President-Elect Obama – A Mandate

The people have spoken, and the United States of America has a new president. Barack Hussein Obama is the 44th President of the United States. This was not, as some predicted, a close race, neither was it a landslide similar to 1980, rather a strong and unquestionable majority that wanted to move this country away from one political party to another. President-Elect Obama’s moving speech in Chicago last night offered hope and change, but also a return to bi-partisanship – hard work and sacrifice. He evoked Abraham Lincoln; recalling the division of the country at a time in history where the political and geographical landscape appeared to be irreparably damaged, he praised John McCain’s service to the country and his hard-fought campaign, and encouraged a return to a more united nation. While I may not agree with Obama’s stand on most issues, I must respect and support our new President. I was never able to accept the notion that his candidacy would be rejected due to his race – rather his Progressive Policy, including stances on moral issues that compel my vote – added to a worldview that was overly inclusive, and a lack of experience that left a feeling of apprehension. That said - it was with a great deal of pride in this great country and its people that I watched a man of African-American decent reach the highest office in the land. My father, had he been alive today, would have been so proud. My father worked tirelessly for civil rights and the great AFLCIO of the 1950’s, he was a Democrat because he believed it to be the party that best represented the disenfranchised and the working man, a man, born in southern Moorish Spain, whose name was different from our neighbors, who spoke five languages and believed that, in this country, anything was possible. It is the memory of my father, and those family, friends and co-workers that I hold dear, which will allow this conservative to proudly accept, without reservation, President-Elect Obama. It is also the knowledge that during primaries, political expediency drives remarks, and therefore, one must wait and see what direction this man and his party will lead our nation. Obama may be the centrist, the man who will be the Democrat’s Reagan – it is not fair in the least, in all honesty, to pre-judge without knowing. This election brought many isms to light, one of which will be continually addressed in the coming years and that is the rejection of women in the role of President or Vice-President. What cannot be tolerated or afforded is another twenty-four year gap before this county sees another woman elevated to the candidacy of either President or Vice-President. What did the nation reject about conservative values and the Republican Party? It was not so much a rejection of conservative values that drove the vote (Obama spoke to the center; i.e. tax cuts and a rejection of Gay Marriage), it was a rejection of a party that had abandoned its principals and had morphed into a cousin of the opposition. Runway spending, scandals and a lack of cohesive leadership aided by an inability or unwillingness to communicate with the country, drove the voters away or kept them home. The mainstream media and the celebrity status afford politicians can be taken with a grain of salt. The fact remains that everyone in this nation has access to multiple news channels; there was a definite slant, so noticeable that it hurt the credibility of some institutions but not a particular party. This election, historic in nature on so many levels, is also historically bound to have gone in a new direction. Kennedy and Johnson brought us Nixon and Ford, Carter brought us Reagan, Reagan brought Bush (George H.), Bush brought us Clinton, Clinton brought us Bush and now, Bush has brought us Obama. It goes without saying, that depending upon the direction in which we, as a nation, are led, that in four or eight years, statistics will favor a Republican – so goes the country, historically. God Bless America and God Bless the President-Elect of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama.