Hope and anxiety
Everything seemed to go so well for Barack Obama last night. It didn't rain on his open-air acceptance speech at Invesco Field in Denver, it was 45 years to the day since Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, and Obama delivered a speech that was eloquent to the ears and slashing to John McCain and George W. Bush.
Add to that Bill Clinton's wonderful speech Wednesday night and the seemingly sincere effort by both Bill and Hillary Clinton, if not all her diehard supporters, to make their rival Obama the next President of the United States. All the stars seem to be aligned for a historic Democratic victory in November.
But I'm still worried and anxious. Despite polls that show Americans want change, that they are sick of the senseless war in Iraq, sick of George W. Bush's other war, on the environment, and worried to death about the economy and their place in it, Obama and McCain are still close in the polls. And that leads to my biggest source of anxiety, that the Republicans will find a way to once again steal a close election.
That it happened in Florida in 2000--the Original Sin that gave us eight lost years under George W. Bush--seems beyond doubt. That it happened in Ohio in 2004, when the man in charge of the voting process was an aggressively partisan Republican, seems arguable. When Democratic precincts got shorted on voting machines, and voters--some voters--stood 10 hours in line to cast their ballots, you have to wonder.
I doubt that I'm the only Democrat still scarred by what happened and what might have been. I worry, too, about the well-documented "Bradley Effect," the phenomenon of white voters lying to pollsters when black candidates are on the ballot. Even in the relative anonymity of a telephone conversation with a pollster, some white voters don't want to be perceived as racially prejudiced and so say they are undecided or are voting for the black candidate when in fact they are not.
No war is easy, and it will not be easy to restore good and honest government to America. But we have a candidate who will deliver the change we need if we can only put him in the White House. Now the hard work begins.
Comments
It was a great speech indeed.
This morning I spoke with my girlfriend who is from Venezuela. She watched the speech this morning and said that she now likes Obama. Until now she has said that she likes the Republican views. But now she really likes Obama and his views.
IT makes me happy that she watched the speech and learned a bit from what he had to say. Choosing someone just because they are Republican or Democrat doesn't seem wise to me. You really need to listen to what their plan is.
She's excited to be able to vote soon. But not soon enough for this election.
Posted by: Jonathan | August 29, 2008 09:34 AM
The danger is rooted in a growing malaise amongst voters. People are sceptical about the ability of one individual to bring about meaningful change. The wars, recession, inflation, unemployment, deficits, and hardships being imposed on the middle and lower classes has developed an air of inevitability. Obama's task is to convince the electorate that there are viable alternatives, and that he can implement them. He needs to promote specific measures that will withstand scrutiny, and demonstrate leadership in championing positive change. These are not easy tasks for Obama, but our future may very well depend on how well he meets this challenge.
Posted by: Jim Harris | August 29, 2008 10:59 AM