Mandate - \ˈman-ˌdāt\ - 1: an authoritative command ; especially : a formal order What does the word mandate have to do with this?
We'll save that for last.
For now....
Last night, like so many people, I gathered with friends to watch the election results as they were reported.
There was a sense of hope and some nervousness as the night progressed. Around the time I arrived at my friend Grace's house, Pennsylvania had been called for Obama.
Then, a landslide ensued.
By 11 p.m., the election was over and John McCain was conceding victory to Barack Obama.
As I went home, I called my friend Mike and we talked about the relief we felt. Obama's victory sounds the funeral-bell for the Bush administration and the end of Republican rule after eight long years of frustration and failure.
Today is truly historic.
Mostly, I woke up this morning to a new sense of hope and optimism. I can never again say that my country isn't capable of the kind of grand gesture that makes real the promise that all men are created equal.
Electing Obama doesn't mean that the country is instantly better. This does not erase the deficit. It doesn't end terrorism or bring our troops back home. Racism isn't gone, either. But, this election does make clear that we are clearly moving in a more positive direction as a country. Yesterday showed, as I said previously, that open-minded people mean business. We are not going to sit back and keep doing the same thing when it isn't working.
Obama is the right man at the right time in this country's history. He is truly a man for his times and the challenge he has accepted is a monumental one. He has his work cut out for him. But, he will have help as the Democrats grabbed many seats in the Senate.
I said this morning that the most important thing he needs to do as president is unite this country. I might have been wrong about that. Perhaps, that isn't his most important job as a president.
Maybe, this is his most important calling as a man. It could be that the task of uniting this country is too big for a simple elected official.
It's going to take a man of substance and character. It's going to take a person who can lead by example and be a
real human being that men, women and children strive to emulate. This could be the most important thing he does, while in office. To me, that is worth more than any piece of legislation he can sign.
We need a person that can show us the way. We need a man (or woman) who can lead us and carry himself with dignity and grace. We need a leader that can speak coherently in front of foreign dignitaries and other nations.
We don't need a fool who declares himself with stupid titles (
oh, I don't know...like "The Decider").
More than ever, we need a man who can reach across party lines and dissolve the partisan politics that the Bush administration endorsed as the country was driven to it's knees.
I don't usually share too much personal information.
But, I thought this one was appropriate.
As I was driving to school, my phone rang.
It was my father.
He told me that he was going to buy a newspaper so that I could give it to my son.
My son is about to turn 1, this Saturday.
Why?
Well...this is history and my son is living through it. I want him to have something that marks this day when he is old enough to understand.
This was the day that people around this country issued a real mandate.This isn't the mandate declared by Still-President George W. Bush, four years ago, when he squeaked out a narrow victory over John Kerry. A victory, by the way, that was tainted by fraud and voter disenfranchisement in several states.
George W. Bush will not only be remembered for his failed presidency, he will be remembered for destroying the Republican party. You see, George..
.this is what a mandate looks like. It's when states that haven't voted Democrat for forty years not only vote Democrat, they wash you and your party off the political map. They destroy your party and leave it in shambles.
Last night, the American people issued a mandate against Bush and his cronies that simply said, "Enough".
The only thing that makes this victory bittersweet for me is that I wanted Bush to be the one who lost. Seeing Obama win was fantastic. But, I really wanted to see Bush lose both elections. That is the only wound that will never heal. McCain lost this election because he ran a shitty campaign that came up against one of the most amazing campaigns anyone has ever seen. He also lost because he was affiliated with the Bush administration. But, the final nail in his coffin was Sarah Palin. Choosing her was an amazing disaster that dismantled McCain's bid for the White House in a way that was insanely comical.
When the election was called for Obama, I turned to my friends and said, "I can't help but feel that I had a hand in this, somehow."
For better or worse, that is true.
I campaigned hard for Obama because I believed in him. I have high expectations and am I going to hold Obama to a high standard. He earned my vote. Now, he has to prove he is worthy. The GOP is already sharpening their attacks. One thing I know to be true, the GOP is reeling today and they don't like it one bit. They know they lost and they aren't used to it.
For the first time in years, the Democrats are in a position they haven't known for some time...they are playing defense. Trust me, the attacks against the Democrats are coming. For me, that is what made so many Republicans insufferable for the last eight years. Even when they were winning, they never stopped whining. They never stopped blaming Democrats. They never took their foot off Clinton's neck - even though he hadn't been president for the last eight years. He still took all the blame for everything that went wrong during Bush's presidency.
9/11?Republicans said it was Clinton's fault.
The economy?Again, Republicans blamed Clinton.
That level of psychosis is an amazing thing to behold.
But, all that is over.
I am only going to take one second to get this out of my system:
Republican
rule is over.
Today marks a new day.
Hopefully, it will be the start of a day when all people in this country look at each other and remember that we are all in this together. If you can't wrap your head around that, find somewhere else to live. I am finished with the rhetoric that has carved up pieces of this country and pitted us against each other by calling some places "THE REAL AMERICA", while condemning other places as being "UN-AMERICAN".
Last night's election was a mandate. It was a forceful rejection of the politics that have divided this country for too longSo....open your eyes, Republicans.
This is the REAL AMERICA. Good luck, Barack.We are all counting on you.
