Amazing Grace: Hallelujah and Get to Work
Americans wake today to a new dawn, a new possibility. You don't have to drink the kool aid to appreciate how extraordinary this is. We will look at one another with new eyes. We are a better, bigger, more generous, more optimistic people than many -- particularly the Rove's acolytes in the McCain campaign -- assumed.
And the world will look at America with new eyes. For a shining moment, we will be once more that city on the hill, the example of a free people choosing a remarkable new leader. A similar choice -- the son of a native born woman and an African -- could not happen in Europe, in Japan, in China or much of Asia. Amazing grace.
It wasn't easy. It took a candidate of remarkable intelligence, discipline and ease, organizing a truly exemplary campaign. It took the worst financial catastrophe since the Great Depression; the worst foreign policy debacle in Iraq since Vietnam. It took the self-immolation of John McCain. It took Americans deciding not to fall for the old politics of division -- not this time.
But this victory is grounded in far more than the campaign or the candidate. This is a country disfigured by slavery from the start. The Constitution even dictated that slaves would count as three-fifths of a person for apportionment (even though they couldn't vote). 150 years of slavery; 100 years of legal apartheid, known as segregation; a slow and hard struggle to overcome.
Yet this same country was founded on an idea -- that all men (and now women) are created equal, endowed with inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That same Constitution that counted slaves as less than human guaranteed the right to speech and assembly, freedom of and freedom from religion. Each generation has been given the opportunity and the mandate to struggle to extend freedom and to make America better.
Many sacrificed; many died to get to this day. Obama, as he knows, stands on the shoulders of giants. So this is a time to celebrate ourselves and to honor those who came before. Hallelujah
And now the work begins. Obama inherits the desert -- with the situation far more dire than many, even now, understand. Manufacturing is at levels not seen since the deep recession in 1980. Consumers are cutting back spending. The banking system is still reeling from losses and shocks. The recession now has gone global. Homeowners have lost $5 trillion in housing values.
So forget about the routine chattering class babble about how America is a "center right" nation and Obama must "govern from the center." (For a good mashup of quotes from ThinkProgress, go here. David Sirota tracks the "center-right watch" from ourfuture.org, here.) With independents and moderates looking more Democratic and liberal on issue after issue, the claim that this is a center-right nation was misleading even before this election. Americans are voting for a northern, liberal, Ivy League educated, African American, former college professor to be president, someone who campaigned on raising taxes on the wealthy, affordable health care for all, investing in new energy, getting out of Iraq and against trickle down economics. Conservative nation?
Govern from the center? Americans voted overwhelmingly for change. And to be successful, Obama will have to be bold. In reality, the center has moved. Bob Rubin now is for a large, deficit financed fiscal stimulus. Conservative SEC Chair Chris Cox now tells us "self-regulation" doesn't work, and calls for re-regulating the banks. Alan Greenspan admits his ideology blinded him to reality -- or at least that he got it wrong. "We're all populists now," says Will Marshall, a leader of the Democratic Leadership Council, the Wall Street wing of the party.
Mandates are not given; they are claimed. Majorities do not form; they are forged. The center is not frozen; it is molded by events, moved by leaders and movements.
But this beltway clamor about the center serves as a warning to progressives. The entrenched forces of the status quo are already in motion. Obama takes office as the Reagan era comes to a close, bankrupted by its own failures. But change, as Obama says, isn't easy.
Even the best presidents need to be pushed to act. Even the most calcified Congresses can be driven to move. The best of the New Deal -- Social Security, the Wagner Act that gave workers the right to organize, Fair Labor Standards that gave us the weekend -- came not from Roosevelt's first 100 days, but two years later, in what became known as the Second New Deal. And that was driven in large part by an active and mobilized labor movement, and by the growing political threat posed by a populist left -- Huey Long, Father Coughlin, Francis Townsend -- that gave Roosevelt both reason and excuse to move. "I agree with you," Roosevelt reportedly told labor's Sidney Hillman, "now go out, and make me to do it."
Obama will need that same kind of pressure. We will need to build an independent progressive movement to push for reform, to challenge those who stand in the way. So celebrate tonight. And then get ready to work.
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
So I imagine the center will magically shift again when the republican inevitably enters the White House in 2012?
You're a dying breed dinodude. Wave bye bye to "conservatism". :P
If a Republican wins in 2012, it will be because W has dug such a big hole, NO ONE can climb out of it in 4 years. By the way...Bush approval rating today...20%, disapproval...over 70%.
Americans may be slow to wake up, but they are not dumb.
Not a chance.The Repubs drank the socialist Kool-Aid turned upside down.
They gave the wealthiest people in their base a huge welfare check.
There is very little chance that the GOP will host a real, true conservative anytime soon.
It's going to take at least twelve years for them to rediscover what the word even means at all,
maybe less than twelve if Obama doesn't do a great job, but 2012 will still be nothing more than a bookmark in a long drawn out Republican whining session.
That's why THIS REPUBLICAN voted for OBAMA!!
I'm waiting for the REVOLUTION
As you have suggested, Robert, the center has moved. And Barack will govern from a new center that will have shifted to the left. The "center/right" portion of the bell-shaped curve has undergone a facelift of sorts and now has drifted far to the right, beyond any serious consideration. These past eight years have convinced enough Americans that we don't like what we've been fed from the Bush/Cheney trough. We prefer a different diet -- a diet that sustains and energizes -- a new Democratic diet that doesn't disregard the needs and aspirations of the middle class and those less fortunate. Hallelujah!
We, the millions of Progressives at Huffpo, will give Obama the pressure he needs. He will face domestic challenges as daunting as those faced by FDR, and international challenges as pressing as those faced by Truman at the end of WW II.
You guys are just too goofy for words, While you anguished over the October "surprise" you knew was coming and then the "November surprise" that you insisted was coming, the country was continuing too change as it has for 230+ years. yes, Obama's election is a terrific benchmark and yes, community organizing elevated to a national campaign is a paradigm shift of the first order but let's not forget that America, for all its blemishes, always gets it right in the end. I've believed this from the moment I first read the Declaration of Independence and the preamble to our Constitution. You can decry Republicans and conservatives for their hoaky love of country but love of country, when properly expressed, does some incredible things, like electing Obama.
What does "in the end" mean? Does that mean that the end justifies the means? Or simply that we can conveniently define "the end" to be at every moment when we are particularly proud of ourselves?
Obama must try to unite the country and not to govern as a liberal. Nor should he try to traiangulate a la Clinton (who got virtually nothing done). He has to lead, to convince, to get consensus. It's very important that he make even disappointed Republicans believe he is interested in their point of view and that he wants to work with them. He needs to bridge differences. He needs to have several Republicans in his cabinet and administration. If he does this, he will truly rise to greatness. If he swings hard left and tries to do too much social engineering, he will be a one term President. But I believe he is different. That he fits no mould. Today in Pennsylvania I saw passion from his supporters. They were not there out of idealogy, they were there because they believe in his wisdom and courage to lead.
I could not agree more. The center has moved ...WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY to the left. Progressives can claim VICTORY!
As Mr. Dean would say... YeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Dear Mr. Borosage....I feel your every word and have for a long time...in my 20s when MLK @ Bobby Kennedy were taken from us..Having already served in the military I became an avid anti-Vietnam War and civil rights protester...and not since 1968 have I witnessed the energy of WE THE PEOPLE that is evident.today...As a retired white male ...mid 60s , I am so grateful that I lived to see this day...It is only by the inclusion of all Americans ..of all origins ...that We The People can become a whole and healthy force.
Perhaps this time we can finally... fine tune democracy ..and realize it's full promise...President Obama needs the unwavering force of the people ...not just to get the job ....but to get the job done !!
If Obama wins with 50% of the vote or slightly more, how is that a mandate for anything? If the American voter wanted to move left, there would be a much higher percentage in his favor. If he wins, good for him. But mandate, it will not be.
Hey, Bush claimed a mandate on 2004, so we can claim whatever we want. Troll.
Why is it that many people on this site have to call people they disagree with names? I have been pasted with many names over the weeks I have placed comments on the site and have yet to do the same. Troll...interesting. I stopped calling people names like that when I was a kid.
See how many Senate seats and house seats change hands to DEM control.
THAT is your mandate.
Yes, the problem with Democrats is that when they get elected, they try to be bipartisan, or to govern from the center, thinking that will help keep them in office, but it doesn't work. People quickly decide they're do-nothings without any fresh ideas. Republicans, on the other hand, go for the throat as soon as they're in office. They realize that they will only have a limited amount of time in office and they need to make the most of it to further their extreme agenda. They may claim to be bipartisan or centrist to get elected, but once they win the election, it's hole hog to the right. That's why America appears to be more conservative than it is: the Republicans do more to advance their agenda.
So you know what we have to do! :) Pull like a MO FO TO THE LEFT!
Hallelujah indeed. Finally, that sleeping tiger, the progressive and liberal citizens of this country have been awakened. The trick now is to stay awake and get to work. It is not enough to elect leaders. Now we must engage them and start the daunting process of undoing the damage that has been done to our Constitution, our values and our standing in the world.
(Hello from another Seattleite)
You're right; the trick, as always, is to keep people engaged even when it's not the big, showy presidential race that's at stake. That's why groups like ActBlue and FireDogLake are so critical; they let us progressives exert pressure on the so-called "Blue Dog" Democrats.
Center-right nation, my butt.
Amen! I want Obama and the Democrats to push as hard for positive change as the Repugs did for years of negative change.
Thank you. Finally someone has said it. You are correct as I see things and I'm tired of all of the media conservatives jamming the idea down our throat that we are a country who is essentially center-right. Notice that all of those who claim the country is "center-right" are conservatives. If you say it enough, maybe it will be true.
After the last twenty-eight years of conservative mismanagement (Clinton was more conservative than liberal and mostly had a Rep. Congress) it is obvious the country is looking for something different, a government that actually works. I think a major part of Obama's appeal is that he is NOT an idealogue. I also think the Democrats are ready to simply make the government work for a change. Conservatives worry too much about their sacred ideals and not enough about making the government work right.
Ready! And willing!
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
