Post by Neil on Jan 20, 2009 16:11:33 GMT -8
Hubris always leads Americans, at election time, to rear up on their hind legs and bray to the world that they do democracy like no one else does democracy. You would think, listening to them sometimes, that the rest of us draw straws around the tribal campfire to see who will lead the pack.
Today, though, watching the amazing sight of North America's first black head of state addressing what has been called possibly the largest crowd of humanity gathered in one place at Washington's National Mall, I had to reflect that our neighbors to the south really had accomplished something remarkable.
It's really been a fascinating ride. Well on in the primaries, you had an extremely unusual combination of factors; no incumbent president running, a neck and neck race in both the Republican and Democratic parties, and women and African Americans with candidates among the front runners. For the Democrats, it was an embarrassment of riches. Two prominent senators, one, a sharply intellectual, charismatic, unflappable young black man, and a seasoned, insightful woman with a formidable machinery behind her. A third candidate, John Edwards, with only an outside chance of winning, but with more of a populist, vaguely leftist stance that further distinguished the Democrats from their Republican rivals. It came down to the last few primaries before Obama pulled away. The Republicans also had a neck and neck race for months, with John McCain coming from behind to pass the Massachusetts Mormon governor Mitt Romney, with Mike Huckabee carrying a solid fifteen to twenty percent of the vote, perhaps setting up a run for 2012. The differences between the parties couldn't have been more stark, partly on policy, but more on demographics, as the Republican convention showed it to be the party of middle aged white people from the suburbs, with nary a black face in sight.
In the end, it's almost like history, or maybe just corporate America, had the last laugh on Barack Obama. Yes, he's the first black president, but he faces the worst domestic economic predicament that I can remember a president coming into. The 'audacity of hope' will have to be replaced with some kind of legislative sorcery to clean up the mess he inherits, without even looking beyond America's borders at the problems in the international community.
This past fall, we Canadians endured a nasty little campaign between a decent, though administratively incompetent, semi-bilingual Liberal and a thuggish, cold-blooded autocrat, a campaign that produced nothing in the way of vision and little more in the way of results. Our neighbors to the south almost had their first female president, and did elect their first black president, after a campaign full of vigor and ideas, where the winning candidate seemed to give the electorate the credit to understand more than just bread and butter pandering. It was fabulously entertaining, and now we can only hope that Barack Obama isn't the victim of unreachable expectations.
Well done, America.
Today, though, watching the amazing sight of North America's first black head of state addressing what has been called possibly the largest crowd of humanity gathered in one place at Washington's National Mall, I had to reflect that our neighbors to the south really had accomplished something remarkable.
It's really been a fascinating ride. Well on in the primaries, you had an extremely unusual combination of factors; no incumbent president running, a neck and neck race in both the Republican and Democratic parties, and women and African Americans with candidates among the front runners. For the Democrats, it was an embarrassment of riches. Two prominent senators, one, a sharply intellectual, charismatic, unflappable young black man, and a seasoned, insightful woman with a formidable machinery behind her. A third candidate, John Edwards, with only an outside chance of winning, but with more of a populist, vaguely leftist stance that further distinguished the Democrats from their Republican rivals. It came down to the last few primaries before Obama pulled away. The Republicans also had a neck and neck race for months, with John McCain coming from behind to pass the Massachusetts Mormon governor Mitt Romney, with Mike Huckabee carrying a solid fifteen to twenty percent of the vote, perhaps setting up a run for 2012. The differences between the parties couldn't have been more stark, partly on policy, but more on demographics, as the Republican convention showed it to be the party of middle aged white people from the suburbs, with nary a black face in sight.
In the end, it's almost like history, or maybe just corporate America, had the last laugh on Barack Obama. Yes, he's the first black president, but he faces the worst domestic economic predicament that I can remember a president coming into. The 'audacity of hope' will have to be replaced with some kind of legislative sorcery to clean up the mess he inherits, without even looking beyond America's borders at the problems in the international community.
This past fall, we Canadians endured a nasty little campaign between a decent, though administratively incompetent, semi-bilingual Liberal and a thuggish, cold-blooded autocrat, a campaign that produced nothing in the way of vision and little more in the way of results. Our neighbors to the south almost had their first female president, and did elect their first black president, after a campaign full of vigor and ideas, where the winning candidate seemed to give the electorate the credit to understand more than just bread and butter pandering. It was fabulously entertaining, and now we can only hope that Barack Obama isn't the victim of unreachable expectations.
Well done, America.