George Bush, You Made My Dream Come True

That's actually not true. George Bush actually made come true something that I had never even allowed myself to dream. As I've said before I'm only a year younger than Obama, we have several friends in common and like him mainstream black culture often questioned my black bona fides. Although I knew as a child that racial barriers were coming down, (after all on Zoom and The Electric Company and in my world black kids and white kids played together all the time), I nevertheless always knew that this nation still had very far to go.

Like Obama I too fantasized about what I would be when I grew up and I thought of myself as a pretty optimistic kid. Nevertheless, I never thought that America in my lifetime would be ready to elect me to anything higher than Senator.

Evidently my hope wasn't audacious enough.

As of today, the odds-on favorite for the person with his hand on the bible as Chief Justice Roberts swears him in as the 44th President of the United States on January 20th, 2009, will be a black man. Just close your eyes for a moment and picture how odd that image will be. If it happens that image will instantly reverberate around the world as the most powerful symbol of America living up to its founding principles since Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.

As Jon Stewart said on the Oscars the other night, it used to be when you saw a black man or a woman president you were watching science-fiction (or 24) and an asteroid was about to slam into the Statue of Liberty.

I think of myself as a pretty creative guy and yet I literally never thought I'd see the day. And I have to thank not only Obama's charisma but also, and at least as significantly, Bush's incompetence.

If Bush hadn't stumbled this nation into the briar patch that is Iraq and then subsequently bungled every possible opportunity for resolving the war, the country would not be near ready for so radical a change. If the war had gone according to the Republicans' fever dream today we would be as much a one-party nation as Putin's Russia.

I love the films Children of Men and V for Vendetta because they give us chillingly realistic glimpses into what that future might have been like. Dissent crushed, perpetual fear and war, toxic air -- pretty much Dick Cheney's wet dream. Bush could have anointed any successor he chose.

Of course one can play "What if" all night long. If Nader hadn't...? If Gore or Kerry had...? I remember that night that Kerry lost and the depression that enveloped me and everybody I knew for months to come. Looking back, I don't know why I was so sad. I had forgotten the old Taoist tale about the unpredictable nature of good and bad luck. I put it in my book Bedtime Stories and Aaron Sorkin used it as well in Charlie Wilson's War.

The Old Man of the Steppes Finds a Horse

A Traditional Taoist Tale

Once upon a time a wise old farmer who lived on the steppes awoke to find that his prize mare had broken out of the corral and run off. The neighbors cried, "Oh, what bad luck your best horse ran away!" The farmer, however, replied, "Who knows?" A few days later the mare returned and brought back with it a magnificent mustang stallion. The neighbors cried, "Oh, what good luck!" Again the farmer replied, "Who knows?" Then the farmer's son tried to ride the wild horse and was thrown and broke his leg. The neighbors shouted, "Oh, what bad luck!" and the farmer said, as always, "Who knows?" Then the local warlord raced into the village conscripting all the able-bodied young men into battle. When he came upon the farmer's son and his broken leg he let him stay. His neighbors cheered, "Oh, what good luck that your son was spared!" The farmer could only answer what he had before. "Who knows?"

Trey Ellis is the author of Bedtime Stories: Adventures in the Land of Single-Fatherhood.

Comments

[Jeffersonian1]

Here's hoping he's sworn in, but that he asks Justice John Paul Stevens to do the honors.

At 87, Stevens is still fighting the good fight and arguably doing more than any American alive to prevent the collosial erosion of civil liberties and a slide to a V for Vendetta scenario. Stevens' principled legal reasoning and willingness to stay on the job long after many would have retired would make him a fitting choice.

[moreofthesame]

I truly love your Taoist tale. Read about it when I was a kid.

[Jeffomil]

While I accept your point that this sea change in America's attitude not just towards blacks, but towards ourselves as a people, is to be laid at Bush's feet, we should never forget that it's not just the obscene war of choice and it's cost in treasure and lives we've endured. George Bush has left our credibility in the world, our economy, our civil rights, our very hope for a better life, "the American Dream", in shambles. It's that which will be the Bush legacy for all years to come. It took the WORST PRESIDENT EVER, coupled with the improbable serendipity of the candidacy of Barack Obama, a little man from Illinois with big ideas and big hope for the welfare of his fellow citizens, to give us back our hope and our country. Lead on, Barack. Words DO mean something!! Are you listening, Hillary? It. All. Begins. With. Words.

[JTyroler]

If it weren't only the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that Bush et al has fudged up. Think Katrina. Think no bid contracts. Think Blackwater - not only in Iraq, but also patrolling the streets of New Orleans. The of the top secret energy policies. Think weak dollar and expensive gasoline. Think about Alberto Gonzales and while you're at it, think of Harriet Miers and Josh Bolton. Think of how we had most of the world in our corner on 9/12/2001 and how the rest of the world views us now. Think of al Qaeda and how they are now in Iraq. And how Osama bin Laden is still at large, even with a $50,000,000 reward for his capture dead or alive. Think of Turkey feeling confident to invade Kurdish Iraq. Think of the budget deficit and the trade deficit. Think of toys coming into the US with lead-based paints or using an adhesive containing a date rape drug. Think of 47,000,000 Americans without health insurance. Think of the growing gap between the wealthiest and what remains of the middle class. Think of our under funded, under performing school systems. Think of supporting our troops by reducing the budget of the Veterans' Administration. Think of Walter Reed while you're at it. Think of having a voting system that cannot be verified. Think of the missing National Guard equipment during various natural disasters, and the personnel that's spending time overseas. Think of people being held at Guantanamo without any legal representation or any rights. Think of rendition. Think of people being held without being charged and finally released with no explanation.

Think. America depends on it.

[newpantaloons]

Very Good Post, JTyroler.

[wadenelson1]

Ditto.

[alamo]

No limit to contradictions here in this interesting theme. Bad is good. Evil begets benevolence. Dark brings light. Incompetence produces competence. Immorality provides morality. Stupidity fosters intelligence and Republicans enable Democrats.

So, in a very real sense the horrendous failures that anyone claiming minimal competence should readily realize has produced the present political fervor that is making this election process so memorable, so compelling, so exiting and so hopeful, stems directly from the "record" compiled by the Republicans since the stolen election of 2000. This fervor stems directly from Republican excess and Democrat acquiesence. Both parties are absolutely guilty: Republicans by commission and Democrats by omission. (Nancy Pelosi is hardly a champion of democracy)

It unfortunately, has taken the murders, the thefts, the lies, the waste and mis-management of the past 7 plus years to hit we Americans squarely between the eyes and force us to demand a raging call for a new direction. This is a manifestation of more than just a sneaking suspicion by the American people that this nation is caught up in a death spiral .

So, sadly it has taken Bush and Cheney's criminality to wake us up. Which ever way we go from here has to be a marked improvement. Down has to be now, up!

[duckfan00]

Trey -
Of course we cant forget the images of the horror and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The world saw the reality of an administration that could not get food or water to US citizens in need. Bodies floating down the street 5 - 6 days later and a president who files in and out in one day making promises and keeping none. Three trillion dollars on Iraq and New Orleans neighborhoods lie in ruins. Maybe Obama can be the farmer's son. Who knows ??

[Knowledgeseeker]

We have to make sure a Conservative never get elected for president, I we have had countless bad experiences with Mr. Bush
Shame on you Mr. Bush

[YankeeCanuck]

Mr. Ellis has written a thoughtful personal commentary. And he's absolutely right when he says the image of an African American as President would reverberate around the world. The very idea of America has been eroded in the eyes of the world, and it has been under attack at home. That is, if the Constitution has anything to do with what America means at home. So, perhaps the current administration's straying so far from our central idea, from our ideals is what will cause us to return to them steadfastly in November.
Who knows?

[rjean]

by the time we get to november the whole country is going to be so sick of hearing about barak HUSSEIN obama............................the guy is an empty suit...if you arent convinced...look at his doofus answer about al qaeda.......he is totally clueless when it comes to national security,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[YankeeCanuck]

As it turns out, what he said about Al Quaeda in Iraq is a simple fact. And, you can hear it from the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who happens to be an expert on the Middle east. You need to read a bit more.

[LeaderofMen]

I LAUGH at your attempt to create a strawman and I MOCK your insult.

[ld]

Loved this article, 'cause it was fun to read.

[kisamija]

As much as I am elated that we will have our first black president, praising Bush for this milestone I will not do...

[MarkFinelli]

I have some African American friends in the Marine Corps who would, my guess, be rather upset if they thought you were using the failures of the Bush adminstration to properly equip us as a "way of thanks" in getting your candidate elected.


You, sir, are a jack ass.

I remain, Semper Fidelis,

Mark Finelli

Sole WTC 9.11 Survivor to Enlist in the Marines and fight in Iraq.

[KYZipster]

It's much bigger than getting a candidate elected, it's an end to neoconservative ideology, it was doomed from the very start. If Bush's wars had not been engaged in so incompetently we might very well be in the middle of WWIII. This is not suggesting that individual soldiers are incompetent in anyway, the blame goes to the very top. No one would deny today that Rumsfeld and the others who planned the occupation and 'reconstruction' of Iraq were incompetent, what a nightmare. And with Al Quaeda and the Taliban as strong as ever, it cannot even be argued that a justified invasion like Afghanistan was handled competently. I don't see this issue as being happy about the situation, it's looking back and seeing some good that has come out of it, at least we haven't invaded Iran and you can bet that was the plan. Thanks for your service and good luck.

[LawrenceL]

I guess you didn't get the memo about how Iraq didn't attack us, Mark.

They were mostly Saudi jihadists.

I knew a guy who was a Marine, but he wasn't a blowhard about it, like you are (if you indeed even served in the Marines). To me, that's *real* heroism: serving, and not using the experience as a tool for self-promotion.

[hoodrat]

I don't know about the other bro./sis., who's an ass. But I know what geopolitical means, besides that - c'mon cat, you know our Corps got a history of tryin' to do more with less, you also know if you're one of the boots on ground, it stops being about GOD, Country, and Executive orders - it's the Marine on your flanks and six. Your service after 9/11 is to be commended. You're African-American monicker is at the core of all this shit dude, I'm a former Marine, of Black/Hawaiian background, who is 100% American - fuck the pigeonholing. And that's what I truly like about Sen. Obama, bigots/homophbics/supertough chauvanists, will stay hard right always. The MRAP flap was reported on(I think)well over 2yrs. ago, and was pissed then. Bodyarmor(or lack of)was a big issue also - all because Pentagon(read Commandant)had issues about suppliers(because of lobbyists), and didn't want to rock the boat. Focus yourself on Afghanistan, bro., that's where we should've been. BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA, is just as American a name as Albert Winestein, or John Smith, or Jaunita Gonzales, or Darryl Two-Bears - feel me? If we didn't need oil I'd be kickin' Saudi Arabia in the throat also.......Bush what? Let's see...Granddaddy and bin - Laden grandpa, hmmmm....shitbirds or not - once a Marine, always one.

[Chinampas]

I don't get it. The war in Iraq is responsible for the country being ready for a black president. This does not make any sense to me. Ironically, the war is the reason that McCain is going to win. He will help the Iraqi's continue to fight the insurgents and not withdraw and leave them on their own to survive. The American people have a responsibility to clean up the mess that was started, for whatever reason.

[snesich]

Yeah, we have a "responsibility to clean up the mess that was started" even though it is the large American military presence that is fueling the violence.

Tell me, "Chinampas", what would you do if another country, say China, invaded and occupied us "to protect us"? Would you bow and take their money? Or would you fight back and resist?

[snesich]

You are so tired. Are you actually being paid by the McCain camp to spread this propaganda, or are you just one of his hard-core, conservative supporters, acting out of hatred for Barack Obama? Every one of your posts is the same thing..."Obama can't beat McCain...Obama is a liar...McCain wins everything..." blah blah blah.

If you were really this confident about your 72 year old, warmonger, lobbyist bedfellow, hair-trigger temper, pro-Iraq War, carrying the Bush economic record, you wouldn't be spending so much time on a progressive blog trying to convince everyone Obama "can't win".

And if you're going to point back to 1976, get your facts right. Jimmy Carter had a 33 point edge on Gerald Ford in June/July. Not late February.

It's tied now between Barack Obama and John McCain. We'll see how well Dr. Stranglove does in November when he has to run on his advocacy of more wars and less jobs with Iraq exploding and gas at $4.00 a gallon.

[Wulfstan]

No, real Americans do not have a responsibility to clean up the Bush Cheney Rumsfeld mess.

They and their born again friends at Exxon do, though.

[gsikev]

Keep on pushing that Obama is black so he doesn't have to face issues. People that keep using race are the race baiters and haters themselves.

[isis]

If the press had been more free perhaps the war would not have started. There was the Downing Street memo that pretty much got ignored. I like the way that Obama and Dodd and others recognize the problem of media ownership. Clinton (Bill) gave in to the republicans on it. Of course, he did not have the support of we the people at that time. So all you bloggers & reporters...keep writing.