Week One
Last night the air was fresh after an evening rain, and mixed with a cool breeze and the wet, fallen pine needles gave forth a smell so sweet and rare that made me think how life, and all its accompanying smells and sensations, was good. Such has been the case in the recent aftermath of the election. I think back to the early months of Barack Obama's campaign and how it seemed painfully clear at the time that Hillary would trounce him and, following that, a McCain win would make light of the triumphs (with regards to sex and race) made in the Democratic party. Back then, I knew in my heart of hearts that despite all the talk of "elitism" and "inexperience" Obama was the right candidate; but this acknowledgment only made it more painful to accept because Obama, then, was the underdog and he faced almost certain doom. From an early age, however, I got used to accepting defeat. In elementary school I was usually the last picked and my baseball teams were usually the worst in the league. I never did well in chess tournaments. I think the only thing I did well in was school, and that wasn't really something to brag about. So, as the campaigns raged on, and Obama had won the nomination, a gentle weight seemed to be gradually lifted from me with the realization that, "Maybe we could do this."
When Obama won the election I was ecstatic, and it proved to be the gift that kept on giving. The news reported that the whole world celebrated along with us, as though the United States just won the Olympics and every other country had been rooting for us. Now when Obama speaks, we reap the benefits of having elected a man who was born to speak publicly. For once he has nothing to prove, no more stump speeches, no more inspirational talks on where we went wrong over the past decade, and likewise, no more "sure he can talk, but can he lead?" The pundits' and politicians' stubbornness to acknowledge the leadership qualities of a man who can rouse a crowd of millions as we haven't seen since the sixties turned out to be a big slap in their face. America has always enjoyed a political leader who can give inspirational speeches and talk honestly with everyone in a way that is also intellectual. That wasn't Obama's downfall as they tried to make us believe, it was just one of the reasons he was perfect presidential material. Now Obama's public appearances are the delight of the world.
Indeed, since earning the name president-elect, Obama's victory seems to have taken us back to a time when politics mattered more, for instance, the sixties or the twenties. Back then, paperboys used to shout "Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" on the streets because they were selling issues of a newspaper that was so popular the press had to print extras. I learned this recently when papers reported that for the first time in decades people bought so many issues of newspapers after Election day that the press had to once again print extra copies. Sitting down at a coffee shop in Oakland to read that very article, a Palestinian-American struck up a conversation with us about Obama. At first I wondered who this asshole was, but as he continued to speak I remembered that at one time coffee shops were bastions for people to meet and discuss politics, and now that America had shown it was serious about real politicians again, we could once again resume the discourse. In the post-election events, we recall that as a nation, we were once as interested in who the politicians were and what they believed in and how real they were, as we are now concerned with who the latest movie celebrity is dating.
On one hand, that night that Obama took the stage to give his victory speech, I partly felt that, despite the infinitesimal role I played in his campaign, his words resonated with the idea that his own ascent to power signaled mine too, as though I had been his friend all along, like Rahm Emmanuel, and now that he was in the White House, I would be too. It was a literal feeling, which I had to tell myself was not exactly true, but in a way it was true. Obama's entrance in the White House is for one thing the entrance into the White House of a new generation (mine), a new way of thinking of things, and in my opinion, the empowerment of moral clarity and dignity that had been stymied ever since the White House was built. On the other hand, winning the election never felt like something to brag about, but rather like a sign of universal triumph, like his victory was everyone's victory. That was the message of his speech at least, that he would be everyone's president, and not just one side's. (Still, I wouldn't mind if all the a-hole pundits whoever uttered the words "madrasah," "terrorist," "socialist," "far-left," or "fist-bump" in the same sentence as Obama go on television and publicly humiliate themselves in defeat).
When Obama took the stage in front of television and newspaper cameras with his recently assembled team behind him to discuss the economy, the very image contained the salubrious quality of the voice of a doctor whose merely naming of your disease can put you at ease. It wasn't just a matter of circumstance that they were standing behind him, it was the most direct message to the United States and, in turn, the world, that, Now that you've elected me, I am going to do the things I promised to do, and I'm going to go about it in a more transparent fashion than others before me. It was just one of the many signs that Obama's goal is to, unlike Bush, not gain power and retain it, for, I guess, retaining power's sake, but rather to be a good president, to be a true leader of the people. Another example was when he answered a question about his family's decision for the First Puppy of the White House (whose mention in his victory speech rose eyebrows)--he spoke with the calmness of a father who focuses on with the inconsequential, yet important matters of family decisions. It was an off the topic question, and yet his answer showed that he would rule not as a man fighting against a people and a government, but as a man who considered those people in his "family" as his loved ones.
When Obama won the election I was ecstatic, and it proved to be the gift that kept on giving. The news reported that the whole world celebrated along with us, as though the United States just won the Olympics and every other country had been rooting for us. Now when Obama speaks, we reap the benefits of having elected a man who was born to speak publicly. For once he has nothing to prove, no more stump speeches, no more inspirational talks on where we went wrong over the past decade, and likewise, no more "sure he can talk, but can he lead?" The pundits' and politicians' stubbornness to acknowledge the leadership qualities of a man who can rouse a crowd of millions as we haven't seen since the sixties turned out to be a big slap in their face. America has always enjoyed a political leader who can give inspirational speeches and talk honestly with everyone in a way that is also intellectual. That wasn't Obama's downfall as they tried to make us believe, it was just one of the reasons he was perfect presidential material. Now Obama's public appearances are the delight of the world.
Indeed, since earning the name president-elect, Obama's victory seems to have taken us back to a time when politics mattered more, for instance, the sixties or the twenties. Back then, paperboys used to shout "Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" on the streets because they were selling issues of a newspaper that was so popular the press had to print extras. I learned this recently when papers reported that for the first time in decades people bought so many issues of newspapers after Election day that the press had to once again print extra copies. Sitting down at a coffee shop in Oakland to read that very article, a Palestinian-American struck up a conversation with us about Obama. At first I wondered who this asshole was, but as he continued to speak I remembered that at one time coffee shops were bastions for people to meet and discuss politics, and now that America had shown it was serious about real politicians again, we could once again resume the discourse. In the post-election events, we recall that as a nation, we were once as interested in who the politicians were and what they believed in and how real they were, as we are now concerned with who the latest movie celebrity is dating.
On one hand, that night that Obama took the stage to give his victory speech, I partly felt that, despite the infinitesimal role I played in his campaign, his words resonated with the idea that his own ascent to power signaled mine too, as though I had been his friend all along, like Rahm Emmanuel, and now that he was in the White House, I would be too. It was a literal feeling, which I had to tell myself was not exactly true, but in a way it was true. Obama's entrance in the White House is for one thing the entrance into the White House of a new generation (mine), a new way of thinking of things, and in my opinion, the empowerment of moral clarity and dignity that had been stymied ever since the White House was built. On the other hand, winning the election never felt like something to brag about, but rather like a sign of universal triumph, like his victory was everyone's victory. That was the message of his speech at least, that he would be everyone's president, and not just one side's. (Still, I wouldn't mind if all the a-hole pundits whoever uttered the words "madrasah," "terrorist," "socialist," "far-left," or "fist-bump" in the same sentence as Obama go on television and publicly humiliate themselves in defeat).
When Obama took the stage in front of television and newspaper cameras with his recently assembled team behind him to discuss the economy, the very image contained the salubrious quality of the voice of a doctor whose merely naming of your disease can put you at ease. It wasn't just a matter of circumstance that they were standing behind him, it was the most direct message to the United States and, in turn, the world, that, Now that you've elected me, I am going to do the things I promised to do, and I'm going to go about it in a more transparent fashion than others before me. It was just one of the many signs that Obama's goal is to, unlike Bush, not gain power and retain it, for, I guess, retaining power's sake, but rather to be a good president, to be a true leader of the people. Another example was when he answered a question about his family's decision for the First Puppy of the White House (whose mention in his victory speech rose eyebrows)--he spoke with the calmness of a father who focuses on with the inconsequential, yet important matters of family decisions. It was an off the topic question, and yet his answer showed that he would rule not as a man fighting against a people and a government, but as a man who considered those people in his "family" as his loved ones.