The Election of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America

This has been an extraordinary week. Of course. The USA just conducted the most interesting, wide-open and unpredictable presidential election of my lifetime, and every form of news media known to humanity has been filled with analysis and opinion on what it all means, how it happened and what we might expect to happen now that we have a winner.

I'm going to offer just a few thoughts on what the successful (from my perspective) outcome means to me. I've already explained a bit about why I supported Obama so I'll try to not repeat myself here. I'll focus on what I did on Election Night and how the situation looks to me right now.

After I had finished walking my second route, going all the way into the dark of the evening to log on my printouts who had and who had not yet voted, I drove back to the union hall that I and the other Wyoming/Kentwood volunteers were working out of. I listened to Ed Schultz on the radio and took great encouragement from the positive "we're gonna win!" vibe that the liberal talk show host was projecting to his audience, but I was determined to avoid any sign of complacency or presumption that this thing was in the bag. Even with the McCain campaign pulling out of Michigan back in October... even with all the data from daily tracking polls pointing to a not-so-close outcome in the Electoral College... even with the enthusiastic response that I was getting from those who I had caught at home who had already cast their vote for Obama, or who were happy to assure me that they were determined to get to the polls as soon as their partners got home... none of that served to dissuade me from doing my own tiny bit to push the campaign through the finish line at the fullest sprint we could possibly muster. It wasn't just about winning at the national level, or even at the state level, since it seemed all but guaranteed that Michigan's color would remain blue on the political map. It was about winning BIG - because President Obama needs the strongest mandate based on broad and convincing support, and as he's said over and over again, it's really not so much about him as it is about as many of us as are able and willing to get involved, and to stay involved. And the key to getting that process started, for those who hadn't already enlisted in the campaign as volunteers, was to turn out as many of my fellow citizens as possible so that they could, in the future, look back and say to their kids, families and friends, "yes, I helped get the Obama years started! I supported Barack back when it seemed incredible that he would ever be elected president!" And it wasn't just about winning BIG either - it was about winning our local community if at all possible. Grand Rapids, Kent County and Western Michigan have long been considered bastions of Republicanism, bouyed by the conservative activists and philanthropists associated with the Amway Corporation (Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel and their children) and Focus on the Family (particularly the late Ed Prince who was a major patron of James Dobson back in the early years, and whose son Erik Prince is the CEO of the notorious Blackwater Corporation which benefits enormously from the Bush/Cheney privatization of war in Iraq and elsewhere.) Our most famous political figure is, of course, former President Gerald Ford, and our second-most famous is probably Senator Arthur VandenBerg, a staunch opponent of FDR and the New Deal who showed genuine strength of character and personal growth in his public conversion from pre-WWII isolationism to an internationalist perspective, to the point that he helped in the founding of the United Nations. So much for the history lesson, but to be sure, Grand Rapids still serves as a happy hunting ground for Republicans when it comes to both votes and fundraising. President Bush has been here on several occasions, as has Dick Cheney, though they tend to hobnob with their more affluent supporters in limited access venues, quite unlike Obama, whose two trips to GR (so far!) have been in the Van Andel Arena (where John Edwards endorsed him last April) and the outdoor Calder Plaza in the middle of downtown on the very day this past October that the McCain campaign announced they were ceasing their operations in the state!

Well I'm happy to report that Kent County, Kentwood and my hometown of Wyoming all went in favor of Obama! I take great personal satisfaction in this accomplishment! Wyoming is dealing with a fairly difficult set of economic problems, with General Motors announcing just a few weeks ago that they're closing a local plant that will cost our town over 1000 good-paying jobs and over $1 million a year in tax revenues straight up, plus the other costs associated with the job losses. Such terrible economic news is hardly a boost for the Republicans, which I'm sure tilted the city toward the Democrats... but Wyoming is still seen as a pretty stodgy community, full of older folks who are resistant to change and presumably skeptical about the idea of an African-American president. Let's just say that Obama was never seen as a likely shoo-in for the local voters here! And since Michigan was robbed of a true primary this year (long story, don't ask me to repeat it here!) it was really unclear as to who would carry this area. McCain's military background and maverick image made him appealing to a lot of my neighbors, I'm sure.

But no matter... we won! Kent County went for the Democratic presidential candidate for the first time since 1964, the year of Lyndon Johnson's epic blowout! (And even then, some of the communities around here went strongly for Goldwater!)

I didn't know anything about the local results until Wednesday afternoon though, when I got home and read the local paper. (Yes, I still read the newspaper!) The big result, what mattered to me most, was of course how the big enchilada got sliced. I was hoping for an EC result somewhere in the 340-350 range, just to cut the drama and seal the deal, but if it got down to it, I was happy just to get us to 270! So after my days work was done, when it was simply too dark and creepy outside to be knocking on strangers' doors at night, I got back to the HQ and asked... "Where's the party?"

I was told to show up at a place called "Mosaic Space" located almost smack dab in the middle of downtown Grand Rapids, on Division near Fulton (the intersection where all of the street addresses begin from zero and work their way out on the four points of the compass.) So that's where I went. I decided not to spend Election Night at home - my wife had reservations about both of the major party candidates, and I was definitely in the mood for a more partisan crowd. Even if the unthinkable should happen and McCain pulled off the Upset of the Century, I wanted to be with my fellow Obama supporters to offer consolation, and to get the most up-to-date legal advice and to plan our riots for the next day (just kiddin'!)

So I got to Mosaic Space and was pretty impressed by the comfortable venue, the free and tasty eats that had been provided, the big screen TVs (tuned to CNN and the local NBC affiliate) and the sound system. As well as the crowd, of course! I saw a number of volunteers there and also, after a few minutes of wandering around, a couple of my friends from IGE. That was really great - since there are those within IGE who eschewed Obama and sought to raise support for Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney or good ol' Ralph Nader himself. Sorry folks, not this year, we have a real progressive champion who actually had a chance to win and transform American history, society and culture in the process! No diddling around with third parties this year, no way!

So my friend Laura and her son and my other friend Diane became my main hang-out buddies and that made the night just perfect. We chatted, listened to music and basically just built up our hopes as the pivotal early states were called... Pennsylvania, where McCain seemed intent on making his final stand and delivering a shocker... when that big block of EVs was called for Obama, a big sigh of relief swept across the house... then when OHIO was called, the fists were pumpin' and bumpin'! We all know how crucial OH is to Republican candidats in particular, and Obama winning there did a lot to sweep away the ghosts of 2004. Those two states really lifted our balloons, so to speak. I think Virginia was called for Barack somewhere in that late stretch as well. New Mexico and Colorado were looking good, Indiana was too close to call... we knew that we were closing in!

In the meantime, photographers from the Grand Rapids Press were swarming around the room with their impressively large-lensed cameras taking pictures of people. You can see some of them here, though I was apparently not deemed photogenic enough to make the cut for those published to the web!

Then, at 10:50 p.m., NBC broke off its national coverage to give affiliates a chance to update on the state and local races. I think it was Brian Williams who urged viewers to hang on until 11:00 p.m. when "some major announcements" were anticipated. So we did. Like, were we gonna go anywhere anyway?

Silently, suddenly, the clock switched to 11, and a simple graphic popped up on the screen. A picture of Barack Obama. The words "Elected 44th President of the United States." Eyes lock in on the screen, scan the words, register their import, absorb the new knowledge. Euphoric bedlam ensues! Music blasts! Kool and the Gang's "Celebration"! The O'Jays' "Love Train"! Stevie Wonder's "Signed Sealed Delivered"! Oh we danced and jumped and shouted and hugged and hi-fived and had ourselves a nice loud party. A bunch of perfect friends and strangers ushering in an era that we'd longed and worked and sacrificed for... some longer than others, but all united in sheer joy that our cumulative efforts had led to something so wonderful, so amazing, so marvelous to behold, and to be a part of.

Barack Obama had won the election, and we helped make it happen. It is by far the most significant historic event that I have ever been a part of. I'm really glad to have helped in my infinitesmally tiny way!

The festivities continued for some time... the room was noisy and stayed noisy until we saw John McCain emerge on stage in Arizona to give his concession speech. We couldn't hear the first few moments of his comments since the music was still blasting, but once we shouted the DJ down, we got to hear a fairly classy and dignified acknowledgment of reality by our vanquished foe, now resuming his customary role of patriotic citizen supporting a president who had thwarted his own political ambitions. His words were measured and gracious enough to earn a bit of admiration from me and others in the room. It was easy to be magnanimous, now that we were on the other side of the finish line!

Well after that was done, the party scene started to break up a bit. I figured that I could get home in time to hear Obama's victory speech from Grant Park and so I left the loft and headed back to my car. I could still hear people shouting, horns honking, such an awesomely happy and enthusiastic vibe hovering over the whole downtown area! I called a friend on the phone to celebrate the occasion at a distance, capping off my celebrations for the night. I got home just in time to flip on the TV and watch in amazement as President-Elect Obama came out to address the joyous throng and millions of well-wishers across the nation and around the world. It was an enthralling moment, and of course Barack delivered the goods, addressing us in just the right tone of inspiration tempered by sobriety. He, and we, recognize that however monumental the task was to enact this transformative moment in American politics, the true challenges still lie ahead. The campaign is over... now it's time to go out and create a legacy for our movement, for our nation, for our future.

Yes We Can!

So now we look ahead.

Mid-GOTV Blogging Break

I've already been out hitting the streets this morning as part of the local Get Out The Vote effort for Barack Obama here in my hometown of Wyoming MI. I started around 10:00 am and spent several hours knocking on doors and buzzing apartments, reminding recently registered voters that today was the day to get out and finish up the deal by voting for Barack Obama and all the other important stuff to be found on this year's ballot. I have to tell you, though I think what I and thousands of other volunteers (a million or more perhaps? I don't really know...) are doing is really worthwhile and important, it seems in some ways that there is already a LOT of motivation on the part of people to get involved in this year's election, and a LOT of enthusiasm to help make Barack Obama the next President of the United States. What's happening out there is a drama still unfolding, but if the polls hold up and the prognosticators are on target, I know that a strong and sustained sense of exhilaration is going to sweep across big sections of this country as we finally and at long last see a decisive reversal of the forces that put George W. Bush and his cronies in the White House. I am not yet quite ready to delve into the implications of an Obama win until I see the headlines and hear the victory/concession speeches myself - at least not here! :o) But I'm thinking them through already and will spell out some more of my thoughts when the time is right.

For now, I'm just taking a little breather at home before heading out for the afternoon and evening shifts. It would be easy for me to say that Michigan appears to be in the bag for Obama - but my involvement in this campaign isn't really so much about "helping him win" as it is about really stepping forward in my own small way to be part of this much bigger and historical phenomenon, of watching the USA become a nation that is once again on the right track and closer than it was yesterday to living up to the fullest implications of its founding ideals. Obama is the kind of person (regardless of his race) that I have long sought to support for our national leader - so now it's my time to step away from being part of the skeptical (though loyal) opposition to taking on a full sense of identification with the administration-in-power... assuming, again, that my fellow voters come through as expected and elevate Barack Obama to the Presidency of the United States of America!

Barack Obama for President

For reasons that aren't even all that clear to me, I've largely bypassed the opportunity to offer frequent updates on my thoughts regarding what has undoubtedly been a very interesting and comment-worthy presidential election campaign. One factor that I will mention here is that this process has been incredibly suspenseful and even stressful for me as I (and many millions of others) await the final outcome. The resulting anxiety has, I think, served to cramp up my writing on the topic. While I have paid a lot of attention to presidential races throughout my adulthood, this is the first one that I've gotten personally involved with as a volunteer and financial contributor. (Well, I might have donated something to Kerry in 2004 but it wasn't much if I did...) And even more than the work I've done, I am simply so invested in the idea of a President Obama and not seeing the Republicans run the Executive Branch for another four years that I can hardly stand to contemplate the scenario. Bush manifestly does NOT deserve to have someone from his own party serve as his successor! And Obama has run such an impressive campaign... if merit has any place in the process, then Barack Obama has clearly swept that category!

Anyway, here we are... the Sunday before Election Day and I'm going to try and summarize the impressions that this last year-and-a-half of serious electioneering has left on me. First of all, it's utterly unique and unprecedented in my experience to arrive as early as I did on a preferred candidate and then see that person ascend to the party nomination and now appear to be poised for victory, according to all the polls and just about all the pundits. I have nothing to compare it to, that sensation of declaring early-on support for a politician who then goes on to take the rest of the nation by storm, surprising the experts and the skeptics alike by actually overcoming the longshot odds stacked against him. I am much more used to rooting for the true underdog, the person or perspective that gets ruled out by the majority pretty quickly in the process. And I really don't think that my perspective has shifted all that much vis a vis the issues (though I know of course that Obama has plenty of critics on the left who consider him too corporate, not progressive enough, too willing to resort to militarism, etc.) I just think that more people in the country have caught on to the shortcomings of big-government conservatism and the backwardness of so much that the national Republican coalition has embraced in its platform and the solutions it offers to our nation's problems.

It's one thing for Republicans to belittle Obama on the basis of his being a "celebrity" (a charge that really collapses under any objective reflection on the celebrity status of both McCain and Palin, the former, a long-cultivated romance with the news and entertainment media and the latter, an absolute textbook case of overnight sensation pop-stardom.) But with the expected gains Democrats will enjoy in both sides of Congress, there's clearly an emerging strain of collective disgust with what the Republican Party has offered. Myself, I think it is only reasonable that the party in power from 2001-2007 should suffer rebuke for the numerous calamities that took place in our nation over those years. Though I have to admit that my views skew Democratic most of the time, and I'm intrigued by what Pres. Obama and a more liberal congress might achieve in the way of true reform in the years ahead, I also sincerely hope that the coming housecleaning among the Republican ranks will result in a party that is less willing to resort to simplistic and divisive appeals to fundamentalisms of various sorts in order to win votes.

But so much for analyzing the state of our main political parties. I want to talk about Barack Obama because he really is the main event of this political season.

I hold Senator Obama in high regard. I can't recall a political figure of any stature who has consistently held my attention and communicated his views to me in as effective a manner as he has. I know that Reagan and Clinton have legions of fans who extol their masterful touch with the voters, but with me, they both just seemed to miss the mark more often than not. Obama delivers the message in a way that indicates he knows what he's talking about, he appreciates and understands perspectives that are different from his own and he's not ideologically locked in to pursuing a predetermined outcome. I trust the sense of personal authenticity and commitment that he's bringing to the job of president, and the way he seems determined to govern without a chip on his shoulder or an old axe to grind. He's got a cool sense of humor, an informed sense of history and a nice balance of self-confidence, humility, personal discipline and a willingness to connect across the wide sociological spectrum of American citizens (and world citizenry too, while we're at it.) The prospect of Obama representing the United States of America in any number of foreign contexts totally appeals to me. He will put the nation's interests first as is his responsibility but I am strongly persuaded that he'll do so in a way that doesn't assume that concerns like the environment, social justice or human rights are bargaining chips at his (or anyone's) disposal. His foreign policy offers our nation its best chance at moving toward a genuinely elevated regard for human rights and international cooperation that are not nearly as subjectively skewed by the ideological paradigms of the Cold War or Bush's largely incoherent and selectively applied "War on Terror."

Another important dimension of Obama's candidacy is an obvious one - his status as an African-American, though not one from the more typical background with family roots that go back to the 19th century, slavery and the Jim Crow era. Much has been written about this and I can't even begin to offer new insight on it, but my own personal experience of attending a few local Obama rallies and discussing his candidacy with a number of African-American acquaintances leads me to believe that this constituency, and by extension our nation as a whole, would experience a significant benefit from seeing their hopes realized by an Obama victory in the election and his rise to the presidency. Of course this would at first be more of a symbolic and cultural affirmation - but I happen to believe that symbols and culture count for a lot. And the other outcome, to see Obama come this far only to fall short at the last minute, would lead to seriously negative results. Not that those negatives would rest directly upon McCain or the Republican Party but the 'downer' effect of another Republican presidency in 2009 would be really hard to overcome, in my opinion. To me, that is the much bigger risk that we really cannot afford - forget Obama's supposed lack of experience or leftward tilt on policy issues... the real threat to our national well-being is the collective cynicism, apathy and resentment that would result from a perceived lack of political accountability for the Bush administration and its many large-scale failures over the past eight years. If that crew doesn't deserve an electoral spanking, then I never want to hear the phrase "throw the bums out" used in connection with political campaigns ever again! Seriously... I think about it and I still don't see how anyone who believes in performance-based accountability can consider voting for the ticket endorsed by both George W. Bush and now Dick Cheney!

OK, now that I've started this, I'll try to stick with it. I will have more to say about the Obama campaign and the results it achieved in 2008 in the days ahead.