Election 2008
Well, after a stressful and elating 24 hours, I can now say that I watched the United States elect a black man into the office of President for the first time in its history.
This election marks change in several ways, to my mind. First of all, there is the most obvious milestone I mentioned above. This acheivement struck me most forcefully when Obama mentioned the 106-year-old woman in Georgia who cast her vote along with everyone else waiting in line. In his acceptance speech, Obama noted that she had been born just a generation after the abolition of slavery, into a culture in which lynchings, segregation, and institutionalized bigotry and racism were not just accepted, but encouraged. She began her life as a second-class citizen on two levels: she was not only prohibited from political participation because she was a woman, but also because she was black. Having lived through and seen all the advances made by the Women's Suffrage and Civil Rights movements, watching this election must have been an indescribably profound experience for her.
Secondly, and this is of particular note to me given my current geographical placement, it marks a shift away from the almost universally unpopular policies of George W. Bush, a person viewed by many Americans and most of the rest of the world as being one of the worst Presidents in the United States' 232-year history. I have been reading Swedish and German newspapers and online columns, and all of them agree that this helps restore the image of America as being a beacon of opportunity and possibility. This may, and probably will, be fleeting, but everyone I have been talking to here agrees that Obama's election not only says that Americans are turning their back on the foreign policy mistakes of the last 8 years, but that we are ready to start heading in the right direction again. Journalists and public figures from Germany to Egypt and from China to Venezuela all agree, with varying degrees of cautiousness, that the outcome of this election signals the USA's willingness to start cooperating with the rest of the world.
I woke up this morning, after a poor night's sleep, at 4 a.m. so that I could go to a reception by the US Embassy that provided news coverage and panel discussions of the election (as well as breakfast). There were McCain supporters there, but even they seemed to be infected by the cheery (albeit sleepy) attitude of the several hundred people who showed up. The atmosphere as a whole seemed to reflect the mood that I'm feeling from American and foreign news sources, namely that a page has been turned and that we can now look forward to a more progressive future. The above signs of change, however, are symbolic, and though such symbols do have the power to shape the course of history, they do not in and of themselves create any tangible effects. The real question before us, and the question that many journalists the world over are posing, is just how exactly the Obama Administration will effect its message of change.
There are two main points of view: on the one hand, a few journalists see this outcome as indicative of a shift in the political will and mood of the nation as a whole. I found an interesting and informative analysis of the change in Americans' political outlook on the website of the New Republic, found here. I am skeptical of the writer's conclusions, but it is certainly informative and worth reading. On the other hand, and this view seems to be more commonly, or at least more vocally, expressed, many people seem to feel that the Obama Administration should be wary of its status and the strength of its congressional coalition, and should govern towards the center rather than the left, despite pressure from the now solidly Democratic Congress. I find this view to be a little more intuitive; aside from the historical examples of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, there is the simple fact that, though Obama won handily, it was by no means an overwhelming victory. The numbers are still coming in as I write this, but MSNBC has it that Obama won the Electoral Vote by 349 to 173 (for perspective, Slick Willy beat Dole in 1996 with 379 Electoral votes, to say nothing of the mind-blowing 49-state landslide by Reagan in 1984 that landed him with 525), and as of my last check he won the Popular Vote by about 6%. Though this is a comfortable majority, it is not what you'd call an overwhelming mandate. Mind you, I have no problem with a leftward swing in American politics, particularly after the last few years, but it should also be noted that political polarization of that kind has almost never worked out, and bad left-wing decisions would leave us no better off than bad right-wing decisions have. A sensible overview of the wisdom of bipartisanship can be found here.
So the question before us (and by us I mean Obama and Biden) is how to proceed. Obviously, there are a couple months between now and Inauguration Day for the two to take a much-deserved breather - I thought Obama looked absolutely exhausted when he gave his acceptance speech, though the speech went off with the usual flair and resounding tone of hope and optimism. To be fair, after the length and brutality of this campraign, he has a fair amount to be exhausted about, and his emotions must be fantastically conflicted right now, with the death of his grandmother and all. (Side Note: Joe Biden's entrance at the end of Obama's speech was really hilarious - he came onstage with the air of, "Hey, I just got in from Delaware, what'd I miss?")
What Obama really needs to keep in mind, I think, is that his decisions must reflect the will of the American people. I have lost the link, but one of the (many) articles I have read in the past week noted the ability of Franklin Roosevelt to tap into the national mood and appeal to it to support his New Deal experiments. The article in question particularly notes an instance when several lobbyists were presenting a suggestion to him, and he told them that, having convinced him, they needed to go out and bring popular pressure on him to get it done. Obama has shown similar sensitivity to the desires of the nation on the campaign trail (a terrific article in the New York Times chronicling his masterful campaigning can, by the way, be found here - it's definitely worth reading), but what he really needs to do is translate that into a system that works with the people rather than above them.
A lot of people, including me, are skeptical about just how much change an Obama presidency can actually bring. The real reason I voted for him is that I wanted the most rational, intelligent person on the list to take charge of the multifarious problems facing the US and the world, and I believe that Obama is that person. His message of change, while appealing, remains for me just a hope rather than an actual belief. However, I think that Obama and his staff are smart enough and sincere enough that they are capable, if the political wind is right, of pulling this thing off. I'm looking forward to the next four years.
This election marks change in several ways, to my mind. First of all, there is the most obvious milestone I mentioned above. This acheivement struck me most forcefully when Obama mentioned the 106-year-old woman in Georgia who cast her vote along with everyone else waiting in line. In his acceptance speech, Obama noted that she had been born just a generation after the abolition of slavery, into a culture in which lynchings, segregation, and institutionalized bigotry and racism were not just accepted, but encouraged. She began her life as a second-class citizen on two levels: she was not only prohibited from political participation because she was a woman, but also because she was black. Having lived through and seen all the advances made by the Women's Suffrage and Civil Rights movements, watching this election must have been an indescribably profound experience for her.
Secondly, and this is of particular note to me given my current geographical placement, it marks a shift away from the almost universally unpopular policies of George W. Bush, a person viewed by many Americans and most of the rest of the world as being one of the worst Presidents in the United States' 232-year history. I have been reading Swedish and German newspapers and online columns, and all of them agree that this helps restore the image of America as being a beacon of opportunity and possibility. This may, and probably will, be fleeting, but everyone I have been talking to here agrees that Obama's election not only says that Americans are turning their back on the foreign policy mistakes of the last 8 years, but that we are ready to start heading in the right direction again. Journalists and public figures from Germany to Egypt and from China to Venezuela all agree, with varying degrees of cautiousness, that the outcome of this election signals the USA's willingness to start cooperating with the rest of the world.
I woke up this morning, after a poor night's sleep, at 4 a.m. so that I could go to a reception by the US Embassy that provided news coverage and panel discussions of the election (as well as breakfast). There were McCain supporters there, but even they seemed to be infected by the cheery (albeit sleepy) attitude of the several hundred people who showed up. The atmosphere as a whole seemed to reflect the mood that I'm feeling from American and foreign news sources, namely that a page has been turned and that we can now look forward to a more progressive future. The above signs of change, however, are symbolic, and though such symbols do have the power to shape the course of history, they do not in and of themselves create any tangible effects. The real question before us, and the question that many journalists the world over are posing, is just how exactly the Obama Administration will effect its message of change.
There are two main points of view: on the one hand, a few journalists see this outcome as indicative of a shift in the political will and mood of the nation as a whole. I found an interesting and informative analysis of the change in Americans' political outlook on the website of the New Republic, found here. I am skeptical of the writer's conclusions, but it is certainly informative and worth reading. On the other hand, and this view seems to be more commonly, or at least more vocally, expressed, many people seem to feel that the Obama Administration should be wary of its status and the strength of its congressional coalition, and should govern towards the center rather than the left, despite pressure from the now solidly Democratic Congress. I find this view to be a little more intuitive; aside from the historical examples of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, there is the simple fact that, though Obama won handily, it was by no means an overwhelming victory. The numbers are still coming in as I write this, but MSNBC has it that Obama won the Electoral Vote by 349 to 173 (for perspective, Slick Willy beat Dole in 1996 with 379 Electoral votes, to say nothing of the mind-blowing 49-state landslide by Reagan in 1984 that landed him with 525), and as of my last check he won the Popular Vote by about 6%. Though this is a comfortable majority, it is not what you'd call an overwhelming mandate. Mind you, I have no problem with a leftward swing in American politics, particularly after the last few years, but it should also be noted that political polarization of that kind has almost never worked out, and bad left-wing decisions would leave us no better off than bad right-wing decisions have. A sensible overview of the wisdom of bipartisanship can be found here.
So the question before us (and by us I mean Obama and Biden) is how to proceed. Obviously, there are a couple months between now and Inauguration Day for the two to take a much-deserved breather - I thought Obama looked absolutely exhausted when he gave his acceptance speech, though the speech went off with the usual flair and resounding tone of hope and optimism. To be fair, after the length and brutality of this campraign, he has a fair amount to be exhausted about, and his emotions must be fantastically conflicted right now, with the death of his grandmother and all. (Side Note: Joe Biden's entrance at the end of Obama's speech was really hilarious - he came onstage with the air of, "Hey, I just got in from Delaware, what'd I miss?")
What Obama really needs to keep in mind, I think, is that his decisions must reflect the will of the American people. I have lost the link, but one of the (many) articles I have read in the past week noted the ability of Franklin Roosevelt to tap into the national mood and appeal to it to support his New Deal experiments. The article in question particularly notes an instance when several lobbyists were presenting a suggestion to him, and he told them that, having convinced him, they needed to go out and bring popular pressure on him to get it done. Obama has shown similar sensitivity to the desires of the nation on the campaign trail (a terrific article in the New York Times chronicling his masterful campaigning can, by the way, be found here - it's definitely worth reading), but what he really needs to do is translate that into a system that works with the people rather than above them.
A lot of people, including me, are skeptical about just how much change an Obama presidency can actually bring. The real reason I voted for him is that I wanted the most rational, intelligent person on the list to take charge of the multifarious problems facing the US and the world, and I believe that Obama is that person. His message of change, while appealing, remains for me just a hope rather than an actual belief. However, I think that Obama and his staff are smart enough and sincere enough that they are capable, if the political wind is right, of pulling this thing off. I'm looking forward to the next four years.