Senator John McCain’s Call For Unity

Senator McCain’s concession speech was the most gracious and patriotic concession I have ever heard.  While his crowd seemed to want almost none of it, he – and most of his supporters – are better than that.  This is the man I was excited about in 2000.  Had he run like this – had he been this guy all year – and avoided the neocons who sunk their claws into him, we’d very possibly be looking at a different outcome today.  I continue to believe – as I always have and as I have said publicly loud and often – that John McCain is a good man who wants the best for his nation.  It wasn’t particularly obvious these last few months, and that was tragic.  This speech – and the action that will undoubtedly follow it – serves as a powerful exclamation point on a distinguished career.

Full Circle, But A 180

The summer before I was born, Grant Park in Chicago was the scene of violent political protests against an unpopular war.  Police and youth clashed brutally.  Last night, as a relatively young guy, I felt lucky as hell to witness 150,000 youths gathered in that same park, cheering for a President-Elect who had successfully run against an unpopular war.  We’ve come a long way, baby.

Young People’s Hopes and Dreams

I don’t care how trite it’s become to describe Obama as an inspirational figure; this really cannot be overstated.  I grew up a poor kid in rural America.  I found inspirations where I could – some were real and omnipresent (like my Mom), and some were not.  They are not escapes, nor fantasies – they really do serve as archetypes that help construct one’s internal limits of possibility.  Being able to point to someone in the outside world and say “they did it” – whatever “it” might be – really does give a young person permission to air wild dreams in pleasant company.   To see a black man who came from nothing ascend to the American Presidency is a source of boundless inspiration for millions of American kids – black and white, rich and poor.  Last night, seeing so many young faces lit up by the bright glow of infinite potential – finally letting their mental space expand into the reality that, oh my God, it really can happen; it really did happen – says a lot about America indeed.

Racism Is Dying In America

Sure, it’s not dead yet – but it is gasping its dying breaths.  What we saw last night was the strongest proof yet that the scars of one of America’s great sins continue to fade.

The People Came Through

I often gripe and complain about American apathy and our lack of sociopolitical engagement.  This looks like it will be the highest turnout since 1968.  And it wasn’t just the voting – this election season brought in a new generation of active, engaged citizens who want the best for their nation, and who selflessly invested their elbow grease, their voices, their money and their passion in its pursuit.  I couldn’t be more pleased about being proven wrong.

Our nation is confronting once-in-a-lifetime challenges, so the road ahead is rough.  But this outcome makes us far better equipped to face them.  I’m proud of us, and not just for the choice we made, but for the impressive numbers of people who engaged, spoke up, and turned out.

Shortly, the real work begins – but for now, maybe let’s celebrate a little.  Fireworks have actually erupted here in Venice.

Leading into the MSNBC announcement, Chris Matthews said: “The world will look at us – thank God – with wonder again.” NBC called it at exactly 20:00 PST, with a clearly emotional Keith Olbermann delivering the news:

I know more than a few smart Republicans – young and old school – who are supporting Obama.  But many of them don’t talk about it, or, if they do, not very loudly.  I hope that over the next couple of months they’ll speak a bit more loudly, because this is a candidacy that everyone should seriously consider.

Chris Matthews had Rita Hauser and Jim Leach on his show tonight.  Hauser is an attorney, former Bush fundraiser, former member of the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, and co-founder of Republicans for Obama.  Jim Leach is a Republican former Congressman from Iowa and the current director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard’s JFK School of Government.

The quotes:

“Any sense of perspective has to indicate that America …  [has] diplomatically, economically, militarily been increasingly behind the eight ball for the past 4-5 years.. and the question is, do we want a new direction… rooted in historical American values, or one that might be described as aberrational, in which we attack countries that haven’t attacked us, lay plans for long-term occupation of a land where America and the West are deeply resented?  It’s time for change, and that change has to come quickly.” – Jim Leach

“I think I speak for a very large number of Republicans who did not find this [war] as normal type activity for traditional Republicans.  You fight when you are attacked and when you are seriously threatened, not go off on adventures.  McCain shows no sign of being willing to wind down our commitment in Iraq, being willing to address the problems seriously that have been caused by our commitment in Iraq – like doing the right thing in Afghanistan and Pakistan – and he says he will stay there until 2012 and 2013 and that is not acceptable to a very large number of Republicans and former Republicans who now call themselves independents.” – Rita Hauser

“There’s no question about it, [with McCain] we would have Bush 3, and I think a lot of people are very nervous about that, including a large segment of Republicans.  This war has never been paid for properly, in fact it hasn’t been accounted for – and we don’t know the extent of what it is costing and what damage it’s doing to our economy.  Republicans like to balance their books.” – Rita Hauser

Now, I know that this still isn’t translating to the polling.  I’m not sure why this is – but some of you probably have some hunches.

“We can’t take our eyes off the big picture.  There are a lot of very appealing, interesting, sexy subplots.  But the big picture – think about this – a freshman Senator from Illinois, who refers to himself as the ‘skinny black kid from the south side of Chicago’ – has defeated Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.  The Clinton machine – a former First Lady and a former President.  It truly is David versus Goliath, and it has happened. And we have to understand and focus on how historic this night really is.”