(Cautiously) optimistic for America’s future

A World Series win in Philadelphia and the United States’ first Black president — wow.  WOW. Okay, Schwartzy, take a breath.

“How do you feel?” a close friend asked me this morning.  “Cautiously optimistic,” I replied, to which he remarked: “I think that’s the best thing intelligent people who are not quick to fire can feel right now.”

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McCain bowed out with honor.  I always thought he was a decent man who truly loved his country, and it would be very interesting if Obama tapped him for a cabinet-level position.  That said, his campaign had serious problems.  To quote The Economist, a news magazine with incredibly good sense, “If only the real John McCain had been running” (read the full text of their Obama endorsement here, probably the most thoughtful endorsement for either candidate I’ve yet read).

Most of all, the choice of Sarah Palin was a train wreck.  Although she rallied the dissolving Republican base, she alienated the independents and liberals for whom McCain’s record of “reaching across the aisle” had been such a strong attraction.  McCain now seemed uncharacteristically partisan, pandering, and worse, somewhat George W. Bush-like.  In other words, she was a deeply divisive figure.

I think Palin was symptomatic of McCain’s deeper problems as a candidate: a tendency to confuse tactics for strategy.  For example, I was overjoyed to hear him in the second debate talk about stopping foreclosures, something I have strongly advocated in this space, but where was the larger plan to heal the economy?  The truth was that McCain was ultimately offering more of the same radical laissez faire policies as his predecessors in the Clinton and Bush administrations.  Say what you will about Obama’s fuzziness on the details, the junior senator from Illinois was at least able to convey a stronger sense of strategy, a general and uplifting vision of where he wants to go with us.

Of course, as a left-leaning progressive I have been naturally inclined toward Obama anyway.  However, I gave both men a thorough listen, as well as Ralph Nader, Bob Barr, and Cynthia McKinney.  I also did my homework about all of them.  Those of you who have been with me since the Democratic primaries know that my passion for Obama quickly cooled when he decided to pull out of public funding and the restrictions that it brought.  Many defended it, but I think liberals will rue this decision one day.  This was not my only problem with Obama; I have had complaints based on ideological grounds, as well.

Nevertheless, when push came to shove I found myself impressed by Obama’s cool-headedness.  Additionally, I was impressed with Joe Biden.  Although I have some reservations about his little-known mixed positions on cyber-policing, thankfully, he’s at least nominally for net neutrality (see also: here).  More generally, however, he struck me as a man who understands what the working- and middle-class are going through right now.

All told, I was more bothered by McCain’s record than Obama’s lack of one, and conversely, by Palin’s inexperence and beliefs than Biden’s long and checkered experience and views.  Most of all, as I indicated above, it was the difference in vision between the two men that most moved me.

Only time will tell if Obama is really the man we’re hoping he is.  Although the last two years of Democratic rule in the Congress have not been promising, I feel we must be patient.  Not only with Obama and his party, but with ourselves and our nation.

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A side-note is in order here: I must confess a deep disappointment with the candidates of the Libertarian and Green Parties this year.  What were you guys thinking when you chose these two psyhopaths?

While we’re on the topic of Third Parties, as many of you know I am tired of the two-party system here in the United States and want to see it done away with.  I’m a registerred member of the Working Families Party, and as such, I’m happy to report that I was able to make my vote count double: the WFP endorsed Obama and ran him on their ticket, so I was able to support a promising party and a promising politician.

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This post is about the future, and old readers will know my interest in the topic with regards to post-humanity and religion.  Check this out: WordPress actually ran what might be cyberspace’s first “national” virtual vote!  (Here are the results.)  Meanwhile, CNN enlisted the help of holographic reporters for its coverage of the election.  Cue the old Doctor Who theme…

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To conclude, I’d like to quote something from a fellow citizen’s blog.  Although we stand on opposite sides of the ideological divide, A Simple Testimony and I share the same sentiment:

I held my breath waiting to hear from Senator Barack Obama.  And it is difficult to express the patriotic feelings that pulsed through my body as I watched such a historic moment and, in my opinion listened to the best political speech of our day.  All I have to say is Yes we can! We can become united, through each of our efforts! We can fix our present economic catastrophe! And we can repair our foreign relations!