We made it!

Hey Charles,

Well here we are, my friend. I have to admit there were many times I thought this campaign would never end. Do you realize Obama officially kicked off his campaign in February … of 2007? Man, I am simply worn out, if you hadn’t already figured that out by my lack of postings these last few weeks.

But I was re-energized this morning when, before I got in the car and drove off to vote, I revisited the speech Obama made when he formally announced his candidacy for president on Feb. 10, 2007, in Springfield, Ill. Obama’s words, spoken so many moons ago, gave this exhausted voter a much-needed thrill (not the Chris Matthews variety, mind you), and reminded me of just how powerful, focused, and inspirational a campaign Obama has run.

Almost immediately, I was struck by the consistency of Obama’s tone, manner, and key messages. Amazingly, through an rough-and-tumble race with Hillary Clinton, through the Rev. Wright and Bill Ayres and “bittergate,” while ducking the kitchen sink, and right on through the current campaign against McPalin, the guy never wavered on the core themes of his candidacy (bringing change to Washington, the failure of our current leadership, reshaping our economy, tackling the health care crisis, freeing the U.S. from the tyranny of oil, rebuilding our alliances to keep America safe).

On the other hand, you had McCain’s announcement remarks, delivered in April 2007 in New Hampshire. For me, revisiting these remarks reminded me that, once upon a time, I thought Obama v. McCain might transcend our most recent presidential campaigns (Gore-Bush, Kerry-Bush) in terms of serious political discourse. Notice McCain's not-so-subtle swipe at Giuliani for not ensuring our firefighters had the equipment to properly communicate in a crisis. Notice, too, the shot at Dubya and Cheney for mismanaging the war. If this McCain had showed up instead of the guy who was busy pandering to the right all summer long, maybe we could’ve had a real, honest, good-for-the-country debate about these and other issues.

I think it’s pretty safe to say that Obama would’ve risen to the occasion. McCain might have had it in him -- and I’m sure he’d argue that had Obama accepted his proposal to have all those town-hall debates, the campaign would’ve been different. I’m sure he’d argue that Obama opting out of public campaign financing changed the game. Maybe so. But I’d counter that tough politics is different than dirty politics. Obama made strategic decisions that were based on recent electoral history and, in his mind, were necessary to keep what happened to Al Gore (the sighing) and John Kerry (the swiftboating) from happening to him. And really who, on either side, could blame him?

Ironically, McCain had already (in his 2000 run against Dubya) been the victim of these types of dirty attacks and so, by the time 2008 rolled around, knowingly or unknowingly, he had pretty much given up on such an honest campaign. He was too committed to following the Rovian path to victory for the campaign not to, as Peggy Noonan said in an interview, “devolve into the low.” The Straight Talk Express was already way off track. And it’s a shame. Had he seized the moment, maybe we the voters could’ve avoided “Joe the Plumber” and “Tito the Builder” and “Pallin’ around with terrorists” and, my favorite of all, “I am a real American,” and, instead, participated in a serious discussion of issues that matter.

Nevertheless, I’m just grateful one of the candidates stepped up, talked to (not down to) the American public, mixed it up but didn't get down in the mud, and, most importantly, wasn’t afraid to inspire. Whatever happens tonight, I think every American – yes, all of us Joe the Plumbers – can take pride in Obama’s performance on the campaign trail.

And hey, may the best man win, right? Happy Election Day!

Ryan