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What President Obama Means To Me

by Eli » Permalink

I’m not the most patriotic person in America.  I don’t agree with the commonly-stated notion that America is the greatest country in the world.  Not so much because America isn’t great, but because there are plenty of great countries on Earth.  The rah-rah, blind patriotism that’s connected to America seems too simplistic for a global worldview that is so complex.

But last night, and into this morning, I felt patriotic.  I felt like America is a great country.  The 2008 election, a long battle lasting almost two years, is a monumental moment in this country’s history, and it established a new precedent for what is possible in this nation.

For the last eight years, America has roundly embraced the anti-intellectual, fear-mongering ideas of the Bush/Cheney administration.  We’ve given tax breaks to those who already have tens of millions of dollars in their bloated bank accounts.  We’ve cut funding for environmental and energy development.  We’ve implemented the No Child Left Behind, possibly the worst educational policy in this nation’s history.  We’ve cut civil rights with the Patriot Act.  We’ve replaced a $350 billion surplus with trillions of dollars in debt.  We’ve been fed the idea that the government is always out to get you (by the government itself, ironically), and that you’re better taking an every-man-for-himself approach. As a result of all this, and more, the economy is in shambles, and our worldwide image has been tarnished.

And — almost unthinkably — America’s choice to fix these problems is a man who was required to drink from his own water fountain barely 40 years ago.  A man who, to this day, cannot belong to certain country clubs in America.

This is a big deal.

Putting John McCain in office would have been to ignore Bush’s eight years of failure, and it would have sent a message that America is uninterested in holding its government accountable.  But instead, America opted for a new, bold direction.  And I am proud to be a part of that.

Now, I’m not naive enough to believe that the election of Obama will solve every issue that faces the United States.  There will be major challenges along the way, and the executive office will not be able to completely salve the wounds left behind by George Bush.  It is a start, however.

It was interesting this morning to check the reactions from newspapers around the world about Obama’s win.  I took a few screencaps, which you can click below to see the full image:

The immediate reaction from around the globe has been overwhelmingly positive, from France to Russia to China to the Middle East to South America.  Polls have shown that citizens of foreign nations preferred Obama to McCain by nearly a 4-to-1 margin.  With the economy becoming more global, and with other nations growing increasingly more powerful, this is incredibly important.  In one swift move, the approval rating of the U.S. around the world has shot up.  It’s difficult to underestimate the significance of once again having the respect of the rest of the world.

These instant benefits — the more favorable view of America in the global eye, the racial progress and the goodwill felt by so many who supported Obama — are hopefully just the first steps.  The long-term benefits of an Obama presidency are harder to define, and are admittedly dependent on a number of factors.  But I believe that those advancements will come.  I believe that his plans for education, energy and the economy are good ones, and will be what guides America back on track.

I’m excited to see Obama’s push for new and better ways of providing energy.  I’m excited to see those new innovations create jobs for Americans.  I’m excited to see a President who will once again place value on an education for all American children.  I’m excited to have a President who acknowledges the existence of the middle class and the struggles faced by those blue-collar individuals who work hard, but are not wealthy.  I’m excited to live under a President whose first inclination in a time of international crisis isn’t to threaten military action.  And frankly, I’m excited to be dumber than the President.

You may disagree with Barack Obama’s policies, but it’s undeniable that this is a pivotal moment in this nation’s history, and an incredible achievement for perhaps the most unlikely president America has ever seen.

We’ve come a long, long way.  Let’s hope we keep going.

Election Day 2008 Photos

by Eli » Permalink

Just because I can, I’m going to pick and choose a few photos from Election Day 2008 to post on this here blog.  And why not?  It’s a historic day, no matter the outcome.  So here’s to commemorating it by stealing some photos from news organizations around the nation.

The beginnings of the Obama rally in Chicago.

The beginnings of the Obama rally in Chicago.

Line stretching out the door for voting in Philadelphia. Some waits were as long as six hours.

A woman walking just outside a polling place in Philadelphia.

People lining up on Tuesday morning for the night-time Obama rally.

People lining up on Tuesday morning for the night-time Obama rally.

The Obamas cast their ballot in Chicago.

The Obamas cast their ballot in Chicago.

VP candidate Joe Biden celebrates casting his vote, and going more than 20 seconds without saying something stupid

VP candidate Joe Biden celebrates casting his vote, and going more than 20 seconds without saying something stupid

Even more long voting lines in Pennsylvania.

Even more long voting lines in Pennsylvania.

Too Good to Pass Up

by Eli » Permalink

I also thoroughly enjoyed the New York Times’ endorsement of Barack Obama today.  Just a few of their more salient points, if I may quote.

Mr. McCain talks about reform a lot, but his vision is pinched. His answer to any economic question is to eliminate pork-barrel spending — about $18 billion in a $3 trillion budget — cut taxes and wait for unfettered markets to solve the problem.

Mr. Obama is clear that the nation’s tax structure must be changed to make it fairer. That means the well-off Americans who have benefited disproportionately from Mr. Bush’s tax cuts will have to pay some more. Working Americans, who have seen their standard of living fall and their children’s options narrow, will benefit. Mr. Obama wants to raise the minimum wage and tie it to inflation, restore a climate in which workers are able to organize unions if they wish and expand educational opportunities.

Mr. Obama was an early and thoughtful opponent of the war in Iraq, and he has presented a military and diplomatic plan for withdrawing American forces. Mr. Obama also has correctly warned that until the Pentagon starts pulling troops out of Iraq, there will not be enough troops to defeat the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

Mr. Obama would have a learning curve on foreign affairs, but he has already showed sounder judgment than his opponent on these critical issues. His choice of Senator Joseph Biden — who has deep foreign-policy expertise — as his running mate is another sign of that sound judgment. Mr. McCain’s long interest in foreign policy and the many dangers this country now faces make his choice of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska more irresponsible.

Unfortunately, Mr. McCain, like Mr. Bush, sees the world as divided into friends (like Georgia) and adversaries (like Russia). He proposed kicking Russia out of the Group of 8 industrialized nations even before the invasion of Georgia. The United States must find a way to constrain the Russians’ worst impulses, while preserving the ability to work with them on arms control and other vital initiatives.

Both candidates talk tough on terrorism, and neither has ruled out military action to end Iran’s nuclear weapons program. But Mr. Obama has called for a serious effort to try to wean Tehran from its nuclear ambitions with more credible diplomatic overtures and tougher sanctions. Mr. McCain’s willingness to joke about bombing Iran was frightening.

It will be an enormous challenge just to get the nation back to where it was before Mr. Bush, to begin to mend its image in the world and to restore its self-confidence and its self-respect. Doing all of that, and leading America forward, will require strength of will, character and intellect, sober judgment and a cool, steady hand.

Mr. Obama has those qualities in abundance. Watching him being tested in the campaign has long since erased the reservations that led us to endorse Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic primaries. He has drawn in legions of new voters with powerful messages of hope and possibility and calls for shared sacrifice and social responsibility.

….

The nation’s problems are simply too grave to be reduced to slashing “robo-calls” and negative ads. This country needs sensible leadership, compassionate leadership, honest leadership and strong leadership. Barack Obama has shown that he has all of those qualities.

Read it and weep

by Eli » Permalink

Read it and weep: Obama rumors continue to fly.