As of this writing, the last few states are too close to call. It is clear that Barack Obama is the next President of the United States, and I’m not alone in feeling like this may be the start of something big for our nation–and I hope the world. His speech was spectacular and moving. John McCain gave a concession speech that was polite and dignified and everything a concession speech should be.
Tonight I’d like to look back at this election, all sarcasm, snark, and joking aside.
I really started following it towards the end of the primaries. I’d heard of Barack before, but didn’t know a lot about him. I knew I didn’t want to see Hillary as president–but I think more importantly, I knew that Barack Obama had a lot of grassroots support. He was energizing people–he was energizing the young, disaffected, cynical group I was a part of. There was hope for something new. So I started watching the primaries. Hillary had long odds against her when I started. Superdelegates were a big deal. And I started learning more about Barack Obama. He was intelligent, calm, dignified, charismatic. There was something inspirational about him, and this unbelievable sense of inevitability.
At some point during the summer, I started really watching the election in earnest. Blogs, news media, political analysts, polls. There was something almost absurd about Barack–there was so much eagerness, so much enthusiasm. The media was in love with him. Everyone I knew was in love with him. And it was infectious. I found myself laughing, not because he was a bad candidate, but because he was a good candidate. It was refreshing to joke about how awesome a candidate was, and to be sincere.
Still, I knew he wasn’t going to save the world. There was something almost Messianic about his presence. And it was easy for his detractors to paint him as if he had a Messiah complex. In the end I felt that he knew that really, this wasn’t about him–this was about inspiring the people of America. This was about reminding America that they could make a difference.
And what a difference we’ve made. I don’t need to explain how momentous this occasion is. I hope this energy lasts. If everyone remains as fired up as they were for the campaign, we really will be able to change America. Who can say if it will last, or how long it will take? But change has arrived in America. If Barack Obama can keep people as fired up for the next four years as he has for the past two, maybe we won’t be a nation of people who think it’s somebody else’s problem.
If that’s the case, that’s change I can believe in. (I know, I know.)
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