Election Reaction, Part One

Yes, I know, it's been a while since I've posted. In part, that is because I've been trying to soak it all in, to figure out just what has happened over the last two weeks. Here goes:

On election night, I held it together until I got back to my hotel room in Eau Claire; then, Barack Obama came onstage and delivered his first address as President-elect. I began weeping like a child.

Why did I cry? After all, I've previously seen plenty of other candidates -- ones I've fully supported -- successfully elected, yet never shed a single tear.

Certainly, there was the historic nature of the moment; after some of the horrible shit I've witnessed in my lifetime, I never dreamed that I would see an America in which a black man could be elected President. But, more than anything, it was the content of the speech: Barack Obama said, in a few minutes, so many of the things that I've been desperately hoping to hear from our President for the past 94 months. He plainly stated that our national difficulties are a collective matter, and that they would be overcome only through collective effort and sacrifice. He sought to unite Americans in common cause, not to divide us by race, by religiosity, by ideology. Barack Obama actually asked something of us, and, in so doing, treated us as though we are full and equal citizens of a free nation -- not merely consumers in service of an all-important economic machinery.

President-elect Obama has not yet assumed office. There are many problems that he, and we, face over the next four years. But by treating his fellow citizens like the adults they are (or should be) -- by appealing to the better angels of our natures -- he has already made a good start.

My Challenge To You

It's been a hard-fought election season, and tomorrow, November Fourth, it all comes to fruition. Obviously, if you read this blog at all, you know exactly whom I would prefer to win the Presidential race.

But, while it is easy to get caught up in partisanship, the basic truth is that we have far greater commonalities than we do differences, that there is much more that unites us than divides us. For we are all Americans.

I cannot pretend to have a crystal ball; I do not know who will win this election. But, no matter who wins, we face numerous challenges, both near- and long-term, as a nation. And we will have to face them together.

If Senator John McCain is elected tomorrow, if that is the will of the People, then he will be my President just as much he is the President of our nation's most stalwart Republican. And he will deserve the same loyalty that I would give a President Barack Obama, the same opportunity to make his case.

That is not to say that I will never disagree with the new President's actions, no matter whom is elected. But it will not be the result of "McCain Derangement Syndrome," nor "Obama Derangement Syndrome." It will be because I have a legitimate disagreement with his positions or policies -- just as it has been with the current Administration.

And I would expect nothing less of my fellow citizens. That is my challenge to you all.

Now get out and vote your conscience!

The Obamamercial

I just watched the half-hour Obama campaign ad. Couldn't help but notice that there were no frantic allegations of John McCain being connected to terrorists, no ugly innuendo, no angry attacks. Instead, we saw a calm, thoughtful and well-reasoned case laid out as to why Senator Obama is the right choice as our next President.

Exactly the sort of well-thought-out argument that has been conspicuously absent from the Republican nominee's operations.

Decency. Reason. Steadiness. Exactly the reasons that I, in my absentee ballot, cast my vote for Barack Obama. I would urge you to do the same.

We Are Forced To Reap What You Have Sown

It was nice yesterday to briefly see the old John McCain, the one I used to like, the one I would've considered voting for. At Friday's town-hall-style rally in Lakeville, Minnesota, the Republican presidential nominee was forced to actually defend Barack Obama against an ugly mob that seemed about ready to form a lynching party (and doesn't that make me proud to be a Minnesotan!).

"He's a decent family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues," McCain admonished his supporters in reference to Obama. "I admire Senator Obama. I want everyone to be respectful."

The mob's response? Boos and catcalls.

While I am happy that Senator McCain was willing to risk alienating his base in order to tamp the insanity down, this particular brand of madness is a direct result of the McCain campaign's actions over the past several weeks -- actions that seemed specifically designed to elicit just such a response.

Running mate Sarah Palin has been telling the GOP faithful that Obama sees America as "imperfect enough that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country." During her introductions at these events, it has been common practice to emphasize that Obama's middle name is "Hussein" in order to underscore his supposed otherness.

McCain himself has made his disdain for Obama quite apparent at the two presidential debates, refusing to even look at the Democratic nominee and referring to Obama as "that one." He has attempted to stoke racial fears by calling Obama a "man of the streets." And he has remained tellingly silent at other events, during which supporters have called Obama "a terrorist" and screamed "kill him" and "off with his head."

So, while it is gratifying that you have finally decided to do the right thing, Senator McCain, I think it is more than fair to point out that your supporters have merely followed your lead. We are reaping what you have sown, and the end result is a further poisoning of the American political process.

What This Election Is Really About

Son Number Two -- that'd be Tristan, for those of you scoring at home -- has been working at fundraising for the Obama campaign for the better part of a year. And damn near every time that I see him, he recounts another phone call in which he is berated for being a "nigger lover," or some other such ignorant and ridiculous statement.

It makes me despair for the state of the Union.

Since more than 80% of voters believe that the Republicans have our nation heading in the wrong direction, but the presidential polls are virtually a dead heat, what does that say about our nation's electorate?

All of you readers who so fervently (and so irrationally) oppose Senator Obama's candidacy: just think about the stereotypes, both overt and covert, with which you're being bombarded... and the types of persons with whom you're crawling in bed, politically.

With what type of person do you want to be aligned?

Connections

Yesterday, while in central Iowa, I caught part of Rush Lamebrain's show. And, from what was said, it seems that Barack Obama is a lying monster, bent on destroying our liberties, on creating a totalitarian regime right here in America.

At least that's what the hillbilly-heroin addict would have us all believe.

This is what much of the national political debate has devolved into. These whack jobs can't merely express the idea that they have some disagreements with Obama's policy; instead, they must demonize the man, turn him into something other than human.

*****

In other news, three different drug-addled morons were arrested Sunday in Colorado after making racially-tinged threats toward Obama. The idiots in question were equipped with scoped rifles, walkie-talkies and a bulletproof vest.

*****

Whether or not there is a connection between members of the right-wing hate machine and those who wish to turn their bile into action will be left as an exercise for the reader.

The Politics Of Conflation

Yesterday, John Edwards finally admitted the truth of a story that had been percolating just under the political surface for several months: He had an extramarital affair in 2006. About the mindset that led to his affair, Edwards stated, in part, "...I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic."

Needless to say, John Edwards' political future is now nonexistent.

This is regrettable. Regrettable because Edwards was one of the few candidates actually talking about the vast economic disparities in our nation. Because of the public embarrassment that has been visited upon his already-suffering family. And because we will now see the inevitable Republican tactic in response: The conflation of the message with the messenger.

You see, the GOP would have us all believe that, because John Edwards is human, then the issues that he champions must be bogus. That, since Edwards schtupped a videographer, then people can be convinced that there is no truth to the actual statistics showing the divergence of outcomes between those who must work their way out of the economic hole into which they were born, and those who were born at the top of society's mountain.

Just look at the amount of time and energy that the Right still spends heaping scorn and ridicule upon Al Gore; if Gore can be made to look foolish, then it casts doubt upon the idea of global warming, climatological data be damned. And the ultra-wealthy, for whom the political right works, can then continue reaping the short-term economic rewards of fossil-fuel use.

Yet another illustration is last week's orchestrated ridicule of Barack Obama. You see, Obama made the mistake of stating the simple fact that basic conservation measures, such as all Americans driving cars that have properly-inflated tires and properly-tuned engines, would save us far more oil than offshore drilling could provide. But the Right used its media might to turn reality upside-down, and no one seemed to question the fact that they were, essentially, telling us that it would be a good idea for each of us to under-inflate our tires and cut a couple of spark plug wires.

That is just how stupid the Republicans and their media shills believe us to be. If we continue to vote for the idiot with whom we'd rather have a beer (or, in Dubya's case, snort a line), then a continuation of the current state of governmental incompetence is exactly what we deserve.