Well at least this can go back into storage… Obama wins. Now for the hard part. November 5, 2008
Posted by WorldbyStorm in US Politics.trackback
If we go to the Irish Times website we can see that John Gormley is up there with ‘world leaders’ rushing to congratulate Obama. At least so reads their particular 3rd story of the morning. And he’ll be only one amongst many – and at least his politics aren’t radically different from those of Obama, unlike some – keen to see at least some of the magic rub off on him. Until it starts to fade.
So what to say? Well done Obama. Quite a campaign, an excellent victory and let us bask in the thought that the US, for all its myriad flaws is the first major industrialised nation – unless I am much mistaken – to elect an Africa-American to its leadership. Sometimes it’s easy to forget the duality of the US and concentrate on its most negative aspects, but it’s a continental country with remarkable energies and potentials and a history that allows for positives. Today, for a moment the positive was uppermost.
A hell of a campaign as well. Florida? Pennsylvania? Nevada? Colorado? New Mexico? That map has turned blue. Although the popular vote at 51%/47% less so. More of a landslide in the electoral college with the Republicans beaten back.
So now it’s all detail and the big picture is set.
Farewell Ralph Nadar. I suppose.
And consider that this mountain of sentiment, this rush of emotion on our screens which is a sort of catharsis after eight truly awful years of George Bush contains with in itself the potential for huge disappointment.
Watch the markets. Let’s see if sentiment can give as much as take away. And if the former then – perhaps, just perhaps – there’s a fighting chance that the Obama Presidency may function in a way that we may not consider but at least will have some progressive aspects to it.
A thought to be going on with. The optics alone of the Biden and Obama families on the podium last night were remarkable. How many outside the US, or even in it, have seen anything quite like that before?
Amazing night.
If you’re my age, coming of age pretty much coincided with Thatcher/ Reagan, so, watching TV till 6am with my daughter and her friend (both 19), I had a twinge of anachronistic envy – not fair, they get this as a generationally defining moment!
Two thoughts: one, maybe the knee- jerk European condescension towards the US and its citizens will take a break for a while – the ability of the country that invented itself to reinvent itself is astonishing; one little thing – in his speech, Obama said something about reaching out to all Americans, and went through race and gender and then said ‘Gay or Straght’ – I still can’t imagine any European leader saying that.
Second thought: for the last weeks and months, I’ve heard a lot of work talk about the ‘Bradley effect’ – not usually stated as that – how white people are saying they’d vote Obama, but once inside the booth, they’ll switch, and the widespread belief that he’ll be assassinated, prbably with the connivance of the CIA/ Secret Service. Its notable in one of the circles I move in how conspiracy thought has replaced political insight as the default position
- dope addled ‘theories’ about 9/11 replacing any difficult stuff.
This view sees itself as sophisticated, as ’seeing through’ things, but its actually the height of naivete – the difficult thing is not to grasp bullshit synchronicities, its actually to grasp the occasional glimpses of real politics – which is always about the new, and which can’t be explained except in terms of real, complicated, human history.
Pessimism of the intellect will return soon enough, but for the moment, a rare optimism of the will is available to us.
” leftists too stubborn to quit” Ha Ha!
In his time GW Bush appointed –
Alberto Gonzales the first Hispanic to hold White House Lawyer.
Condoleezza Rice, the first female African-American secretary of State.
Cuban-born business executive Carlos Gutierrez to head Commerce.
Over four years and 24 appointments, Bush named to his Cabinet five women, four African-Americans, three Hispanics and two Asian-Americans.
Before Bush, no person of color had been named to any of the four most prestigious Cabinet jobs — at the departments of State, Treasury, Defense and Justice. Bush named two blacks as secretary of State and a Mexican-American as attorney general.
So fuc**in what. Anglo-American imperialism is still the same regardless of its skin colour – hope that’s not too much “pessismism of the intellect” for you, me ould sticky.
Yeah, maybe…..
But perhaps the coincidence of this election and the (near-) collapse of the markets may represent a once in a generation moment to detach ‘Anglo- American imperialism’ from its economic base? whether Obama would want to do that is of course another question.
And i still think any view – whether from the left or right – that seeks to explain everything exclusively in terms of some all- determining meta-narrative, whether economic base determining cultural ‘political’ superstructure, or the Illuminati running the world* is just as naive as its converse, which simply sees the course of events as disconnected great ‘historical’ moments, without precedent or cause.
* I’m not equating Marxism here with conspiracy theorising – just its more naive, deterministic varieties.
“And consider that this mountain of sentiment, this rush of emotion on our screens which is a sort of catharsis after eight truly awful years of George Bush contains with in itself the potential for huge disappointment.”
The US treasury has a huge deficit. Obama is going to have real trouble implementing his ambitious healthcare programme, even if he does end the engagement in Iraq. There is also a huge trade deficit and oil insecurity to deal with. The question is whether Obama really has what it takes to resolve these problems. Disappointment is indeed a real possibility for Obama supporters around the world when they realise that he isn’t quite the new messiah…
These were the final totals on Al Franken’s senate race in Minnesota
Coleman1,210,942 42%
Franken 1,210,371 42%
Barkley 437,187 15%
According to Wikipedia:
This triggers an automatic recount under Minnesota law and confirmed results for the election are now delayed for a couple of weeks.
Obama is about stabilizing American empire.
Hmm, but is he just about that?
Obama is about stabilizing American empire.
When you look in the mirror, does Melanie Phillips look back at you?
http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/2576106/freedom-now-stands-alone.thtml
Absolutely stark-raving bonkers, almost as good as two weeks when she said Obama was the creature of America hating far-leftists.
Utterly ridiculous stuff by her. If she is sincere she’s a fool, if not she is profoundly cynical. I go with the latter. It really pisses me off these people who dumb down everything and then accuse leftists of being manipulative.
Remember she used to write for the Guardian?
Missed that one Omar. Thank God.
Great point sonofstan.
Nice night for Obama and the country. I’m deeply grateful that this election was not close. I wish him luck. He’ll need it.
Could have been worse for the GOP, actually – unless the Democrats get to 59 seats in the Senate, and it doesn’t look as if they will. Some Republicans are apparently looking to Obama as their bulwark against the alleged Bolsheviks in Congress, a tribute to Obama’s ability to be all things to all people.
As to who he really is – we don’t know yet. We’re about to find out. Fingers crossed.
“Florida? Pennsylvania? Nevada? Colorado? New Mexico?”
Pennsylvania is technically a swing state, but in the last four elections it’s gone Democratic. McCain pinned his hopes on it because he had no choice. Florida could well go back to the GOP, but the Republicans are certainly looking at long term problems in the Southwest.
I agree with PamDirac — things could have been much worse for the republicans. It is a shame that they were not totally destroyed. The talking heads are already discussing how this would have been a very different outcome if Mitt Romney had been the candidate.
Stan, the key question is — what does O’Bama see when he looks in the mirror? Clinton light? FDR light?
Never having read Melanie before, she sounds like a complete nut.
PamDirac… fair point re Pennsylvania. Al Franken is still up for grabs, no?
Bakunin, that’s perhaps a McCain bounce? No McCain no retention of many of the states they did have.
I actually forgot this was on (no, really, I don’t have a working TV and have the radio tuned to a classical music station) and when I came in yesterday morning the BBC online told me Obama had won by miles. But, apparently, we were still waiting for the results from “a few key swing states” – I wondered how “key” they could be in the circumstances.
Bakunin, I’m afraid those talking heads are mistaken – the GOP might have received a worse clobbering with Mittens leading the charge, and although Obama’s probably not thinking about 2012 right now, I bet he would love to face off against Romney. Look up a tape of the latter’s speech at the Republican National Convention, and you’ll see why.
There will be a recount and Franken will probably lose.
Pity about that. I like Franken, and to hear some of the attacks on him you’d think he was utterly off the scale rather than a broad satirist.
ejh, don’t you have a computer at home?
Yeah, but I get home late and get out early.
Understandable…