America has a new face.
AMERICA SPOKE its mind tonight, battered and bruised by the abuses of a Republican administration so craven in its seeking of power. The world literally rejoices as it sees America reinvent itself yet again.
This nation may still suffer its racist roots, but we’re not utterly stupid. It was clear who had the better ideas in this election, and Americans are, if nothing else, a practical people.
What of the GOP now?
What’s left of the Republican Party? Only the far right, a minority that finds its voice in the musings of Sarah Palin, who insists that if you’re not white and from a small town you’re not “really” American. I guess the voters think differently.
So what should be come of the Republican Party? We certainly need a vital opposition but they should be opponents fueled by realistic ideas not angry and reactionary ideology.
Unlike the Democratic Congress in Bill Clinton’s administration, today’s Democratic Party returns after nearly a decade of rule that rewarded the rich and distracted the poor by focusing on so-called culture wars.
The role of technology
Obama’s victory rested as much in technology as anything else. His campaign circumvented the stranglehold the existing power structure (that includes traditional Democrats, too!) had on reaching out directly to voters and giving individuals the opportunity to have a say even while only being able to donate small amounts of money themselves.
“It was a profound leap forward technologically,” McCain campaign strategist Steve Schmidt told the New York Times. “Republicans will have to figure out how to compete with this in order to become competitive again at a national level and in House and Senate races.”
And they will, don’t you worry. Every Republican consultant worth his or her salt is going to reverse-engineer what Obama did and turn it to their own ends.
Our first black president
Everyone’s so impressed that we elected a black man president, but don’t forget that we actually elected a half-white man. The distinction is important because it highlights the reality that in our still-racist society looking black means you’re black. It also highlights the reality that Obama is a man who has moved through and understands the contrasting worlds and perspectives of white and African-American communities.
And unlike most American blacks, Obama himself is not descended from American slaves. His father was a Kenyan. I wonder how that difference affected his campaign.
