Obama - Political History in the Making

These are exciting times in political history. On Thursday, August 28, 2008, Barack Obama was the first African-American to be nominated as the official presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. No one expected this moment to come easily, but when Americans are in a situation where all indicators of a country’s success are running low, people often are more willing to take chances. Anything is better than what we have now.

In 1992, we were in a similar, although less extreme, predicament. George Bush Sr. had plunged America into an unnecessary war and consequently, we saw gas prices spike more than we were used to. His son, eight years later, repeated the same actions with the same consequences, and we are going to see Americans react the same way – by electing a democrat to the White House. Just as we picked Bill Clinton, America is going to pick a young, inexperienced man, (mixed Caucasian and African-American on top of that!) who engages us, fires us up, and displays the potential for wisdom and excellent leadership that even 70-year old men like McCain still don’t possess.

Sure there will be those who are hesitant about Obama’s inexperience as a national statesman and commander-in-chief, but because times are so desperate, most Americans are not going to let such doubts stop them this time around like they did four years ago when they mistakenly elected George Bush Jr. to a second term.

Four years ago, Americans voted pragmatically hoping that the president who put us in an unnecessary war would get us out of it. At the time, an unnecessary war was our only problem. The war continued unendingly while the White House steadfastly withheld from the American people a good explanation for why hundreds of troops were dying each year.

Now, four years later, the debate on the Iraq war has actually waned because there is no debate. Almost all Americans want the war to end. In fact, the Iraq war has taken a backseat as Americans deal with problems closer to home and their pockets like gas prices that skyrocketed from $1.50 before Bush was elected in 2000 to over $4.00 a mere eight years later. During the eight years that Clinton was in office, gas increased by fifty cents! We still have absolutely no explanation for this increase, but we do know that someone is raking in a lot of money!

The tax cuts that Bush enacted, lowered them only for the wealthy. Even Warren Buffett couldn’t understand what Bush was doing in giving the wealthy a tax cut. When McCain said that Obama would raise taxes, McCain didn’t tell the full story. Obama will simply level the playing field by removing tax cuts to the wealthy. Instead, Obama will give tax cuts to poor and middle class, a group that is struggling under the economic mess that Bush has left for the next president to clean up.

Did I mention that my next door neighbor’s house is in foreclosure? And my best friend can’t sell hers without losing money because her equity is upside down? Or that my brother-in-law was laid off along with his entire division from Countrywide Bank when they practically went bankrupt? Or that there are now only three major banks in this country – Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup? (Monopoly, anyone? I’ll take Boardwalk.) In my litany of problems, it probably slipped my mind….

And to add insult to injury, our once strong dollar has dropped below the euro. Didn’t this currency just enter existence about a decade ago? Furthermore, our currency is running neck and neck with Canadian money, further indication of our abysmal economic state and the abject failure of the Republican administration.

Remember when we were once the Superman of the World, where other countries saw us as the caped crusader who could save the day. Since our senseless invasion in Iraq , we are now viewed with suspicion by many in the international community and our motives questioned constantly. Obama’s mixed heritage opens the door towards effective diplomacy and gives him an opportunity to undo the damage that the warmongering Republicans have caused. It is to our advantage to have Obama as president since the majority of the people in today’s emerging economies resemble Obama’s family more than McCain’s. This may have escaped our notice because we were too busy chasing those adjusting interest rates!

This time Americans will send a clear and strong message that we need a change from the failed policies of the Republican Party. Wasn’t it Albert Einstein who said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results”? We will see if America has kept its sanity on November 7th, 2008.