Month: January 2008

For the many newcomers to the blog, here’s my Atlantic essay from the fall on the transformational potential of the Obama candidacy.

A reader writes:

You wrote:

"The establishments of both parties lost."

And the people won. I never thought I’d be so happy to see two people I completely disagree with win. This election transcends policy positions. It’s about who we are as a county. Can we be conned? Bought? Blinded by prejudice, fear or "inevitability"? The answer tonight was a resounding NO.

Another writes:

I will remember this night, no matter what happens from here on out, forever. This is why I love America.

A reader writes:

My phone has been ringing off the hook, with nothing but screams from my Black friends and family: a "HE WON", and then an "I’ll talk to you tomorrow".

My mother, born in Jim Crow Mississippi in 1930, just shook her head – she couldn’t believe it.

Believe it. In snow-white Iowa. This moment has been a long time coming. And the wheel of American history just moved forward.

The contrast between the two speeches – Clinton’s and Obama’s – was instructive. She was fine – but seemed to purloin the entire Obama message. The idea of the Clintons as a unifying force for change is not exactly persuasive. "Ready For Change"? A desperate new mishmash.

As for Obama? Maybe you saw it. Simply put: he sounded like a president. The theme was not just change; it was a new unity. And as a black man, he helps heal the past as well as forge the future. This really was history tonight. To win so many white voices, and bring together so many minorities, and use the unifying language that leaves the toxins of race and partisanship behind: This was the moment America stopped being afraid.

This was the America we have missed and have found again.

Know hope.

(Photo: the Obama victory rally tonight by Win McNamee/Getty.)

Two decent guys. Who will they endorse? Their supporters backed Obama.

Look at their names: Huckabee and Obama. Both came from nowhere – from Arkansas and Hawaii. Both campaigned as human beings, not programmed campaign robots with messages honed in focus groups. Both faced powerful and monied establishments in both parties. And both are running two variants on the same message: change, uniting America again, saying goodbye to the bitterness of the polarized past, representing ordinary voters against the professionals. Neither has been ground down by long experience, but neither is a neophyte.

You have a Republican educated in a Bible college; and a Democrat who is the most credible African-American candidate for the presidency in history. Their respective margins were far larger than most expected. And the hope they have unleashed is palpable.

That hope is not just about their parties. It is about America. America’s ability to move forward, to unite, to get past the bitter red-and-blue past. That’s what the next generation wants. And they now seem motivated enough to get it.

(Photo-image by Ori Gersht. Bio here.)

"Fine" by McCain. And it’s admirably honest of him. Those who support the Bush strategy in Iraq should concede that it requires more than 100,000 troops for the indefinite future.

Tonight was in many ways devastating news for the GOP. Twice as many people turned out for the Democrats than the Republicans. Clearly independents prefer the Dems.

Now look at how the caucus-goers defined themselves in the entrance polls. Among the Dems: Very Liberal: 18 percent; Somewhat Liberal: 36 percent; Moderate: 40 percent; Conservative: 6 percent. Now check out the Republicans: Very Conservative: 45 percent; Somewhat Conservative: 43 percent; Moderate: 11 percent; Liberal: 1 percent.

One is a national party; the other is on its way to being an ideological church. The damage Bush and Rove have done – revealed in 2006 – is now inescapable. 

A great performance in this campaign from Edwards. But not a graceful conclusion.