The Gravity of the Situation

Hey Ryan and Shane,

First of all, I want to thank you guys for your thoughtful and entertaining posts over the past few months. There were days when I looked at the computer screen at a total loss for anything to write, only to find a piece by one of you that was so much better than anything I could've come up with. Even though the election is over, I look forward to continuing this conversation. Interesting days are ahead, for sure, and it's great to know I'll be able to talk to you guys about them.

You know, as I watched Obama's victory address last night, I was struck by how measured and even somber he seemed standing on that stage. Of course, I was also in shock. I guess for all the talk about hope and belief, there was still a part of me that wondered, "Could this all still be taken away?"

But it wasn't. There he stood, a man not gloating over an overwhelming victory, but sizing up the enormity of the task ahead. And that was what we needed, it was what I needed.

You see, I'm not some moon-eyed Obama supporter. I'm one of those people who believes a country should be governed from the center, but with an eye to social justice and compassion. And if those two concerns make me "left-leaning" or "liberal", well I guess I'll just add those titles on my next batch of business cards.

All of us who supported President-Elect Obama during his campaign (and even those who didn't) must realize that change is not sudden. It has to start somewhere. I'm not under any illusions about how much Obama is going to be able to do in the first 100 days or even the first term. This is going to be hard.

But I don't judge a candidate on how quickly he can fulfill all of his campaign promises, but what promises he chooses to make in the first place and how he approaches those issues. Obama is an inclusive pragmatist and all of us who support him should strive for that same temperament. We should look at the people we have railed for these past two years and see what kind of common ground we can find. That's the only way problems like the ones we're facing are solved. Together.

Over the past week or so, I've talked to people who were either supporting McCain or just not jazzed about the whole process at all. The negativity of McCain's campaign had contaminated the whole election. For his supporters, the worst aspects of their natures were laid bare in front of them. For those fed up with the whole affair, his negativity became the face of both campaigns.

To be fair, Obama had his share of negative campaign ads. But the widely parroted "fact" that statistically Obama's campaign ran more negative ads than McCain was just not true. In the study that most McCainiacs cited, the major criterion for an ad to be deemed "negative" was whether it mentioned the candidate's opponent. That's all.

Sure, Obama name-checked McCain in the majority of his ads, but those mentions were overwhelmingly related to policy issues. I can deal with that kind of "negative" campaigning, because it speaks to the issues that pertain to us.

William Ayers wasn't a factor for most voters because he really didn't matter. He wasn't going to be involved in any incarnation of an Obama administration. He wasn't going to be in the candidate's ear before or after the election. In short, he did not affect Obama's policies.

Conversely, McCain's involvement in the Keating Five savings and loan scandal spoke directly to the candidate's character when it came to an extremely important issue in our times: the economy. The fact that McCain acted unethically on behalf of a corrupt financial baron friend sounded a little too much like the last eight years to me...and probably to a lot of voters. I believe the election numbers bore that out.

But, our immediate concern is to not let the negative aftertaste of this election cycle poison our first shot at real progress in a nearly a decade. Last night's victory, as decisive as it was, should be viewed as a nod, not a mandate. Only Republican strategists and pundits talk about Obama's "political capital" and his "mandate".

And you know why they do it? Because they know that it sows dissension. They know that if they can taint the well with talk like that, they can crow louder when Obama seems to underperform by their mythical standards.

Of course, when the majority of Americans agree with them, these GOP pundits always praise the judgement of "real" America. But, when Americans rebuke their ideology, these same talking heads deem the voters to be starry-eyed rubes. And that's because, to these blowhards, politics isn't about helping people, it's just a blood sport.

And that's why so many of these GOP mouthpieces turned on Bush the Junior in the latter stages of his lame duck term...they saw it as good theatre. Never mind that most of them were touting John McCain and his policies, which really were a virtual extension of the Bush Debacle.

We're going to hear a lot of sour grapes in the days and months and years ahead, but it's only because we, as voters, demanded the truth this time, and Obama gave it to us. He talked to us like adults about race and the economy and the war. We were included in the discussion. GOP pundits and politicians have resorted to fear-mongering and simplistic rhetoric because they've got nothing good to sell in their chosen platform...not with this new brand of "conservatism". They've leaned too much toward big business and forgot about true conservative ideals in the process.

With the inauguration (or maybe sooner), the second phase of our journey with Obama begins and the real work will start. Let's hope we've got the stamina to live up to the attitude of sacrifice and bipartisanship we voted for. I think we're up to it and I'm proud to be a part of it.

Charles