Less than 24hrs from now, a new page in history will be written. If either McCain or Obama win, the Bush presidency will be writing its final paragraphs, and the new president will try to right the wrongs of its legacy. In less than 24hrs, the whirlwind election year(s) will come to a close, and the victor will hopefully raise up the energies of those of us who are a little drained from this electoral marathon.
It was a year and a couple of months ago when I first signed up to be a part of this election. Back in August of 2007, I signed up to help Barack's longshot campaign surge against the Clinton juggernaut. At that point, I knew Barack fairly well. I knew he was not a liberal diety, like Kucinich; he was not a populist warrior, like Edwards; and he was not a veteran of Washington powerplays, like Hillary.
I was involved in the Kerry campaign, but for peculiar reasons. In 2004, Kerry ran away with the Democratic nomination, not because he was the best, most liked, or coolest candidate. He won because he was the luckiest. And after that, he grew in popularity in large part because he was "not Bush". I signed up to help him out mosty out of that negative trait: he was not the guy currently in office. I campaigned for him out of my hate for the Bush years and the wreck it was making out my country. I know I am not the only one who was fueled by that passion when supporting Kerry. Being not Bush took Kerry so far. As Truman once said: given the choice between a real Republican and a fake one, people will go for the real one. Kerry failed to make the case he was neither. When I signed up to Barack's campaign, my motives were not out of hate, at all. He was unique, and he was inspiring. I can't remember the last time I heard myself or anyone say that about anyone, much less a politician.
I first heard of Barack shortly before the 2004 Democratic Convention, when I heard from friends in Illinois about this skinny black dude who was really smart and likable. Then I heard his speech, loved it, saw Kerry lose, felt depressed for awhile, and forgot about this Barack fellow.
As part of my recuperation process, I started looking forward to 2008. 4 more years and he is out of here, I kept telling myself in 2004. I remembered the guy who won a Senate seat in Illinois and was a fresh new face in Washington--for more than the fact that he was the only black Senator in the whole damn place. I started doing research on him. And kept reading about him. And on and on.
Barack. What a funny name, I remember thinking. Too bad he probably will wont run until 2012, I thought. GOD! That is so long from now. Deep down, I hoped he would run in 2008, but feared that his slim Washington experience (a good and bad thing all at once) would hurt his chances of going against the likes of Hillary, or Al, or John, or other party elders.
But he did. And I followed. Carefully at first. I knew I disagreed with him on a few issues (death penalty, some immigration policies), but heard him and liked what I heard. His views have always been pragmatic, following no particular doctrine, and never trying to make one of his own. As I heard him, campaigned for him, and he campaigned for himself, I found him to be very human. He avoided pitching anything like a salesman with catchy soundbites and easy to digest answers. He took his time and when you saw him talk you knew he was always thinking. If I had to summarize why I found him so compelling, it would be because I saw his insatiable curiosity and I saw him evolve everyday. Like me, he expected the best of outcomes, but prepared for all the others.
Despite my faith in him as a person and as a candidate, I was a sober-enough thinker to understand the obstacles he was up against, even back then during the politica honey-moon . The first was a Hillary campaign that seemed to have no holes, no weakpoints, and no lack of ambition. Soon enough, this machine became rusty, tired, and outmaneuvered by the powerful flexibility of the Obama campaign. Barack, having assembled an amazing political team, stood his ground, maintained his message, and never returned the low punches Hillary threw. She wanted a dog fight, he wanted a brutally honest comparison. Keeping his cool like he always has, Barack irritated, and eventually disrupted, the Hillary campaign.
The unrelenting sense of 'cool' Barack exudes has torn down more than one political heavyweight. First Hillary, and along with her, Bill, then the punditry that fenced his campaign away from blue-collar and women voters, and then, hopefully, if tomorrow turns out to be a culmination of a two-year buildup, McCain and the old Right. McCain's ire and Palin's snarky divisiveness, have been unable to dent Barack's cool. It is almost impossible to take down an opponent that never really lets you see him sweat. Like Joe DiMaggio used to say, never show them the butterflies.
As Barack goes, so will his movement. They say there is no second-act in politics, and that may be true--if you keep acting in a political theater. Barack has a movement behind him the likes of Martin Luther King and Cesar Chavez. People are mobilized and ready for involvement. He may not run again, but his influence in American politics will not fade away soon. The day I signed up to be a volunteer coordinator for his campaign over a year ago, I remember calling everyone I knew and telling them to meet with me to talk about Barack. Most of them sympathized with me, but let me know Hillary was the obvious choice, Barack had no chance. I pushed on and kept the faith. As Hillary pushed, and McCain growled, and Palin bullied, I believed more and more in Barack by how he responded, by taking the high-road. Now, at the very least, people I know respect Barack.
He is not flawless. He is, in the end, a politician, and he knows you must flex muscle in order to get gains. He is apt at finding people that help make him a better candidate, and hopefully a more skillfull executive. He has flaws, like his delayed decision-making, his thickening, but still fairly thin skin, and his reserved character. He can empathize with you, but he can make it very hard for you to do the same for him. He comes off as emotionally detached, aloof of his own pains and unwilling to show you the sweat. He is more of a general than a brother-in-arms. He wont cross the street to greet you, but he will wait for you to come to him. He may, in the end, be a tad cocky. At the core, however, he stays the same. It is this value system and character that makes his stand out.
At recent Barack rallies, when he mentions McCain or Palin, or their tried an failed policies of the past, people boo. Unlike the hateful heckling that has gone on in McCain/Palin rallies, where people yell "Terrorist" and "Kill Him" when Barack's name is mentioned, and neither McCain or Palin do anything to reprimand them, Barack does. Shushing the boos, he reminds his supporters what should substitute rancor: civic duty.
"You don't need to boo; you just need to vote"
This is why I still have faith in Barack.
lhp
