I have mixed feelings about President Obama. I'm one of the vast majority (in America and the world) who supported Barrack. Obama was and is spot on that the central issue that it required right now, is this: change. The Republicans got it wrong by trying their tiresome tactic again - warning the American public against 'an exotic intruder'. Thus tactic worked with Gore and Kerry, but this time around, people were so sick of W. they almost feel over themselves for a brand new face. I know that's how I felt; if the unprecedented voting figures (the most ever) are anything to go by - Americans were desperate for someone better than Bush.
President Bush, in the last 8 years, aided and abetted by the Republicans - perpetuated a system that has wrecked America.
I have mixed feelings for President Obama because he has inherited an unholy mess - perhaps the unholiest mess an American President has ever inherited. 2 wars, a financial, food, climate and energy crisis.
I like Obama for his sincerity and passion. Because he is in touch with reality (not his own reality, a reality that is more The Greater Reality). Here is one of the best parts of his victory speech. I admire his modesty, and his connection not only to the people, but once again, to the real and rational context we find ourselves.
This is your victory.
And I know you didn't do this just to win an election. And I know you didn't do it for me.
You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.
Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.
There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education.
There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.
Here are a few epithets from a different speech that I don't particularly like:
I will tap our natural gas reserves, [which are depleting at an alarming rate - you know this right?] invest in clean coal technology [is there such a thing?], and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I'll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. [Maybe think about car building a bit more.]
Here, again, he demonstrates how 'in touch' he is with the reigning zeitgeist.
Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit cards, bills you can't afford to pay, and tuition that's beyond your reach.
These challenges are not all of government's making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush.
We (Americans and non-Americans alike) can count ourselves very fortunate that some sanity has prevailed; that Americans have distanced themselves from the party that wrecked America, and from a candidate not much better than McCain - Hillary Clinton.
Yes, vast fundamental changes need to happen in America and the world, and America is a great place to start.
I am not a black man, so perhaps I can be forgiven for not giving myself over to the hubris. As far as I'm concerned, the better candidate one. I find the whole racial debate a sideshow. Nevertheless, I appreciate that this is a milestone. I hope more black people around the world will dream big, work hard and take on the challenges and responsibilities that face us all. With Obama the US President, I hope there will be a lesser trend to blame the white man for everything. By the same token, Obama has - as I've said - inherited an unholy mess. That's not his fault, and his detractors, and racists everywhere, will have plenty of opportunity to malign him and attack him because 'of difficulties in the USA and the world'. I hope these elements get with the program, and if they can't/won't or don't, that they get sorted out. This may be too much to hope for.
Change is on the cards, and an ill wind is blowing. Few realise or imagine just how bitterly cold this wind is. I was looking at some climate change forecasts. The stabilising of temperatures is likely to take centuries. Right now they are unstable. We are dealing with very complicated flux in the world - from weather, to energy. We are entering a very difficult time. As I've said, we are fortunate to have Mr. Obama - a motivating, strong personality who obviously means well. We need him now.
Mr Kunstler explains what we need him to be, and to do:
America gets to feel okay about itself for a little while before the rigors of reality assert themselves again.
I had a rogue idea last night while watching the sequence of John McCain's fairly gracious concession speech (given the low down tone of his entire campaign, which cannot be blamed entirely on his handlers) and the stirring spectacle of the Obama rally and speech in Chicago's Grant Park (where I was gassed by the police back during the convention riots of 1968). My rogue idea was this: what if this nation can really begin to bootstrap itself into a realistic post-oil economy? It would require not just "change," but pretty severe change -- in essence accepting the reality of a way-of-life based not on "growth" but on fruitful activity, because that's where we're headed whether we like it or not. It will be interesting to see if President Obama can discover that reality for himself and lead a government that might guide a people through that dark passage.
Can Mr. Obama be persuaded to dismantle the project of suburbia (a way of life Americans in particular have gotten used to?) Can he begin to inspire 'fruitful activity'? Can he begin to slow the multiplication of our troubles? If he can back some of those strong statements with decisive action, we have cause to hope, and that - certainly - is something to celebrate tonight.
Thank you!You proved that change can happen.
Click here for the full transcript of Obama's victory speech.Barack Obama’s Acceptance Speech
McCain's Campaign Derailed by Market, Missteps, Embrace of Bush
If the world could vote: results.
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