The Tide Is Turning

I have no idea who Roger Waters is supporting in this thing (and I hasten to note that this video was created without his permission), but when I heard Senator Obama's historic Philadelphia address last week, this song, "The Tide Is Turning," from Waters' underrated 1987 album Radio KAOS kept running on a loop in my head.

The song and the speech compelled me to take a break from the snark to assemble this mash-up as a tribute to everyone who has endured this seven-year-long dark ride; and to everyone who hopes that America can and will change for the better.

Until recently, I honestly didn't think it was possible. And even though it's only the beginning, Senator Obama's campaign is clearly our best shot to, at the very least, turn the tide against this seemingly interminable darkness.

Bob Cesca's Goddamn Awesome Blog! GO!

Comments

[janmB]

BECAUSE OBAMA HAS GOOD SPEECH WRITERS AND GIVES A SWEET-TALK SPEECH THEN THE COUNTRY SHOULD BE BOWLED OVER JUST OVER THAT ONE.
SOUNDS LIKE THE SAME CROWD THAT THOUGHT GWB WAS SO WONDERFUL CAUSE HE WAS A GUY THEY WOULD LOVE TO SHARE A BEER WITH.
THIS COUNTRY HAS NO CLUE HOW TO PICK LEADERS.
HOW DO I KNOW ? LOOK AT THE LAST 7 YEARS. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY IS SHOWING THEIR COLOURS NOW.

[madhatter123]

What an opportunity we have to start cleaning up the disaster of the last eight years. Thank you for your video.

[marymansour]

I, having been a devout fan of Barack Obama since 2004, have fluctuated with wild emotions during this campagne where it seemed at times that Hillary Clinton with her glib set of bromides would prevail and manage to sully Obama. Now - though it has been a rocky ride - I do believe that the tide is turning in his favor. All I can say at this point is that I hope America (even my Alabama home state) will realize what a remarkable person this man is and vote for a new day in America, in politics and for the rest of the world as it relates to this country. I hear the Europeans are waiting with baited breath for us to elect this marvelous man as the head of the free world. American, let's not disappoint them.

[thegreatgiginthesky]

The entire world is free, it is just humans who bind and subjugate other humans.

[itmaybetoolate]

The tide will not turn until bush and his co-conspirators are held responsible for their crimes. Will Obama do that? Will HRC? I fear not. I will support Obama and/or HRC when s/he says that s/he will turn back the clock on bush's unconstitutional expansion of executive power, restore habeas corpus, and begin investigations of the lies that took us to iraq, and the illegal use of torture, here and abroad. No amount of inspirational oratory can make up for holding bush accountable. The bad news is this: he'll get away with it!

[thatvisionthing]

Thank you. That's what our founders were talking about!

Can you tell me more about the picture at 1:45, is that here or there? What a shame.

[chinaskee]

It's 1968 all over again. And the left is going to be dealt another resounding defeat in November.
Vote John McCain this November,the only logical choice during this time of war.

[AxelDC]

Vote McCain, if you want "this time of war' to stretch for a century, as America squanders its wealth and world leadership to failed, expensive military ventures that do nothing for our physical security, but decimate our economic security.

[courgood]

Brilliant!!! Obama campaign should license from you for a campaign commercial for the GE.

[timetorevolt]

All you Obama doubters should watch the HBO series, John Adams. It outlines what a determined group of people can do when they are committed and have a leader that inspire them to keep going. Watch it..The fight for the Declartion of Independence from England was no easy task..

[NovatoBon]

Beautifully done! Thank you :-)

[BoulderSue]

Always loved the song and am glad it was rolling around in your head. I don't care much what Roger Water's family's politics were. Anyway if you really look at your history, being a Communist meant a lot of different things depending on when and where you were. In the '60's my fervent ly republican father was turned down for a government job because the FBI turned up a great uncle who was an honest to God card carrying Communist working as a labor organizer in the steel mills of Gary, Indiana. The other great uncle they turned up, the one who fought with the White Russian army against the Reds didn't seem to balance things out.
The song that rolls around in my head is something like "I'm on my way, to the Promised Land..." 'We're on our way, we're on our way....'' My husband liked the "Yes We Can" video so much, he put it on his (musically oriented ) website, and now he's added your inspiration, Bob.(http://southernsoulrnb.com/corner2008.cfm) This is my apolitical huband who usually has no use for politics at all, but Barack got him going this year.

[Arielman]

Yeah Lucille Ball's father sent in $30 once to see who they were and she had to live to regret it, from western NY State. Out there you can dump a cup of water in the Allegheny River and it'll flow out up over the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana, some of them below the levee. What a drainage! God-forbid us to be allowed to look at hydraulic despotism in the past and where it might have arose, with its first tested civil service class in the world, in Mandarin, in China and compare other despotism (or lack there of in Katrina?). I would like to take this public opportunity to thank the Ball family. The head of the American Communist Party lived in very upscale Greenwich, Connecticut my grandfather told us, he from some of the highest tides in the world, Grand Manan Island in the Bay of Fundy, a bit higher than the English Channel. The tide is turning somewhere all the time thanks to the Moon. It should be an interesting Democratic convention a mile above the tide in Denver, Colorado. My cousin George Murray, who once directed "Huntley and Brinkley" (NBC) produced both parties' coverages for CBS in 1976. This will certainly be different from then in this new medium and communications era of the 21st century. So what did the FBI do with the "Operation Megiddo" $6 billion for the millennium? Start WWIII?

[stefanielaine]

From Obama's South Carolina Victory Speech:

" There are those who will continue to tell us that we can't do this, that we can't have what we're looking for, that we can't have what we want, that we're peddling false hopes. But here is what I know. I know that when people say we can't overcome all the big money and influence in Washington, I think of that elderly woman who sent me a contribution the other day, an envelope that had a money order for $3.01 along with a verse of scripture tucked inside the envelope. So don't tell us change isn't possible. That woman knows change is possible.

When I hear the cynical talk that blacks and whites and Latinos can't join together and work together, I'm reminded of the Latino brothers and sisters I organized with and stood with and fought with side by side for jobs and justice on the streets of Chicago. So don't tell us change can't happen.

When I hear that we'll never overcome the racial divide in our politics, I think about that Republican woman who used to work for Strom Thurmond, who is now devoted to educating inner city-children and who went out into the streets of South Carolina and knocked on doors for this campaign. Don't tell me we can't change."

[BrianNY]

This is such an uplifting video! I am so grateful to Bob Cesca for putting it together, and for finding this wonderful song. Barack Obama's words and tone are captured at their sincerest.

I am a fan of Cesca, and enjoy every column he writes. He never fails to "hit the nail" right on its head, pointing out things others frequently miss, but, most of all, helping us progressive types to keep the faith, always looking forward.

The tide is indeed turning. Thank you Bob!

[lboucher]

Obama should give up and throw in the towel ! HRC rules!!

[fredpferr]

Interesting that Roger Waters even wrote this song. His father was a communst. His mother was very proactive in socialist politics. Roger himself is a socialist. This song supposedly celebrates the end of the Cold War and the decay of Communist USSR. What was he happy about? The prevailing Western culture? This song closed the Roger Waters 'Wall' show at Potsdamer Platz near Chekpoint Charlie shortly after the Berin Wall fell. Roger should have been crying.
In any case, the tide is turning only in the sense that it ebbs and flows. Give us 4-to-8 years of Obama and people will say, 'What the hell were we thinking?'

[darker]

You got it.

LOOK before you leap.

IT HURTS to say that most voters have been duped, dumb asses.

THE TRICK IS ... to stop being an immature spoiled brat VOTER .

BE A RESPONSIBLE ADULT.
THIS IS NOT a SPORTS event, as republicans want you to believe--"all about EMOTION". NOT. NOT.

Choose the most COMMEN-SENSE
candidate who is NOT Republicans all over again. (get it?).

[fredpferr]

I think you missed the point. (Obama would be a mistake.)

[newunderground]

Even if h.e loses the General, He could be our Goldwater... The Catalyst

[SeagirlX]

BRAVO! I'm speechless and deeply moved. Thank you. The tide IS turning and we can not deny that and we must not ignore it. We must move forward.

[BruceWY]

The biggest problem in the way of change (and fair elections) is the superdelegates, who should never have been given power.

The answer to the superdelegate question is easy, simple, and fair. Simply add half of the superdelegate vote to each candidate's total. This neutralizes them and lets the votes of the other delegates (the people) decide the race. It also ends the race sooner, probably far ahead of the convention, and lets the winner (the people's winner) get on with fighting McCain. If the Democrats don't adopt this plan they are wasting time, effort, money, and the good will of American voters. If you like this plan please post it anywhere you can think of and try to convince the party to get out of this mess of its own making. And of course dump the superdelegates first thing when they hit Denver.

[ItsAlessandro]

The biggest problem is all the focus on the super delegates while no attention is paid to the mini-delegates that were selected in the caucus states. It takes 88% less voters to select a mini-delegate in a caucus state yet the Obama supporters demand that these mini-delegates actually dictate how the super delegates vote.

States that hold actual primaries have so far required 11,009 voters per delegate selected. States that hold caucuses require only 1,304 voters per delegate selected. Hillary leads in both total delegates and electoral college even without Florida and Michigan when we evaluate both candidates based on the voting standards that will be in place in November.

[BrooklynLager]

In other words, in a contest against McCain, she'll lose Illinois, but win Arizona, John McCain's home state.

The Democratic Party has proportional delegates for a reason - to keep people from drawing nutty conclusions like that.

[muktukcanuck]

That was very well done. I'm glad you played it out, and didn't just let the loop run in your head. Much better to share your inspiration. It just might be contagious.

[moderationsmuse]

No it's not.

[leftoflennon]

I have tears in my eyes now.

The Tide IS turning...

[ariadne1]

god... that was GREAT!!!!!!!! i sent it to my entire family and friends some of whom are leaning toward clinton. the title of my email was 'why i feel the way that i do.'

[RoseMerry]

Okay, this hardy seems fair! The power of this song can not be ignored. It was the first optimistic song, Roger Water ever wrote and he wrote after Live Aid.

I pray that it will apply to the current sitaution. It has become so much worse than we have ever imagined.

Great video.

[dperis]

Great use of a classic song with moving imagery...

I am the editor of JamsBio.com, which allows people to post their memories of songs. I've highlighted your thoughts and video here:

http://www.jamsbio.com/user/david/let_the_tide_turn/

Thank you

[VicksieDo]

Thanks Bob, I needed that :-)

[nazgul]

"But the most common thing that people say to me ... is 'Don't give up, keep going. We're with you.' And I feel really good about that because that's what I intend to do," X told reporters on Tuesday.

Is X George Bush listening to his inner circle about Iraq, or Hillary listening to hers about her campaign? Similarity in self-indulgent management styles is striking.