Nov 05 2008
America Speaks, Throw the Bums Out!
Eight years ago the present administration assumed control of the White House by the slimmest margin imaginable. It took a decision by the Supreme Court to get Bush and his cohorts into office. And yet the strutting little popinjay boasted of winning by a mandate of the people. Well today America spoke loudly, rejecting the failed policies of the Bush administration. America said, no more.
Citizens went to the polls in astonishing numbers to accomplish the peaceful revolution that will bring change and stability to their nation. Foremost on many minds was the meltdown of the American economy brought on by decades of deregulation and greed. An era of economic disaster that was initiated by the Reagan Administration and its systematic dismantling of all the safe guards put in place by the Roosevelt administration.
The Bush doctrine of first strike has done much to destroy America’s credibility in the international community. Perhaps now we will be able to restore our standing by ending the conflicts that have drained our capital and blood over the past few years. A McCain administration would have insured that we remained at war until the last dime was spent in fruitless pursuits of nation building that Bush and Cheney started.
A government that doesn’t serve the will of the people and look out for their best interest is doomed to fail. Instead of pandering to big business it is time government began helping the people. It is time to get rid of the influence of lobbyist and special interests and listen to the needs of citizens. Obama promised change and America agreed and voted for that change.
Now is time to begin rebuilding the nation and restoring faith in the economy. The GOP has by their actions rendered themselves marginal at best. The Republican brand has been tarnished and may never recover from the radical direction the neo-conservative movement has taken it.
The overwhelming victory of the Democrats and Barrack Obama is a real mandate, not some imagined one like the Bush administration thought they had. Now we have to wait and see if the party is up to fulfilling that mandate.
There are those who think President Elect Barack Obama is too inexperienced and therefore unqualified to take over the reins of a country crying out for leadership. However, it may be safe to say that no amount of experience might prepare a leader to take over a nation so at risk as the USA in the year 2008.
He will inherit the leadership of a once proud and mighty force for human good now left virtually rudderless, in serious economic shambles, mired in a senseless and predatory war, and without moral authority. It will require only the very best human qualities to unite this divided nation, lift it up and set it back on its feet. What kind of qualifications are needed to perform this miracle? Exactly what kinds of experience prepares one to succeed at such a challenge?
John McCain offered himself as a man of experience, a warrior ready and qualified to be the next Commander-in-Chief of a nation impoverished by and sick to death of warfare. Barack Obama ran as a man ready and qualified to unite the country in common humane causes, willing to try conversation and cooperation in the dealings with other countries instead of confrontation and endless conflict, to try new ideas and new technologies to solve new problems, to unite the country, bind up its wounds and find solutions to the problems of everyday American families.
There is a large age gap between Obama and McCain. However, the differences are more than generational. There is a gulf between individual outlooks, personal and professional allegiances and approaches to problem solving. There are marked differences in personality traits, in academic achievements, and in social status.
Compare Obama’s calm, unflappable temperament, his grace under pressure to McCain’s famous hair-trigger temper, his hasty judgements, of Obama’s willingness to try conversation and cooperation in dealing with the outside world as opposed to McCain’s confrontational and militaristic approach, and to Obama’s outstanding intellectual and academic credentials to McCain’s record of an indifferent student who graduated at the bottom of a large class from a military academy.
McCain grew up in a family of some social distinction and married into enormous wealth. We all know Obama’s background by now. He relates easily with people of all social levels, including those at the bottom of the heap most in need of help.
Barack Obama has not yet been tested as the leader of a nation and the leadership role he has won is that of governing a nation in peril. But what he brings as his gifts of qualification cannot be measured as unimportant or inconsequential. He comes equipped by temperament, by native intelligence, by education , by his willingness to tackle 21st century challenges, and by his intention to surround himself with the best support staff the country has to offer, than any other challenger he faced in this long election ordeal. What more could a nation ask?