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Obama Wins: Why All Americans Have a Reason to Celebrate
Even if your candidate didn't win tonight, you have reason to celebrate. We all do.
Ten months ago, when Obama won in Iowa, we had a glimpse of what was possible and what became real tonight. What I wrote then about one state is now true for the whole country:
Barack Obama's impressive victory says a lot about America, and also about the current mindset of the American voter.
Because tonight voters decided that they didn't want to look back. They wanted to step into the future -- as if a country exhausted by the last seven-plus years wanted to recapture its youth.
And they turned out in unprecedented numbers today to make sure that no amount of scrubbed rolls, malfunctioning machines, endless lines, or polling places running out of ballots would block the way.
The history of America is studded with great breakthroughs -- propelled by leaders such as Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and Martin Luther King -- followed by decades of consolidation and occasional regression.
The Bush years have clearly been a period of regression. The repudiation of those years is now almost universal. Even conservatives are admitting it; over the course of today, I've received numerous emails from conservatives ending with some variation on "Go Obama!"
In America's journey toward a more just and truly democratic society, tonight is another milestone. And not just because the son of a Kenyan father and a mother from Kansas is now President-Elect. But also because tonight's outcome is a declaration that we are once again a nation more driven by hope and promise than a nation driven by fear.
Bush's re-election in 2004 was a monument to the power of fear. And McCain, his staff stocked with Karl Rove disciples, followed the Bush blueprint and played the fear card again and again.
Be afraid of Obama, the GOP warned us. Be afraid of something new, something different. He would meet with our enemies. His middle name is Hussein. He "pals around with terrorists," consorts with the radicals at Acorn (which is "destroying the fabric of democracy"), and doesn't see America "like you and I see America." A vote for Obama would be "dangerous" and "too risky for America."
The people of America listened, but chose to take the risk. So even if you voted for John McCain; even if you love Sarah Palin, who is still in search of the "pro-American areas of this great nation"; even if are Joe the Plumber - or, hell, even if you are Michele Bachmann - tonight is a night to be proud of America.
Obama's victory holds up a mirror, reflecting the country we are. And it turns out to be the kind of country we've always imagined ourselves being -- even if in the last seven-plus years we fell horribly short: a young country, an optimistic country, a forward-looking country, a country not afraid to take risks or to dream big.
Of course, it will take more than big dreams to help America dig out from the many crises we face. From the global economic crisis to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the day of reckoning is upon us.
But these challenging times also will provide the new president with the opportunity to really transform America. As Gary Hart points out, "Great presidents do not emerge from quiet times; they arise in times of chaos and crisis."
This is an idea that has animated Obama's candidacy from the beginning. As he put it on the stump many times last week:
We began this journey in the depths of winter nearly two years ago, on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. Back then, we didn't have much money or many endorsements. We weren't given much of a chance by the polls or the pundits, and we knew how steep our climb would be. But I also knew this. I knew that the size of our challenges had outgrown the smallness of our politics.
Since that time, the size of our challenges has grown even bigger -- and the smallness of our politics has even downsized McCain from a noble hero to a hack fearmonger.
But over the course of this long and arduous campaign, Obama has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to inspire us to tap into the better angels of our nature -- to stir the American people to expect more of themselves than they otherwise would.
It's a theme Michelle Obama touched on many times on the campaign trail. "Barack Obama will require that you work," she said at a rally on the eve of Super Tuesday. "He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism; that you put down your divisions; that you come out of your isolation; that you move out of your comfort zones; that you push yourself to be better; and that you engage."
This call echoed something that historian and presidential biographer David McCullough had once said about JFK. "The great thing about Kennedy," he told me, "is that he didn't say I'm going to make it easier for you. He said it's going to be harder. And he wasn't pandering to the less noble side of human nature. He was calling on us to give our best."
And when Bobby Kennedy was agonizing over whether or not to run in 1968, he told one of his advisors: "People are selfish. But they can also be compassionate and generous, and they care about the country. But not when they feel threatened. That's why this is such a crucial time. We can go in either direction. But if we don't make a choice soon, it will be too late to turn things around. I think people are willing to make the right choice. But they need leadership. They're hungry for leadership." Forty years later, we are starving for it. Real leadership. Leadership geared to transforming the country.
Tonight is a night to celebrate the victory of a candidate who seized his moment in history and reminded America of its youth and the optimism it longs to recapture. Let's savor it.
The dark years of the Bush regression are almost done. It's time for another American breakthrough.
If you are in the San Francisco area, I will be speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit on Friday, November 7th.
Follow Arianna Huffington on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ariannahuff
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HuffPost's Pick
I was amid thousands of fellow celebratory supporters at the Obama Election Night Gala at the Hyatt Regency in L.A. when Barack finally appeared on the big screen. The cheering and whistling was deafening. Barack began his eloquent acceptance speech and a hush came over the room. Just in front of me was a 75-year old black man. He turned around and in his tired eyes I read the narrative of a life too familiar with disappointment. As he shook his head in disbelief and wiped tears from his eyes, the profundity of that precise nanosecond in American history hit me. Here was a man who'd suffered through decades of segregation, intolerance and being denied voting -- all because of skin color. He looked up and we made eye contact. Without hesitation, I walked up and embraced him. I held him close and said, "we did it, brother!" He kept crying and shaking his head in disbelief. We'd both just had dreams come true. My dream was that the man who'd spoken at the Democratic Convention 4 years ago and had stunned me with his charisma, eloquence and integrity might one day be our leader. His lifelong dream was simply that one day he might be judged "not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character." The moment lasted only a minute, but the significance of how Barack's historic victory impacted this stranger stays with me now.
I am looking forward to a three day work week under President-elect Obama. Sidelining my excess taxable productivity rather than being compensated pennies on the dollar between federal, state and local taxes will allow me to engage in all sorts of equally rewarding (from the personal standpoint) endeavors. Whether the cut-off for the fiscal rapine needed to support the trillion in new proposed spending be 250 K (working seven days a week) or 120 K (working three days a week) there is no basis by which I will be producing anything excess to support the tax and spend chicanery that the new administration is going to bring about.
All I can say is: THANK YOU TO THE GOOD WHITE FOLKS OF IOWA. You jump-started the making of history! Thanks a trillion times over!
Thanks very much Arianna, for this touching article and Huffington Post. It is the Site my friends and I turned to when we were "on pins and needles" waiting for Barack Obama's win. I am glad that from heaven now my deceased father can see that the US is not the same as what he saw in 1958! I am excited not just for ourselves, but also for our son and future generations. Barack's win has rewritten the US history.
Ariana, in my opinion, you played a critical role in shaping public opinion during this Presidential election. You deserve to be congratulated for the job well done. You are one smart woman!
There was such a thin line between feeling trust in America again, and getting ready to pack up and leave. While I was optimistic all along about an Obama win, the media and people themselves created a constant anxiety about stealing of the election, would Bush create a world event to justify cancelling the election and just wondering if there were enough Americans that would rise above the race thing. I was ecstatic of course when I turned on the radio and heard McCain's concession speech. And I was relieved, as we all were, to know that our fellow Americans were not all flaming racists, bigots and rednecks. I was also pleased at the grace and dignity that McCain showed in his speech, and in subsequent offers by Bush to make the transition as smooth as possible. I think the country breathed a collective sigh of relief, even many Republicans who by this time, knew the Bush countrycould not sustain itself through another four years of a Repubilcan in office.
I am looking forward to the standing ovation and wonderful welcome Obama receives when he appears before the U.S. Congress for the first time as the President of the United States. I get tears thinking about it.
Why are you not featuring the BS election in ALaska?
That election smalls very bad.
Why did everyone wait until the week of the election to cover possible election fraud?
I know Obama won but that's no excuse for not making sure NOW that every state has fair and transparent elections for the next election.
Some states could have voted 2ce and it wouldn't have helped McCain, because if memory serves me corre....hold on breaking News, Obama has just won another state!
Everyday is Tuesday for the next four years.....
Losers:
Every resident of California. Gay or straight.
And Arizona and Florida too. Not everyone in this country are considered "real" Americans by anyone. I don't trust anyone anymore.
Why America should be happy for Obama win? Or for the GOP for that matter? Seriously? When are people in this country are going to start looking in the mirror for answers to their issues in life? Yes, bring change, make executives and politicians accountable for their mistakes. If you look at your life you will find that the times that things were bad for you were due to your own mistakes and when they work were consequences of your hardwork and dedication. Take the blame and the credit! Be accountable for your own life. As a puertorican, what barriers have Obama broken for me? None. I did that myself with dedication and discipline. Keep hoping for change, but as long as you are not willing to sacrifice and stop blaming everything around your life will never "Change"
It's not just American's that are excited, as a New Zealander living in Australia, I have found the election of Barack Obama to be an electrifying experience. My friends and family have been immensely excited about Obama's win. People in New Zealand have been more interested in the American election than the one that was happening in their own country.
The choice of Obama for president was a 'no brainer' here. No one here could really understand why anyone would vote for McCain, and Sarah Palin's main appeal was as a running joke around the office.
I was hoping that after the election was decided I wouldn't need to feed my Obama Internet addiction quite so much. Turns out I was wrong. I logged in on Saturday morning to watch his first press conference (streamed live across the Internet). My best mate in New Zealand also did the same thing, even though we hadn't mentioned to each other we were going to watch it.
I may have a problem. Watching Obama is my crack cocaine. Perhaps I need an intervention, or a 12 step plan.
I am getting married next year and I am seriously considering asking Barack to MC the reception. If he couldn't make it, I would settle for Michelle instead. A live videoconference call to Barack at the White house would be a nice touch though.
Anyway I should jump off the Internet and step outside, so I can raise the American flag above my house...
Thank you for saying what so many of us feel. I've actually been depressed for the past eight years over the debacle of the current administration. I'd given up hope that we could ever escape the ever escalating culture of fear (we still have to work on bigotry; it is appalling that Prop 8 passed). Giving up hope is no small thing, but getting it back when you never thought it could happen is great, and good, and a gift. Now our country has the opportunity to use it's power for good instead of evil. Our never-ending use of force only makes us weak and it creates enemies. President Obama is capable of changing the way we interact with the rest of the planet, and people all over the world know this and will respond in a positive way. We might even have a chance of saving the planet itself. I know that millions are with me in sending our love and best wishes to Barack Obama - the man who put hope back into our vocabulary.
Right on! I want us on BOTH sides of the to put down our vitriolic bullhorns and come together and embrace an Obama presidency with vigor, hard work and excitement. McCain/Palin lost. I get it. Let them go quietly into the night to nurse their wounds and heal. Let's work to heal our entire country after 8 years of an administration that has let down Americans of every walk of life. Lets set aside race, set aside gender and be one common country called the United States of America. I am getting text messages from the minority of white voters who do not see this as a step in the right direction for our country. I am a teacher.. For 10 years before that I was a financial advisor. I am finally in a job where I see the human side of our nation every day. If every CEO in America were to see the children of their employees in our nation's poorer schools maybe they would think twice before attempting to bankrupt America. GO OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!
The California lawmakers carefully worded something to overturn a long awaited right. Members of that community should mobilize and insist that their lives are as important as this right is, and use the ability (that they have most better than many) to deflect prejudice, exclusion and ignorance to inform the masses that all of HUMANITY is capable of COMPASSION in this matter.
Progressives will defend. This is the INCLUSION party.
I really think that if a President-Elect includes,
"It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.",
in the first few comments of his speech - than those rights will NOT be denied for LONG.
Join the celebration, your slice of cake is coming.
I have trouble believing you. Two words: Matthew Sheppard. Whenever the republikanischers get a h.a.t.e proposal on the ballot and it wins, it seems to always give them permission to commit v.i.o.lence against others. Enjoy your party - we weren't invited.
while obamas victory is historic and for all the right reasons, i cant help but think that this is just a phyrric victory. Americas global corporate interests, and all the injustices that those interests entail, will still be served. If obamas victory has done anything then its ignite an interest in politics. Let us grasp this nettle and force obama to create the social and democratic change which empowers the people and not the corporate interest.
You might end up being surprised at Obama's win being the greatest victory in US history. The corporate power and influence over our government has already dropped and will continue to drop. Have faith and do your part and a little optimism would help. Enjoy these days and the end of the neocon nightmare.
I have a question for you democrats...First of all congratulations.
I have heard how this election demonstrated what a powerful message of hope and change that your party presented. How such an overwhelming majority of Americans and the world for that matter are aligned with your ideals and policies and support them.
Yet you are so insecure about the ability for those ideals and policies to withstand the light of day shined upon them by two national radio hosts for 6 hours per day that you plan to systematically muzzle them through the "Fairness Doctrine"? That is rather gutless wouldn't you say?
Thank you for the congratulations... . I'll take a stab at this.
The Fairness Doctrine as I understand it requests that broadcasters offer as much neutrality as possible. The goal is to not let corporate desired content, or desired content by gov't powers, that could mislead and influence public opinion, go unregulated. Naturally, and as usual, your Republican administrations found that fairness unfair. While broadcasting licenses can be owned by corporations, the airwaves belong to the public, and should not have opinions presented as news. That is not neutral, and the public airwaves would be supplying a corporate or gov''t agenda. The whole reason for a fairness requirement. And even then it doesn't require equal time, just SOME opposing view point.
It is transparent why conservatives would oppose anything called The FAIRNESS Doctrine.
My question to you is, why are YOU so insecure about equal time and information?
That is rather gutless, wouldn't you say?
Insecure? well if the political party about to be in power is threatening to pass legislation to silence your point of view, then I guess that would produce some level of paranoia?
why do commercially supported liberal agenda programs always fail?
Why does Rush have 20 million listeners and huge commercial success?
Wouldn't it be fair to say that there is more "demand" for one ideaology?
I thought you democrats were all about "free markets"?
God you democrats are absolutely pathological anymore!
Dealing with your arguments is like having to patronize a child.
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