I can still remember the first time I ever heard a republican political consultant announce, with lip-smacking glee and country hick accent, how much he relished the thought of running a candidate against "Barack HUSSEIN Obama". It was about a year ago, when the "smart money" was on an inevitable contest between Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani.
Its funny what a year's time in the real world does to fantasies of inevitability. Rudy Giuliani's smug assumption-- that his alleged leadership in the aftermath of an alleged terrorist attack automatically equaled a shot at the white house-- overlooked both the irrational stubbornness of the conservative right (they're still voting for Huckabee, the last time I checked) and the absolute weariness of America at large with anything or anyone having to do with 9/11.
Hillary Clinton had similar assumptions, ran as a virtual incumbent--and has received an electoral trouncing that would've led anyone less convinced of their own privileged status to throw in the towel by now.
And so now it falls upon the voters of Texas and Ohio to cast what may well be decisive votes in the contest to choose the next President of the United States. For Texans who do not identify with the Republican Party, this is a particularly odd moment. For once it really matters what we think and how we vote--it really matters that we do vote. And this is one time that squandering your vote on a Green, a Libertarian, or some other principled exercise in futility doesn't cut it. It really matters who next becomes president of the United States. It matters to the entire world. The world doesn't get to vote--but you do. Even if you think the entire electoral system is an elaborate sham, you should vote anyway.....just on the off chance that you might be wrong and that your voice and your vote actually can make a difference. As for myself, I'm voting for the skinny black guy with the weird name. I think you should, too.
This really is a defining moment in American History. In eight short years that seemed to last forever, George W. Bush committed this county to the costliest war of choice in history, set into motion what may well wind up becoming the next "Great Depression", forestalled critical action to counter what may wind up being irreversible climate change, and set back basic principles of social justice and equality by almost a century. Because the last eight years have been so devastatingly bad, the need for overwhelming change in American domestic and foreign policy is absolute and crucial.
There is substantial evidence that the basis of Barack Obama's lead over Hillary Clinton is based on his ability to increase participation--to bring in younger voters who have never participated, bring back older voters who lost faith, and bring in disaffected independents. This alone is reason to support his candidacy. The American political system is by no means a perfect democracy. In some ways, it is not a democracy at all. But the surest remedy for those anti-democratic tendencies is participation. It was only razor-thin margins in key states and precincts that enabled the Supreme Court to give George Bush the White House. Greater participation might've spared us the worst president in history. Say what you will about the vapidity of some of his supporters. By re-energizing the electorate, Barack Obama is doing this country an enormous favor.
There is also evidence to support Obama's claims that he will move past the partisan paralysis that has so much defined Washington. Many of his accomplishments as an Illinois state senator were fundamentally based on bipartisanship. There is no reason whatever to assume the same of Hillary Clinton--certainly not when she cites her track record of "winning fights with Republicans" as one of her principal qualifications to be president. After the last eight years, this country does not really need a President who can win fights; it needs someone who is smart enough to win without fighting. Nor would it hurt, necessarily, to have a president who's written a couple of books as opposed to one who might've read a couple. Nor would it be a bad thing to have the White House occupied by a former professor of constitutional law-- none of which is to say that Hillary isn't smart also.....or is it? Obama's speech denouncing the Iraq war pretty well predicted everything that has happened since. Not only did Clinton vote to authorize the war, she has steadfastly refused to admit error ever since....didn't we just go through eight years of presumed presidential infallibility? Do we really need four more?
But the single biggest reason to support Barack Obama in the Texas Primary, the Texas Caucuses, and the November general election is the fundamental message of change his presidency would send to the rest of the world. Even if Barack Obama wasn't one of the smartest men to ever run for the office, even if he wasn't an inspiring and charismatic leader with the ability to mobilize millions, even if he didn't have both the intention and ability to move past the gridlocked business that currently passes for governance....even if none of that mattered as much as it does, there would still be that one signal, inescapable moment when a man with a brown skin, an African surname and an Arabic middle name solemnly swears that he will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of his Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
That moment changes everything. A decade overdue, in that moment the United States of America joins the 21st Century.
His middle name's Hussein....and you're damned right I'm voting for him.
