Can Obama Pull Off a Historic Presidential Double Play?
''On or about December 1910," Virginia Woolf wrote, "human character changed.'' We can be much more specific: "On November 4, 2008, just after 11 pm Eastern, America changed" (human character remains rather intransigent).
The change was driven by two things: our country's remarkable capacity for regeneration, and Barack Obama's remarkable ability to tap into the better angels of our nature.
You know something extraordinary is happening when even Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin, and Joe Lieberman trip over themselves -- and their hastily discarded invective -- to say nice things about Obama and the "tremendous signal" sent by his election.
Sure, it's easy to see their encomiums as purely tactical attempts not to be on the wrong side of history, but they are more than that. They also demonstrate how certain moments and certain individuals are able to bring the best out in people -- even people who have shown us some of the worst aspects of human character. Because, hard though it may be to accept, the best and the worst reside in each of us, side-by-side.
As Alexander Solzhenitsyn put it: "The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either -- but right through every human heart." And the greatest leaders are those who inspire us to reside on the good side of Solzhenitsyn's line.
Obama does more. As David Brooks wrote recently, Obama's fractured childhood "is supposed to produce a politician with gaping personal needs and hidden wounds. But over the past two years, Obama has never shown evidence of that."
Here is someone whose childhood could have easily led to a life in shambles. But Obama has somehow -- and without, as far as we know, thousands of hours of therapy --succeeded in not letting circumstances dictate his life and reactions.
During the campaign, Obama was an object lesson in equanimity. Insinuate he's Muslim or sympathizes with terrorists, and he brushes off the mud. Hammer him with trumped up charges -- "sexist," "socialist," un-American" -- and he rolls with the punches. He simply doesn't let it in. He demonstrates that we have the ability to master whether we allow setbacks and attacks to throw us off course.
A lot has been written about Obama's calm in the face of adversity over the course of the last 21 months. Less noted has been how he displays that same centeredness in the face of triumph.
On Tuesday night, he could have waxed transcendent, he could have wrung every last tear and every last cheer out of the adoring crowd at Grant Park. But he chose not to. Instead, his speech gracefully touched the clouds a few times then soberly came back to earth, focused, as always with Obama, on moving forward.
To their great credit, the American people have responded to Obama's example by remaining remarkably focused as well. Despite the seemingly endless parade of meaningless sideshows trotted out during both the primaries and the general campaign, the public refused to be distracted. These kinds of tactics had worked well in 2004 -- but not in 2008. Obama's focus, his sense of purpose cleared a path through the carnival of clownish attacks and chamber of horror scares. And voters followed.
After eight years in which it has felt like the very foundation of our country was under assault, it is a testament to our democracy's inherent capacity for regeneration -- our ability to course-correct -- that Americans responded the way they did to a campaign so premised on an appeal to our greater selves.
A country can change only to the extent that the individuals within it change (and some changes come slower than others, as evidenced by Prop 8 and the other gay marriage bans that passed on Tuesday).
So it's back to Solzhenitsyn: "If you wanted to change the world, who should you begin with: yourself or others?"
Our president-elect is obsessed with Lincoln, who changed the country both by changing government policy and by using the bully pulpit to help us change ourselves. And our president-elect is endlessly being compared to FDR, who gave us both the New Deal and one of the most famous life lessons in history: "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself."
Now it's Obama's turn to pull off this rare presidential double play.
Follow Arianna Huffington on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ariannahuff
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Topic for the show:
There were Republicans who won office on November 4th. Who are they? How did they survive the Democrat wave? What impact will they likely have on Congress, their states, the nation and an Obama presidency?
That sounds like a good idea. One that I haven't seen discussed.
Hi Ariana- Please mention the nationwide Prop 8 protests on Saturday . Thanks !
You can talk about if Obama's victory will make progressive views more popular in the corporate media. You could have on someone from Fairness and accuracy In Reporting or Jeff Cohen or Bob McChesney, who was nice enough to invite you on his radio show.
Noam Chomsky's the obvious answer. lol
Topic for the show:
Could/should criminal charges be brought against Bush/Cheney?
Guest - Congressman Robert Wexler
What is so extreme about Obama's view on abortions?
Below is EXACTLY what President-Elect Barack Obama's position is on reproductive rights which can be found on his website, change.gov. Obama's view is not extreme, it is mainstream.
"Reproductive Choice
Supports a Woman's Right to Choose: Barack Obama understands that abortion is a divisive issue, and respects those who disagree with him. However, he has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade a priority as President. He opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in that case."
Going hand in hand with his belief in a woman's right to choose, Obama also believes in preventing unintended pregnancies, which everyone should support if they want abortion minimized. Again, from change.gov:
"Preventing Unintended Pregnancy: Barack Obama is an original co-sponsor of legislation to expand access to contraception, health information, and preventive services to help reduce unintended pregnancies. Introduced in January 2007, the Prevention First Act will increase funding for family planning and comprehensive sex education that teaches both abstinence and safe sex methods. The Act will also end insurance discrimination against contraception, improve awareness about emergency contraception, and provide compassionate assistance to rape victims."
I'd like to know about political donations by the recipients of the "Troubled Asset Relief Program" or their ties -- personal or financial -- to the Bush Administration, Ben Bernanke, Henry Paulson, Neel Kashkari, etc. An article about how AIG and other company's payrolls have changed since the Bush tax cuts might also be interesting.
I would like to know why the "Agenda" section of change.gov has been striped of it's content. One of its agenda items had been the commitment to pass the Matthew Shepard Hate Crime legislation.
Check your browser, it's there under the "civil rights" subheading.
Discussions for the Maddow show:
plans for the economy
how can democrats keep the momentum into the next political cycle?
what now for republicans?
is a european/canadian style health plan right for the US?
jobs
I wouldn't mind having a show about the Harry Reid & Nancy Pelosi "leadership" in Congress. I am wondering how long we should have to put up with their whining about their inability to get anything done when the electorate has clearly AGAIN said that we want things to change. Will we continue to hear about the inability to get the votes in the Senate?
How about climate change and how the Petroleum lobby has killed all talk and legislation on it.
LOL! She's only hosting one day, that would take at least a year. On one program, Arianna could say a little bit about how Archer Daniels Midland exchanges donations to both parties for some of the biggest subsidies ever
http://www
among other things for corn ethanol,
http://www
even though corn is a stupid lousy source of fuel that requires prime agricultural land and drives up food prices, whereas switchgrass grows where no crop will thus would not affect crop prices. Clear-cut, simple problem with an obvious solution that would cost only ADM, not our government.
It would be great if you could provide evidence that the country is not right ward leaning. The delusions of the right wing pundits need lots of repetitive data to remind them they are wrong.
If the election didn't prove I don't know what will
The bailout's failed execution and what can be done to rescind some of the decisions made by the lame duck officials. Or is this a done deal that can't be fixed?
i would like to know if the Mormon church will lose it's tax exempt status after they spent so much of their congregations money on advertising a political ballot initiative?
great point
I've been trying to find this out for the past week, and I think this is going to put a huge spotlight on churches (mostly Mormon, Catholic, Evangelical) that have been violating their status for YEARS by helping political campaigns or pushing political agendas.
Many people are demanding that these churches lose their tax-exempt status. Actually, anyone can file a complaint with the IRS requesting a church lose their 501(c)3 status for backing a political campaign.
In this case, I'd say the Mormons & Catholics went WAYYY beyond the pale. They financed it!! It's a violation to tell your congregation who to vote for, and that's small potatoes compared to giving millions to a political cause!
I would appreciate an objective analysis and explanation for the whipsaw pricing that has occurred at the gas pump over the past six months. When the price of gas rose earlier this year, the american public was told that the explanation was because of rissing demand in China, India and the rest of the developing world. However, lately the price has plummeled from over $4.00 a gallon to around $2.75 a gallon (based upon San Francisco gas prices). i find it extremely hard to believe that suddenly the Chinese and the Indians have radically reduced their rate of consumption--all within the last six months.
Something else must be happening but I don't know what it is.
Perhaps you could help shed some light on this topic when you host the Maddow Show.
NedSF
The price of oil is largely determined by the sentiments of traders on the commodity futures market. If you check the barrel price of oil daily, you'll see a direct correlation between the pump price and the barrel price.
Lately, traders have chosen to take their money from oil investments, for other uses, or to put in in a rising item. This has resulted in a bear market, driving the barrel price down from a high of approximately $148, to the current price of $57.
I hope that helped.
23000Days described a part of the picture, traders have moved on to more lucrative areas of the market. Also you touched on another factor.
Just heard yesterday, 11-14-08, on PBS radio broadcast - "The World", I think it was, that China had been stockpiling oil, prior to their Olympics. Now, upon tough times, ecconomically, as we all are, they are buying much less oil.
I think the reporter also mentioned that India is buying less oil now, too, as are we. With a slowdown of all types of production, all around the globe, less oil, gasoline & diesel are being consumed. So, simple supply and demand come into play, somewhat.
A few weeks ago, I heard the US dollar has risen some, in value - (and will continue to fluctuate), which is reflected in the price at the pumps. Our slightly improved dollar now buys slightly more oil per dollar, which lowers the overall dollar cost, which is shown in the price per gallon.
Th
Would like you to discuss President-Elect Obama's Cabinet. How inspiring would it be to make Robert J. Kennedy Jr. the Attorney-General? Can you get his take on this possibility?
Thanks
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