Will you have Obama's back?
This is something I've been thinking about for months now, since before Obama clinched the nomination.
If Obama wins, he's going to face an extremely difficult job. You all know what's in store for him; two wars, an imploding economy, global warming, etc., etc., etc. Even if he pulls off a landslide victory and a "strong mandate," the enormity of the challenges ahead will be unlike any since perhaps Lincoln. On top of all of that, he'll have the worst elements in our society sniping at him and working to discredit and impede him at every turn. You saw how it was with the Clintons - it could be even worse for Obama.
A short piece in this week's New Yorker, especially the following quote, helped crystalize some of my thinking:
------------
On the night of his landslide victory over Hoover, in 1932,
in the depths of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt had an
intimate conversation with his son James:
“You know, Jimmy,” Franklin said, “all my life I have been
afraid of only one thing-fire. Tonight I think I’m afraid of
something else.”
“Afraid of what, Pa?”
“I’m just afraid that I may not have the strength to do this job.”
He paused reflectively. “After you leave me tonight, Jimmy,
I am going to pray. I am going to pray that God will help me,
that he will give me the strength and the guidance to do this
job and to do it right. I hope that you will pray for me, too, Jimmy.”
-------------------
My thought is this: Whether you voted for him or not, Barack Obama is (KNOCK ON WOOD) going to be the President of the UNITED States of America. Beyond our prayers and good wishes, he is going to need a LOT of help. He's going to need everyone who has worked so hard to get him elected, and more, to keep on working hard to help him achieve his goals, which are, after all, our goals. He'll need us to speak up and speak out for him. He'll need us to keep applying pressure to our congress people when they try to stand in the way of progress and change.
As Obama himself put it, this election has never been about him - it's about US. And if he wins, *when* he wins, it will only be a beginning and an opportunity for US to be the change we want to see in the world. We will have someone in the White House who can help lead us forward, but it will be up to us to do the heavy lifting and make sure he has sustained support from the bottom up.
And remember, Obama won't be a perfect President. He's still only human. He will make mistakes, and missteps, and he will make principled (or sometimes simply political) decisions that we won't always agree with. But that's when he'll need our support the most. Sometimes the sacrifices we'll be called upon to make will be as simple as accepting that he can't do everything we want him to do. And sometimes the sacrifices will be much, much harder than that.
In countless ways large and small, we're going to have to pitch in to make sure Obama and the Democratic party are able to enact the change we voted for. I'm not sure what that will look like, or what exactly we'll need to do, but I for one am committed to doing it. And when I see opportunities to stand up for Obama, or to help him repair the damage that's been done over these last, long eight years, I will speak out, and act, and call on others to join me. Because today is (KNOCK ON WOOD) just the beginning of Hope and Change for America.
Just as one small example, Obama has called for ending America's reliance on foreign oil in 10 years. Many say that's impossible, and maybe it is. But I've already started riding my bicycle instead of my motorcycle again, and I'll tell you - it feels good. I'm doing it for me, for my health and to save money on gas and repairs for the motorcycle, but I very much am also doing it because I believe in a future where most of us work closer to where we live and rely less on cars. And I'm doing it because Barack Obama has pointed at a goal post and asked us to work together to get there.
I've got Obama's back. Do you?
If Obama wins, he's going to face an extremely difficult job. You all know what's in store for him; two wars, an imploding economy, global warming, etc., etc., etc. Even if he pulls off a landslide victory and a "strong mandate," the enormity of the challenges ahead will be unlike any since perhaps Lincoln. On top of all of that, he'll have the worst elements in our society sniping at him and working to discredit and impede him at every turn. You saw how it was with the Clintons - it could be even worse for Obama.
A short piece in this week's New Yorker, especially the following quote, helped crystalize some of my thinking:
------------
On the night of his landslide victory over Hoover, in 1932,
in the depths of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt had an
intimate conversation with his son James:
“You know, Jimmy,” Franklin said, “all my life I have been
afraid of only one thing-fire. Tonight I think I’m afraid of
something else.”
“Afraid of what, Pa?”
“I’m just afraid that I may not have the strength to do this job.”
He paused reflectively. “After you leave me tonight, Jimmy,
I am going to pray. I am going to pray that God will help me,
that he will give me the strength and the guidance to do this
job and to do it right. I hope that you will pray for me, too, Jimmy.”
-------------------
My thought is this: Whether you voted for him or not, Barack Obama is (KNOCK ON WOOD) going to be the President of the UNITED States of America. Beyond our prayers and good wishes, he is going to need a LOT of help. He's going to need everyone who has worked so hard to get him elected, and more, to keep on working hard to help him achieve his goals, which are, after all, our goals. He'll need us to speak up and speak out for him. He'll need us to keep applying pressure to our congress people when they try to stand in the way of progress and change.
As Obama himself put it, this election has never been about him - it's about US. And if he wins, *when* he wins, it will only be a beginning and an opportunity for US to be the change we want to see in the world. We will have someone in the White House who can help lead us forward, but it will be up to us to do the heavy lifting and make sure he has sustained support from the bottom up.
And remember, Obama won't be a perfect President. He's still only human. He will make mistakes, and missteps, and he will make principled (or sometimes simply political) decisions that we won't always agree with. But that's when he'll need our support the most. Sometimes the sacrifices we'll be called upon to make will be as simple as accepting that he can't do everything we want him to do. And sometimes the sacrifices will be much, much harder than that.
In countless ways large and small, we're going to have to pitch in to make sure Obama and the Democratic party are able to enact the change we voted for. I'm not sure what that will look like, or what exactly we'll need to do, but I for one am committed to doing it. And when I see opportunities to stand up for Obama, or to help him repair the damage that's been done over these last, long eight years, I will speak out, and act, and call on others to join me. Because today is (KNOCK ON WOOD) just the beginning of Hope and Change for America.
Just as one small example, Obama has called for ending America's reliance on foreign oil in 10 years. Many say that's impossible, and maybe it is. But I've already started riding my bicycle instead of my motorcycle again, and I'll tell you - it feels good. I'm doing it for me, for my health and to save money on gas and repairs for the motorcycle, but I very much am also doing it because I believe in a future where most of us work closer to where we live and rely less on cars. And I'm doing it because Barack Obama has pointed at a goal post and asked us to work together to get there.
I've got Obama's back. Do you?