This past Tuesday, Americans signaled loud and clear that it was time for a change. I went to bed that night and realized that for the first time since Al Gore conceded the 2000 election, I felt good about this country again. The election of Barack Obama was one for the history books, no doubt. After a near catastrophic start, I feel like America has a chance to get back on course into the 21st century. What follows are some random thoughts following a record 2-year election cycle and 8 years of WTF? politics. I want to preface this with the fact that I’m a liberal, and my vote was going to go for whoever won the Democratic nomination.
1) It’s about freakin’ time! It pains me that it took 8 years for people to wake up to how bad the Bush administration screwed things up. First they stole the election in 2000. They did. I don’t even want to hear otherwise. Then, when people had the chance to make it right in 2004, they blew it! –Or the Republicans stole Ohio. I’m not sure which. The bottom line is that this is what happens when a bunch of privileged old white guys, most of whom have always been well off and have little idea of what the middle class really is, are put in charge.
2) Yes, there is a liberal media bias. Conservative pundits and NASCAR yay-hoos complain that there is a liberal bias in the media. I agree, but here’s why: When you have educated journalists on a daily basis observing the goings on in the world and seeing it like it is—well, they call it likes they see it. A bias toward what is true doesn’t make it any less true. And speaking of truth…
3) Just because the government says something is true (over and over) does not make it true. Remember the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? Remember how the financial carnage on Wall Street was just a bump in the road? Remember when torture was torture and not subject to legal wrangling? Remember Bush claiming he had all of this political capital after narrowly being re-elected (or was that legally elected for the first time) in 2004? Saying it over and over doesn’t make it so!
4) One Shining Moment. I will say that the night Bush addressed Congress after the September 11th attacks was the highlight of his presidency to me. The world was with us. There was an outpouring of goodwill. We had been hurt and we came together. (Never mind the fact that if the incoming Bush people had listened to the outgoing Clinton people 9/11 probably wouldn’t have happened.) It was nice for the 5 minutes it lasted. But then it was politics as usual and the Bush administration squandered that goodwill.
5) Politics sure does make strange bedfellows. You know, I used to like John McCain back in 2000. That was before he pandered to the right to get their support. I saw that McCain again when he conceded the election. Joe Biden slammed Obama in the early Democratic primary then went on to be his Vice President. Hillary Clinton and her husband Bill did their damned best to derail Barack Obama’s candidacy, only to turn around and support him. I look at this and wonder why anyone in his or her right mind would want to go into politics.
6) Joe Six-Packs and Hockey Moms… Remember when people lauded Bush because he was the “sort of guy you would sit down and drink a beer with”? –Or the appeal of Sarah Palin as being “one of us”? You know what? I know a lot of good people who drink beer or who are good moms. That doesn’t mean that I think that they have any business being the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth…
7) The Audacity of Hope: In 2004, fear won the election. It was scary to realize how much people were willing to compromise their civil liberties for a false sense of security. This year, it was hope that won. If you summed up the message of Barack Obama and his campaign in one word that would be it: HOPE. Speaking of which…
8) …Doesn’t it feel good? I love America. For all of it’s flaws it’s still the greatest nation on Earth. I’ve spent the last eight years feeling progressively worse—like ours was a country in decline like some modern day Roman Empire. That feeling is gone. For the first time since 9/11, I feel comfortable saying the Pledge of Allegiance. I feel that those words might actually ring true again.
9) Don’t expect miracles… Bush and his cronies have dug us into a big, deep hole. Yes, there is a renewed vision of America under a President Obama, but let’s be realistic. This guy isn’t going to be sworn in and just be able to fix everything with a few strokes of a pen. It’s going to take work—hard work. I predict in 4 years the Republicans will whine about how the Democrats didn’t turn things around. It’ll kind of be like someone insisting on driving, ignoring suggestions when they get you lost, then complaining when a new driver can’t get you back on the right route fast enough.
10) A New Era. Tuesday transformed America. There’s no going back. The race barrier was shattered. Eight years after the fact, we’ve truly entered the 21st century…
1) It’s about freakin’ time! It pains me that it took 8 years for people to wake up to how bad the Bush administration screwed things up. First they stole the election in 2000. They did. I don’t even want to hear otherwise. Then, when people had the chance to make it right in 2004, they blew it! –Or the Republicans stole Ohio. I’m not sure which. The bottom line is that this is what happens when a bunch of privileged old white guys, most of whom have always been well off and have little idea of what the middle class really is, are put in charge.
2) Yes, there is a liberal media bias. Conservative pundits and NASCAR yay-hoos complain that there is a liberal bias in the media. I agree, but here’s why: When you have educated journalists on a daily basis observing the goings on in the world and seeing it like it is—well, they call it likes they see it. A bias toward what is true doesn’t make it any less true. And speaking of truth…
3) Just because the government says something is true (over and over) does not make it true. Remember the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? Remember how the financial carnage on Wall Street was just a bump in the road? Remember when torture was torture and not subject to legal wrangling? Remember Bush claiming he had all of this political capital after narrowly being re-elected (or was that legally elected for the first time) in 2004? Saying it over and over doesn’t make it so!
4) One Shining Moment. I will say that the night Bush addressed Congress after the September 11th attacks was the highlight of his presidency to me. The world was with us. There was an outpouring of goodwill. We had been hurt and we came together. (Never mind the fact that if the incoming Bush people had listened to the outgoing Clinton people 9/11 probably wouldn’t have happened.) It was nice for the 5 minutes it lasted. But then it was politics as usual and the Bush administration squandered that goodwill.
5) Politics sure does make strange bedfellows. You know, I used to like John McCain back in 2000. That was before he pandered to the right to get their support. I saw that McCain again when he conceded the election. Joe Biden slammed Obama in the early Democratic primary then went on to be his Vice President. Hillary Clinton and her husband Bill did their damned best to derail Barack Obama’s candidacy, only to turn around and support him. I look at this and wonder why anyone in his or her right mind would want to go into politics.
6) Joe Six-Packs and Hockey Moms… Remember when people lauded Bush because he was the “sort of guy you would sit down and drink a beer with”? –Or the appeal of Sarah Palin as being “one of us”? You know what? I know a lot of good people who drink beer or who are good moms. That doesn’t mean that I think that they have any business being the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth…
7) The Audacity of Hope: In 2004, fear won the election. It was scary to realize how much people were willing to compromise their civil liberties for a false sense of security. This year, it was hope that won. If you summed up the message of Barack Obama and his campaign in one word that would be it: HOPE. Speaking of which…
8) …Doesn’t it feel good? I love America. For all of it’s flaws it’s still the greatest nation on Earth. I’ve spent the last eight years feeling progressively worse—like ours was a country in decline like some modern day Roman Empire. That feeling is gone. For the first time since 9/11, I feel comfortable saying the Pledge of Allegiance. I feel that those words might actually ring true again.
9) Don’t expect miracles… Bush and his cronies have dug us into a big, deep hole. Yes, there is a renewed vision of America under a President Obama, but let’s be realistic. This guy isn’t going to be sworn in and just be able to fix everything with a few strokes of a pen. It’s going to take work—hard work. I predict in 4 years the Republicans will whine about how the Democrats didn’t turn things around. It’ll kind of be like someone insisting on driving, ignoring suggestions when they get you lost, then complaining when a new driver can’t get you back on the right route fast enough.
10) A New Era. Tuesday transformed America. There’s no going back. The race barrier was shattered. Eight years after the fact, we’ve truly entered the 21st century…
