America's Seminal Moment

It was, if nothing else, a seminal moment for the nation. Most will undoubtedly remember where they were, even those in opposition, when the country elected Barack Hussein Obama as its president-elect.

I thought of my conversation, nearly two years ago, with Rev. Dr. Bill McNabb, pastor of Piedmont Community Church, when he asked me if I thought Obama could win. I unequivocally said, "no."

History had taught me such things were not possible. I did not believe it when those presidential rumors began to circulate about Obama at the 2004 Democratic Convention after his electrifying keynote address, and nothing had occurred to change my mind.

But history was wrong; I was wrong though I was hardly alone.

None of the courageous civil rights workers, who nonviolently took on Bull Connor's police dogs and hydraulic fire hoses in 1963, could have possibly imagined what would took place on November 4, 2008. I don't think anyone over 20 could have conceived an Obama presidency before his Iowa caucus victory in January.

There was no "Bradley effect," not when the latest Gallup poll has only seven percent of those polled satisfied with the direction of the country. A number so low that it makes you wonder the identity of the seven.

The Obama campaign was something different, something not seen before in American politics.

Beyond Obama's masterful use of rhetoric, his victory bears witnessed to the power and new frontier of 21st century campaigning. From fundraising to organizing the Obama campaign upgraded the 2004 Howard Dean model with unrivaled discipline and communication, they took out Dean's rebel yell and wound up with a landslide.

Not only did Obama win, but it was the most impressive Democratic victory since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Obama's victory changed the electoral map away from the predictable outcomes that lead pundits to conclude Republicans have exclusive rights to the inside track for an Electoral College victory.

Today does not feel as though America exist on a 51-49 fault line that had been key to George W. Bush's election success. The divisive Karl Rove tactics, which possessed the grandiose notion of a permanent Republican majority party, feels like a distant memory. This was not a vote against as much as it was a vote for something.

I felt Democrats in 2004 supported John Kerry largely because of the belief he could beat George Bush. The "Anybody but Bush" strategy is not one soon to be replicated in upcoming campaigns.

Speaking of Bush, it would go against everything Emily Post accepts as true, if Obama did not send him flowers and a thank you card. For without the mishaps of the 43rd president, it is doubtful that the 44th commander-in-chief would have broken the more than two century monopoly on presidential hue.

With the simple exercise of our most important civic duty, a unique coalition of individuals, many of whom in previous elections may not have voted for a Democrat let alone someone of African heritage, gave new meaning to the sentence "We the people of the United States in order to form a more perfect union."

Regardless of who you voted for, this is a time for collective celebration. America, with all the bravado of a young Cassius Clay, when he defeated Sonny Liston, "shook up the world." Traditional allies like France, Germany, and Great Britain were among the legion of nations that followed the 2008 presidential campaign with shock and awe.

Would America actually do it? Would they have the courage to elect Obama? These were among the questions European journalist raised.

While these were valid questions, given America's peculiar legacy with race, one thing remains certain: Barack Obama could only have been elected in America.

Everyone around the world that touts the election of Obama does so from afar, but none could have pulled it off in their homeland.

There will be plenty of time to hold Obama's feet to the fire on war, the Constitution, and the economy -- I plan to be in that number.

But today we celebrate, not so much the victory of an individual, but the greatness of the American experiment.

Byron Williams is an Oakland pastor and syndicated columnist. He is the author of Strip Mall Patriotism: Moral Reflections of the Iraq War. E-mail him at [e-mail] or visit his website byronspeaks.com.

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Comments

[OwenScottIII]

Barack Obama made his intentions clear from the outset- he intended to do politics differently. The election was a repudiation of an old, old paradigm of elections based upon distortion, fear, greed and cynicism. Enough people appreciated his message or else realized they’d been had by corrupt, incompetent, and arrogant leaders to give Obama his chance. I believe President Obama will show that he can do more than win the election. If he succeeds, he’ll usher in an era we’ll be grateful to experience and hand down to our children; and, the country we all love will once more set an example for the global village. May our grand experiment in democracy thrive once again.

“There are no red states or blue states- there are the United States of America.” Barack Obama.