Election 2008
Election 2008 will doubtless be plumbed and picked at by historians for many years to come. Most of what we are reading about the election today, and will be reading for many months to come, is emotional, off-the-cuff stuff based on the writer’s political presuppositions.
The Orlop (my alter ego and memoir) is expecting me to comment on the election (sigh!). Not sigh as in regret about the election outcome, but sigh as in reluctance to contribute more silly words to those already out there.
I honor what president-elect Obama has accomplished. Exactly how he did it will be studied for years to come, but it is an astounding political accomplishment to create a coalition in today’s divisive political and social environment resulting in 52% of the popular vote. Whether this constitutes a mandate or not is arguable, but it is an amazing feat, nonetheless. I congratulate him for it and wish him well.
Managing a wildly successful political campaign is one thing; governing a large and diverse nation is quite another. The outpourings of good will from all over the world are a big plus, but they will cool. Our economic crisis has been brewing for at least 40 years, and most of the quick fixes being discussed today will most likely be counter-productive. I pray that our new president will get wise economic advice. A crisis that took decades to create may take more than one election cycle to fix, and what constitutes a ‘fix’ is still up for grabs.
President-elect Obama is stepping into a crucible of testing, one that calls for an extraordinary governing team with long-range vision. Will he govern well and wisely, will he preside over a series of catastrophes that bring more hurt to all of us, or somewhere in between? The world is watching.
Dave, a tad worried about the future of his grand-kids.
Was hoping to see you weigh in on this historic election, Dad. I enjoyed your essay. Yes, we’ll all be watching, and despite my elation at his win, I realize the problems he’s expected to fix are many years in the making and both parties had a hand in the failures. And it’s true – he’s untested.
Btw, I was lurking around here the other day, and hadn’t realized how many thoughtful commentary and links there were regarding Peggy Noonan’s opinion columns over the years. I’ve been a lax lurker on the Orlop! She’s one of my favorites, and catch myself agreeing with her from time to time! She certainly is reasonable in her arguments.
Don’t miss Peggy Noonan’s latest: The Children Are Watching. She ends by saying,
“Mr. Obama won it the old-fashioned way: he earned it. He confounded history to get it. And because he replaces a president whose unpopularity has impeded his ability to govern, he is, in a way, president from day one.
“What a thing this is going to be to see. What luck to observe it.”
Well said!
I think many people, liberals and conservatives alike, can only wish him the best of luck at this point. He seems like an honest and intelligent guy, a studied and learned man, and speaks often with references to history, and then ties those connections together with our current problems. His speech in Berlin last summer (was that only a few months ago?) spoke to the people of that city by talking about the airlift and the shared struggles of the past, and because he linked the USA and Germany through shared history, convinced people to think about cooperation in the future. It was very well received.
I think that the enthusiasm from people over the election is great, when was the last time that people were so interested in politics? People here are now asking “where is our Obama?”