Republican Schizophrenia

"Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain. These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face. I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited. Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that."

- John McCain, from his concession speech last Tuesday

"There are three seats in the House and two in the Senate that still hang in the balance. Winning these races and strengthening our Republican numbers in both chambers of Congress is critical to blocking Barack Obama’s left-wing agenda . . .The Obama-Biden Democrats and their liberal special interest allies are trying to steal these election victories from Republicans. . .Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are hoping to add more seats to the Democrats’ Senate and House majorities so they can steamroll our opposition to their extreme, ultraliberal schemes. . . Every Republican vote we can add now will help our Party stop the Obama Democrats’ leftist policies in the U.S. Congress. "

- Mike Duncan (RNC Chairman), from an email I got from him yesterday soliciting me for donations to the RNC.

You can really feel the goodwill and bipartisanship, can't you?

First of all, let me just say that the reason I get emails from the RNC is because I gave $25 to John McCain during the primaries. And it turned out to be some of the best $25 I ever spent, just for the information and insight into the campaign that it provided. It was quite humorous over the last 6 months to get back to back emails; one from the Obama campaign and one from the McCain campaign, with subjects like "Help us defeat Obama and the Democrats" next to "Help us defeat John McCain and the Repiblicans."

In any case, back to the quotes. I certainly don't expect the GOP to suddenly start agreeing with everything the Democrats say. I just think that it shouldn't be too much to ask to, you know, wait until there actually is legislation out there to oppose. Otherwise you're basically just defining your party as "we're against whatever the Democrats are for". In addition to being really petty, that doesn't sound like a very good way to govern or reconnect with the American public. And I like the use of the word "schemes" in describing Reid and Pelosi. Makes them sound like some silent picture-era villains sitting in Congress twirling their handlebar moustaches. And finally, I really like how they say that Democrats are "trying to steal these elections." Yes, their cunning plan to get more votes than their opponent is diabolical indeed.

I understand that politics is a contact sport, but there's a lot of other paths to take here. Why not just play up the checks and balances angle, as in "our government functions best when voices from both sides of the aisle are heard. We need these elections to keep our voices from being drowned out."? Or, considering the beating they endured last Tuesday, the GOP could approach it from the angle of "you have spoken, and we have heard you. With your help we will renew this party and this country." Overall, this is just another illustration of the fact that the Republicans simply don't know how to appeal to centrists and independents anymore. They can't get it through their thick skulls that there are a lot of people (as of today a majority, in fact) that don't automatically equate the Democrats with a force that needs to be stopped at all costs. As with the Sarah Palin pick, this kind of communication does very well at energizing your base but that base by itself is simply not sufficient to win federal elections anymore (north of the Mason-Dixon line anyway). Until they realize that, there will continue to be dark days ahead for the GOP.

Idiots on Both Sides of the Aisle

So, if we have truly entered a new age of bipartisanship in American politics let me get in the spirit by complaining equally about a member of each party.

First up, and hopefully the last time I ever feel compelled to talk about her, is the easiest Republican target since Dan Quayle, Sarah Palin. With the election over it now appears that as harsh as the media and pundits were on her it turns out she deserved all that and then some. The stories starting to surface about her now are truly cringe-worthy considering how close she came to being one heartbeat away from the presidency. And the best part about it is that these stories have been broken by Fox news . Among the most damning (hopefully; though who knows what other stories will emerge) are reports that "she was unaware that Africa was not a country but a whole continent" and that she was "unable to name the countries that belong to the North American Free Trade Agreement: the US, Mexico, and Canada." I could go on a long diatribe about this being a reflection of McCain's bad judgment and so on and so forth, but you know what? More than anything I just want to be done with her. Ms. Palin, I wish you all the best in your future endeavors, but please slink back to Wasilla now and become irrelevant to my life once again.

This story though, bothers me a bit more. Harry Reid is apparently leaning towards removing Joe Lieberman as Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. In a statement, Reid said "While I understand that Sen. Lieberman has voted with Democrats a majority of the time, his comments and actions have raised serious concerns among many in our caucus." However he wishes to phrase it, the bottom line is that this is punishment for Lieberman supporting John McCain. Look, I am not a big Lieberman fan. I thought he was a poor choice for VP in 2000 and I often found myself getting very angry at him throughout this campaign. But this is 100% the wrong thing to do. Democrats won on Tuesday based largely on a campaign of ushering in a new era of bipartisanship. That means extending an olive branch across the aisle to people who may have done you wrong in the past and whom you may not even like very much for the betterment of the country. Well, Joe Lieberman isn't even across the aisle. If Congressional Democrats can't even make peace with someone who has been one of their own for the vast majority of his career, I have absolutely no faith in their ability to heal the rift with Republicans. It also sends the message that breaking with the party to stand up for what you believe is right for the country will not be tolerated. I can't think of a single worse message to send right now.

On the far, far lighter side of things I am on my way to the Cheech and Chong show at the Rosemont Theatre tomorrow night. I honestly haven't watched a single Cheech and Chong film or listened to a recording of them in about 10 years, so it will be interesting to see how the humor has held up. In any case, Cheech Marin has aged a lot better than Tommy Chong has, so I had a feeling this would be my only chance to see them and I'm looking forward to it.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Musings on the Rally

Well, probably the best and easiest way to describe the rally is to say that if you saw it on TV it was exactly what it looked like it was: a lot of people that were all very happy and just excited to be a part of the moment.

The picture above was taken by Joe right when Obama came out to speak. Obviously we were not very close, but that wasn't really the point. We spent the early part of the evening at Joe's friend's Ed's place (that's a lot of possesives in a row!) with my brother and his girlfriend Kari (who also went to the rally with us). He lives about 5 blocks from the rally location and we thought it would be a good place to eat dinner, watch the early returns, and relax before we got amped up to be amidst the throngs of people. As a result, we didn't leave for the rally till about 8:45. Since people had started lining up to get in first thing in the morning, it didn't seem to make much sense to get there 2 hours early just to end up about 200 feet closer and still not be able to see anything. While there were lines to get in, it wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting. There were 2 separate security checkpoints, but it was only the first one that had a decent size line. That was where they were making sure that only people with tickets were getting past so once you got through that it really opened up. At the second one they scanned your ticket and checked your ID to make sure it was legit. Strangely enough, there were actually no metal detectors. I am thinking that they used them for the early crowd but then once it got jammed up they figured it wasn't as big of a security risk since everyone else would be pretty far back. That's just speculation on my part, though.

We got inside the actual rally at about 9:15 and just stood around and conversed with fellow supporters for about half an hour. At that point, since they'd already called Ohio and Pennsylvania for Obama it was just a question of when, not if, the victory would be official. They had CNN on the jumbotron and the sound system was more than adequate to keep everyone informed. Finally, at 9:58 they called Virginia for Obama and there was a huge cheer that went up from the crowd. Less than 2 minutes later, just as the California polls closed they made it official: Sen. Barack Obama was now President-elect Obama. For about 5 minutes you couldn't hear CNN anymore or, indeed, anything else other than 200,000 people screaming and yelling. When some semblance of calm was restored, the next thing I remember hearing was that McCain was about to speak and officially concede. I give John McCain all the credit in the world, because he gave one of the best concession speeches I've ever heard. While there were a smattering of boos, by and large most people cheered and applauded him (with the notable exception of when he talked about Palin). We weren't there to dance on the grave of our opponent, we were there to celebrate our victory.

After that the fervor died down for a little while, but you could feel the anticipation and the energy never left the crowd. Finally, after about another 30-45 minutes of waiting the moment arrived. As you would expect, the place erupted when he walked out but it actually died down fairly quickly. As excited as everyone still was, they were more interested in hearing him talk than they were in cheering at the moment. There was the feeling that this was going to be a speech that would still be played 30, 50, maybe 100 years from now. And he didn't disappoint. For any that missed it, I would encourage you to go to youtube or any of 1000 other places on the web to view or read a transcript of it. It was a synthesis of everything he has been saying for the past 2 years. I made a point to look around while he was talking, to try to freeze the image in my mind forever. The thing that struck me the most as I listened was being aware of how silent it was. There were 200,000 people all standing in the center of one the largest, busiest cities in the world and the only sound that could be heard was the voice of one man, speaking for millions and saying everything that we wanted to say. By the end, I don't think there was anyone there whose eyes didn't at least well up. Truly as unforgettable a moment as there can be.

Reflecting on it later, I was most impressed with how he was able to weave in the sense of celebration and rejoicing with a continuing call for action. As I said in my last post, this isn't really the end at all; it's just the beginning. And rather than summarize and expound upon what he said, in the end I really can't say it any better than he did himself:

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who wont agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation the only way its been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

Election Day!

So, at last it has all come down to this. We have finally reached THE day that marks the end of one of the longest and arguably most exciting presidential elections in our lifetimes. While there have been a lot of surprises, twists, and turns over the last year, obviously it is my earnest desire for it to be over early and that we are spared anymore late night drama. I will be amidst the craziness at the Obama rally tonight in Grant Park, so I am hoping that my only concern will be how best to celebrate with my fellow Obamaniacs. But, as with all things, you never really know until you know. And on that note, let me be probably the umpteenth person today to urge everyone who has not already done so to get out and vote!

Speaking of the Obama rally, just for fun I decided to look on craigslist to see how strong the "entrepreneurial spirit" was. While I expected to see some pretty high prices (highest I saw was $850), what intrigued me more was the number of interesting trades and offers I saw. On the more "normal" side of the spectrum were people offering Cubs tickets, Rock Band for the PS3, various other concert tickets, and an electric guitar (Guild). And, of course, since Obama has a lot of strong support among 20-somethings there are lots of hormonally related offers. Mostly this runs along the lines of young guys looking for "a cute date" (equal opportunity though, as there are both straight and gay posts) to bring but there are also a few cases of women offering themselves up in trade. Then there are the humorous posts. One guy offered to trade "fishing lures for a ticket" (at least I *think* that's a joke) and another guy was offering to take John McCain as his guest for free. On the more commendable side, there were people offering up the guest spot to the highest bidder with the stipulation that the money go to charity (yeah, there were a lot less of these than any of the other ones). Then, there are the ones that can only be described as odd. One guy wants someone to try and pass as his ex-wife, and then others are requesting essay submissions (typically either pro or anti religious). All in all, I think this shows a couple things. First, that the spirit of capitalism is alive and well in the American people. Second, there is still a place for a barter economy (particularly among the young and horny). And lastly, if you get a large enough group together (even if they all appear to be somewhat like-minded) you will see a broad spectrum of ideologies, some ingenious thinking, and all manners of personality traits and quirks.

For the record, I am taking my friend Joe and I will be getting nothing from him save the pleasure of his company (the value of which is debatable).

On a semi-serious note, I just want to point out that although this is the "end" of this presidential campaign, in another way it really is only the beginning. No matter the outcome tonight, the greatest value this campaign has had is that it has engaged the American people in a way that has not been seen in a long time. A democracy functions best when all of its members are thus engaged and it is my earnest hope that this marks a rebirth of perpetual political enthusiasm in this country. It would be a real shame if 6 months from now the populous collectively shrugged its shoulders and returned to the complacency towards government that has marked a lot of our last hundred years. As a people we have been very adept at overcoming adversity, but we need to get better at not letting up once we have broken through. As Mr. Haake, my old cross-country coach, used to say "everyone is taught to run hard up the hill, but if you run hard for 100-yards past the hill that's when you can really pass people." So, to all Americans, I say this: if you haven't been running hard, start now; and if you have, keep going!