Friday, January 04, 2008

Worth Watching


Last night's Iowa caucus was a great night for a number of reasons. First, there was Barack Obama's upset victory over Hillary Clinton in the Iowa Democratic caucus. The Caucasian caucus-goers gave Sen. Obama an eight-point win over Clinton and put him in first place for the Democratic nomination...I was also glad to see that John Edwards was able to get more support than Hillary did, despite the fact that she heavily outspent him. It's great to see the underdogs taking first and second place, especially considering my utter disenchantment with all things Clinton. Her voting record of support for Bush's war puts the lie to her newly-adopted mantra of change- Obama doesn't have her experience, but he also doesn't have her baggage.

And then there was Obama's masterful victory speech. It was a work of oratory art. He managed to take what I considered his weak point- the call for bi-partisan cooperation- and turned it into a strength that even this hard-bitten cynic has a hard time denying. The Illinois Senator didn't say anything particularly novel , it was the way he said it that I found important.
There was a passion behind his words that leads me to believe that he is very angry- as angry as Edwards- at the current state of Government; there was more than a hint of velvet glove/iron fist diplomacy...why didn't he just come out and say: "I am gonna go Teddy Roosevelt on your ass" a la Edwards?


Oh.

I keep forgetting that America still has a long way to go regarding race and that, sadly, a significant number of non-black Americans will be uneasy with the idea of a black President - those voters would almost certainly be scared off by the idea of an angry black President.

The record number of white, middle-American Democrats who participated last night seems to indicate that race is, thankfully, a lot less important than the idea of change. It is inspiring to see new voters taking an active interest in politics- after all, it was a bored, disinterested public that allowed BushCo to usurp power in 2000.
And hold on to it in 2004.

Politics is like a sleeping pit bull- it may not be much fun to watch, but it's very risky to ignore.


Some observations :

- It's almost impossible to overstate the significance of a 98% white state tipping towards an African-American candidate. In Iowa , twice as many Democrats attended this year's meetings as in 2004- Obama will be unstoppable if he can inspire that sort of turnout in states with more diverse populations than Iowa. There is no reason to believe he cannot.
(Every state is more diverse than Iowa, btw)

- Obama , with a Kenyan father, has a personal connection to a region that mystifies many Americans, black and white alike. As violence rages around the election in Kenya this connection is increasingly important. Check out this map:


Can you find the unstable neighbors on this map? Obama can.

- A black president would be a powerful symbol to the rest of the world, a sign that America isn't over yet- that despite all our troubles we still have a better system than, say, Kenya or Pakistan. It would be a clear sign that we are moving forward, not backward.

- On the GOP side, turnout was around the same level as 2004- the big difference being the large number of evangelical Christians who turned out in support of Mike Huckabee, who apparently is holier than Mitt Romney.
The total number of GOP voters didn't much increase from 2004; for every Bible-thumper who came out to vote, a disenchanted conservative voter stayed home, indicating that the neocon-driven GOP continues to collapse. A few more implosions like Iowa and it'll be time to drown Grover Norquist in the bathtub.

- The Obama win is, hopefully, a warning to the traditional Big Money Democratic Party much in the same way that an ascendant Huckabee spells trouble for the Republicans. Out with the old, in with the new. That's an American tradition, ya know?

- By change, Huckabee means a return to 1950. I would like to say that a dim-bulb candidate like Huckabee doesn't stand a chance in a general election, but that's what I said about Bush in 2000. And 2004.

- The Iowa winners spent less money than the losers.

-The Iowa results accomplished another minor miracle- it kept Britney Spears off the news, even during a four-alarm public meltdown. Impressive.


Conclusion: Put me down as being for Obama, with Edwards as second.
It's a toss-up between Hillary, Ron Paul and Bullwinkle for third, leaning towards the Moose.
I hope it doesn't come to that.

13 comments:

yellowdoggranny said...

I have been for Obama for presdident long before he or anyone in the united states of america even thought of him being president...about 11/2 years ago I said he should run for president..even before oprah jumped on the band wagon...I want him to win...I don't trust any of the clintons..one gives blowjobs, the other wasn't smart enough to figure it out and went on national tv and blamed the christian right..sigh*...
go go go ....Obama..

Anonymous said...

An excellent synthesis. I especially loved the paragraph toward the end where you pointed out that Huckabee shouldn't have a chance of winning because he's so clueless, but look at Bush. I had those exact same thoughts!

Anonymous said...

I don't think "it was a bored, disinterested public that allowed BushCo to usurp power in 2000.
And hold on to it in 2004". I still think it was rigged. Than again, I am a nutter.
Also, Edwards Edwards He's Our Man - If He Can't Win It...Obama Can!!! YAY!! (win win, either way)
And oh my holy hell I will tinkle if they made the same ticket P/VP
(happy dance happy dance)

Craig D said...

But.. but...

Hillary is all middle-aged and everything and Edwards gets $400 hair cuts and Obama has big ears and... and..

Well you know that's all important stuff!

billy pilgrim said...

what about kucinich? if i had a vote, he'd get it.

Anonymous said...

Freaking hysterical. The map almost killed me.

Allan said...

JS- You and my Twin would get along well...he's from Chicago and has been praising Obama for many years. Who knew?

BL- I hope we never have a President with an "average" IQ again.
(I'm being generous)

Hat- Good point. It was a bored public that allowed voter fraud to be perpetrated the first time, allowing the Supremes to give our country away to the war profiteers- and a cowed, fearful public that let Diebold steal it again in 2004 results...aaarrgh.


BP- He's been out of it for a long time, which is a shame.

M- Killed you? I downloaded it from the CIA...now I'm worried.

schlep said...

"...America isn't over yet" - that would be a good message to send, I hope it's true!
I'm cautiously optimistic like you Allan, though I pretty much got the optimism thrashed out of me in November '04. I've been grousing about having a bunch of elderly, white, rural conservatives having seriously undue influence, but Iowa (democrats) done good.

What the hell kind of name is "Huckabee"? Some Ozark distortion of "Huckleberry"?

CS said...

I am with Auld Hat - I think the election was rigged, and so I feel fairly disheartened about the next one. But I'll vote, as I always do.

AngelConradie said...

another awesome post... you make me wanna root for the same dude you pick!

whimsical brainpan said...

This is going to be a very long and interesting Election Year.

I do hope Obama gets the nomination and appoints Edwards as his running mate.

Sling said...

Let's just do it!..Let's elect a black man President,and show the world that we aren't all red-necked,backwards assed sheep following a total retard like Bush,(who couldn't get a job at 7-11 if it weren't for the influence of his "daddy"),and maybe,..just maybe,we can begin to achieve the things that we are fully capable of..scratch that..The things that we are idealistically entitled to!
Life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness!
..stuff like that.

yellowdoggranny said...

do you think there will ever be a time when we elect a black president and we won't refer to him as the black president?....
nah