama will not drift further toward the bland, safe center, but the closer the general election gets the more Obama will be forced to move in that direction. Obama wants to get elected, so he’s not going to propose anything that might disturb the powers-that-be. He can speak eloquently about improving the lot of American workers, but not to the extent that he upsets Wall Street financiers; he can speak sensibly about talking with leaders from nations who oppose the United States, but in the next breath he’ll rattle the saber to ward off criticism that he’s soft on evil-doers; he can speak about a new brand of politics, but again, he can only go so far.

Obama has tapped into the desire of Americans for something different from the disastrous Bush-Cheney regime. I share that desire but my expectations for meaningful change are low. I hope the concerns of people who struggle every day to feed their families and gain a modicum of economic security will be raised to at least equal status with the aims of investors for maximum profits. I hope for a national realization that our current energy policy is a failure; we can punch holes in the crust of the planet under American control until the cows come home, but we’ll never bring enough oil on line to make a difference, and the sooner we realize that the better off we’ll be. I hope for a sensible policy on immigration, a removal of legal and physical barriers that have no chance of working. Most of all, I hope for a return of respect for law and a balance of power between our three branches of government.

That’s a lot to hope for. Obama claims he can deliver if enough people send his campaign a check. I haven’t taken that step yet, though I probably will. A McCain presidency is inconceivable to me, though I never thought American voters would re-elect George W. Bush in 2004 and won’t be surprised if McCain’s fear-based politics carry the day this November. That’s a depressing thought, not to mention a dark commentary on the American electorate.