Wednesday, November 05, 2008
And Now...
Last night's election of Barack Obama to the presidency was a powerful moment, both on the larger canvass of American history, and on a personal level for Americans -- and indeed, for people around the world.
A million words have probably already been written, with incalculably more to follow, about the challenges Mr. Obama now faces. And here is where the next chapter begins.
Mr. Obama has no record of taking political risks. Yet it will take more than charm and beautiful words to address the many problems created by the Bush administration and its allies in Congress and the media. It will take political courage.
Talk of change is uplifting, but what Americans need, moving forward, is a return to the liberal agenda that in the 20th century transformed this country from an agrarian backwater to a super-power.
Put simply, Americans need their rights protected from the powerful -- a task formerly entrusted to their government, which under the direction of Republicans taking their marching orders from powerful interests, first abdicated that responsibility then reversed it. Since the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, the federal government has transformed itself from the agency that protects the weak from the powerful into the agency by which the powerful control everything.
What we want from Barack Obama is not "change," nor "hope," nor any other mere word -- any more than we wanted George W. Bush to declare war on a noun. What we want from Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress is the liberal agenda that guarantees the freedom of all Americans.
Mr. Obama must begin to reverse the disastrous course Ronald Reagan set this country on 28 years ago. He has the political capital to do so. He must be willing to spend that capital.
He must reverse the pernicious power-grabs of the Bush administration.
He must be willing to fight to protect the rights of all Americans to marry, raise families, and live free lives -- gay or straight.
He must be willing to fight to protect the rights of women to control their own bodies.
He must be willing to fight to reverse the Bush administration's curbs of free-speech and invasions of privacy masquerading as anti-terrorist efforts.
The list goes on.
All of these challenges come with considerable political risk. Mr. Obama has the backing of the people, the votes in Congress, and the support of large swaths of the media; he has the means to accomplish them.
What remains to be seen is if he has the political courage.
A million words have probably already been written, with incalculably more to follow, about the challenges Mr. Obama now faces. And here is where the next chapter begins.
Mr. Obama has no record of taking political risks. Yet it will take more than charm and beautiful words to address the many problems created by the Bush administration and its allies in Congress and the media. It will take political courage.
Talk of change is uplifting, but what Americans need, moving forward, is a return to the liberal agenda that in the 20th century transformed this country from an agrarian backwater to a super-power.
Put simply, Americans need their rights protected from the powerful -- a task formerly entrusted to their government, which under the direction of Republicans taking their marching orders from powerful interests, first abdicated that responsibility then reversed it. Since the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, the federal government has transformed itself from the agency that protects the weak from the powerful into the agency by which the powerful control everything.
What we want from Barack Obama is not "change," nor "hope," nor any other mere word -- any more than we wanted George W. Bush to declare war on a noun. What we want from Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress is the liberal agenda that guarantees the freedom of all Americans.
Mr. Obama must begin to reverse the disastrous course Ronald Reagan set this country on 28 years ago. He has the political capital to do so. He must be willing to spend that capital.
He must reverse the pernicious power-grabs of the Bush administration.
He must be willing to fight to protect the rights of all Americans to marry, raise families, and live free lives -- gay or straight.
He must be willing to fight to protect the rights of women to control their own bodies.
He must be willing to fight to reverse the Bush administration's curbs of free-speech and invasions of privacy masquerading as anti-terrorist efforts.
The list goes on.
All of these challenges come with considerable political risk. Mr. Obama has the backing of the people, the votes in Congress, and the support of large swaths of the media; he has the means to accomplish them.
What remains to be seen is if he has the political courage.
