Today is one of those days that, in retrospect, will become bigger than it seems now. The Democratic primary voters have chosen Sen. Barack Obama to be their Presidential candidate. Yes, he's relatively green. Yes, he has stumbled on more than one occasion. I do not believe for a moment that electing him will erase all the bad from our country. He is not our savior. He is a politician, running for a political office.
He is an African-American in a deeply racist country, running to be Chief Executive, Commander-in-Chief on the military, and the head of state. This has been a historic race in any event, as the two leading candidates, since the early caucus and primary days, have been a woman and an African-American man. The white men all dropped out pretty early, leaving the stage to these two more-than-capable individuals. Now, at the end of it all, Barack Obama stands on a stage in Minnesota with his wife and accepts the inevitable.
I want us all to pause for a moment and realize that, in all likelihood, Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States. This is his moment. Fortunately for us, and by "us" I mean all Americans, this is also our moment. I have no doubt the campaign will become ugly indeed before November, with all the bigots and cranks coming out of the woodwork. The Republicans will pull out all the stops to turn Obama in to something and someone he is not. The Washington pundits, who just love John McCain, will continue to slather him with sloppy kisses. Joe Lieberman will probably go through a few pairs of knee pads.
Yet, at this moment, we should stop and consider that our next President will be Barack Obama. Say it with me - Pres. Obama. President Barack Hussein Obama. At this moment, when so many nutjobs on the right continue to push the fiction that Obama is some kind of Muslim Manchurian candidate, we should not silence his middle name, but shout it from the rooftops. President Barack Hussein Obama. This is the man who will represent America to the world for the next eight years.
I, for one, look forward to the future with a little more hope, a little less fear, today, because I know that, for all his limitations and faults, Barack Obama will be a more-than-capable President. Perhaps, should he rise above his own limits and flaws, he will be good. Right now, though, we can celebrate the simple fact that an African-American is the nominee for President of one of the two major parties in this country, the oldest continuous political party in the world, and the one with the deepest roots in our racist history. This is something to celebrate.
