Friday, November 07, 2008
May the Faithful Prove Prescient
Last night, standing amidst a small group of friends, including some to whom my host had just introduced me, holding a glass of champagne, one of the assembled suggested a toast.
“What should we toast?” asked another.
“How about Barack Obama?” said a third. Numerous eyes turned towards me—perhaps not the only McCain voter in the room, but likely the most vocal one (I do live in San Francisco, after all).
I shrugged and raised my glass:
“To President-elect Obama. May the faith that so many have placed in him prove fully warranted.”
All agreed that the toast was proper regardless of affiliation or preference.
It was more than simply a face-saving attempt on my part. It was—and is—heartfelt. We are finishing eight years that I characterize as having had incompetent governance and irresponsible opposition. It is time that we do better on all fronts. The country has chosen Obama as the person to lead us there, and I hope that he does.
Yet my reference to “faith” was a careful, deliberate choice. Though most Obama supporters spoke of hope, what I heard from them was more aligned with faith. Obama supporters—strong Obama supporters—have assured me that when the dust settles and he actually moves into office, he will: govern as a Clintonian centrist; galvanize a truly “progressive” agenda; end affirmative action and racial preferences and setasides; and elevate the status and standing of black leaders and leadership. At least some of these supporters will soon find themselves sorely disappointed. It is, as a friend noted, a testament to Obama’s genius that he could convince all of these believers that he is, at heart, one of them. I could not join them for the simple reason that I could not share their faith. My read on our President-elect remains that though he is certainly “the kind of guy with whom I hang out,” his policy instincts are protectionist, accommodationist, and redistributionist. Still, I concede that my lack of faith is based on little more than the faith of his supporters; his record is thin enough for many to see him as many things.
All of which leads to the next, and critical question: What cues might we—or more honestly, I—receive over the next couple of months? What might our President-elect do over the next few months to convert me into a believer? What steps might he take to move the Democratic Party back to where it was—or at least, where I believed it had been—for the many years in which I was an enthusiastic supporter? I have been pondering that question, and I’m beginning to devise answers.
Comments (2) • Permalink • Tell-a-Friend