Congratulations to Barack Obama who will be the nation's 44th president beginning on January 20th. Many of you who know me know my political leanings, so I won't go into those here. But I do want to offer up some general thoughts on the country and its future.
Obama has the chance of a lifetime. I guess he would have that anyway (I mean, he is THE PRESIDENT), but even more so because of the state of the country and the world. Let's review the United States as Obama takes over:
1. The economy is hosed with no clear path to right itself, although it does appear that it's not going to get any worse. The only questions are how long it will take to get things to improve and what that will look like.
2. People have generally soured on the war. I don't even know if Bush knows why the war in Iraq started any more. Again, regardless of your opinion on the war itself, I think we need to at least reassess what the heck is going on over there and come up with a plan of action.
3. Higher unemployment than there's been in awhile.
4. Lots of other stuff that I'm sure I will remember later.
Obama really has the opportunity to be the most influential president since FDR in terms of the change he can bring about. With a Democratic Congress, he has incredible power to push across his policies. Those policies can bring the US out of its current state. Or they can bring change with no improvement, leaving us with different problems than we had before.
I'm not a very political guy. I definitely have opinions about certain issues, but they are simplistic. Anyone with in-depth knowledge of politics can confuse me in a matter of minutes. I don't like being that way, but other things have always taken priority, and I've never been motivated to take an interest in politics. I also have a profound disdain for the way politicians have to mold their principles and ideologies to appeal to the lowest common denominator, sometimes engaging in outright lying just to get a few votes.
This is the first time I feel motivated to change that and stay involved in what's going on with the US government. The next four years will be very interesting. Again, like him or not, Obama will be the next President, and it's pretty silly to hope the country gets worse just so Obama looks bad. There's nothing wrong with looking forward to the next election and hoping a candidate who better fits your ideologies is elected, but in the meantime, we're going to see a lot of changes and we should hope those changes make this country and this world a better place to live.
One last thing: there was a big deal made about Obama being the first black man to be elected president. I think that's good. There were a lot of emotional speeches from prominent media members and politicians about just how much that means. I am not old enough to remember outright segregation, but I know that racism is still rampant in the US. It may be a lot more subtle, but it's there. And let me be clear - I don't think that by electing a black man, all race issues are now gone. They're not. But this was undeniably a great moment for racial progress in the US and I'm glad it was recognized as such. I also hope that once the celebration is over, people can put the race issue behind them, no matter what side they're on, and judge the man purely as a president. I think we've come far enough as a country that that will happen.
So congratulations again, President Elect Obama. I pray that God leads you as you lead the country.
4 comments:
i think mad republicans really do hope the country gets worse so Obama looks bad. i think that's kind of sad.
still, i can't get excited about Obama the politician. I hope that republicans take the state of things in the senate and white house as a kick in the pants. obviously the party as it's publicly construed is going nowhere, so the party leadership has to identify what matters (not ever spending money on anything, ever) and what doesn't matter (hating on people) so that actual republicans out there start doing the same thing. i actually peeped a rally where this McCain supporter was holding a sign that said "Obama Bin Lyin'!" I'm like "this is what people think Republicans are..." and it made me sad. I get mad hated on at school for being conservative, but that's usually because people think i hate minorities. oh wait, i DO hate minorities. ok, so i have my own issues... but you know what i'm saying? i don't want Obama to suck, but i'm afraid he will, and i hope republican leadership out there is paying attention to how they can fix their image so we can get back to doing what's best... leaving people the hell alone. (and discouraging them from governmental reliance also)
You're right, there is a lot of racism in America.
And people who said they woudn't vote for Obama because he's black are definitely out of line.
Or course, there were millions of people who voted for him soley because he is black.
To be honest, I'm failing to see the difference here.
I still don't understand any of his policies (and I'm a PolySci major and have worked in the goverment). His entire campaign was change and he's black.
I'm not saying McCain would have been a better choice, but if that's his strategy for running the country, then why is he?
Lets see how he does after the first terrorist attack.
I'm really not afraid Obama will suck - well, that's a subjective term, let me clarify.
I don't think Obama will make things worse. For the next couple of years, he's basically got a honeymoon, almost anything he does will look better than Bush to a majority of the populace. But Republicans will be quick on the draw to point out any policies he pushes through that don't look like they're working.
It really is do or die - if things don't get better, Obama can't hide behind any kind of Republican presence in Congress. His shit better work, otherwise we're in trouble.
That being said, I personally think his shit will work, and I'm excited to see where it's headed. I disagree, Ron, that a lot of people voted for him because he's black (I have no evidence mind you, just a convenient statistic presented below). Of course those people are out there, but I don't think they're as prevalent as a lot of people think. Obama only got 5% or so more of the black vote than Kerry did.
I won't deny that Obama got elected largely on the basis of his brilliant campaign strategy (basically, "Our country is in a tough place, and I'm not Bush"). We'll see, but I think it will be good for the country.
Also Ron, I think there is a difference in the two types of votes.
People who did NOT vote for him simply because he's black are reaffirming the destructive racism that has been around this country for a long time.
Peope who DID vote for him simply because he's black are trying to break racism down even further. Is it dumb to vote that way? Yeah, it is. But at least those people wanted some kind of good, whereas people who didn't were both dumb and malicious.
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