A New Day: Will Barack Obama‘s presidency bring a new tenor to politics?

Posted by Emiliano Fortunato "JoJo" Orencia, Jr

After one of arguably the great, and definitely the longest, election seasons, the American people spoke on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 and like many other key years, 1932, 1968, 1976, 1980 and 1992, 1994 and 2006, chose to change the political environment by speaking in a plurality, almost without regard to party affiliation, for switching the political winds of this great country. Whatever your political or apolitical stance, it seems to be a healthy endeavor that the pendulum swings pretty equally to either of the major parties in times of stalemate, turmoil or general dissatisfaction with the status quo. It has a very cyclical feel to it. The American people embody every bit of what democracy stands for. The grand experiment that is America endures.

Every two years for part of Congress and four years for the presidency, the American voter supersedes all of the talking heads, polls, campaign smears, etc. and they control who will lead our government. As I watched the remaining part of the election from home, I was mesmerized by the enthusiasm from Americans of all different hues - granted these pictures were emanating from largely Democratic strongholds but the average person had to be inspired for a new beginning.

For me, this political shift is seismic in that it might, more than anything, represent a generational change - much like John F. Kennedy in 1960 or Ronald Reagan in 1980. After 8 years of Bill Clinton's tenure, albeit successful on certain fronts, but overridden with his own self-inflicted peccadilloes which may preclude him from being considered one of the best presidents of all time and another 8 years of ghastly incompetence and ideological slant from George W. Bush's administration - all 16 years filled with uber-partisanship and gridlock in Washington, D.C., maybe the Obama presidency, based on his rhetoric and temperament, is the happy medium and a new approach to politics.

The promise of an Obama presidency, if it resembles his two year campaign which is no guarantee (i.e., see G. W. Bush) may be one that will be more mechanical and machine-like that will not interfere with every day people's lives but will assist when necessary and regulate or oversee not in large proportion but in smart ways. Hopefully and more than likely, it will be one with less cronyism and more competence. The Obama era hopefully brings a paradigm shift of politics with an adjustment towards inclusion and a stamp on unity of purpose for all Americans, reminiscent of Kennedy's era when Americans of all demographics wanted to serve the public.

One of the more striking excerpts from what was a remarkable speech was when Obama said with empathy and reconciliation, "Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty and national unity. Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and a determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, 'We are not enemies but friends though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.' He continued, "And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight but I hear your voices. I need your help and will be your president too."

More than the above, he has by and large run his campaign for the last two years in a very positive and forward looking methodology. Sure, he has had to pepper it with pushback against the negative attacks from Clinton (in the primaries) and McCain but on the whole, he was a far more sanguine candidate and his message of change and hope reinforced with substantive ideas created more enthusiasm from an electorate which had grown tired of “politics as usual“. He attacked Bush policies with vigorous consistency but did not demonize Republicanism nor did he sanctimoniously espouse principles or talking points of being a Democrat – he more or less ran a campaign “about the people”, recognizing that this populist approach would appease a broader voter base.

At the end of the day, McCain said it wonderfully in his very gracious concession speech, “I thank the American people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Senator Obama and Senator Biden should lead this great country.......I wish god-speed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president and I call on all Americans as I have so often in this campaign to not despair of our present difficulties but to believe always in the promise of America because nothing is inevitable here, Americans never quit, we never surrender, we never hide from history, we make history.” It was a great sentiment from a great American and it further accentuates that democracy is at its apex when we, as Americans, participate in the process and afterwards stand in unity as Americans, which always trumps party or ideology, and rally behind the next American president.

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