Cake–I mean, Change We Can Believe In
My hopes for the next four years:
Genuine Unity
The ups and downs of the campaign season have drawn our attention away from the economic catastrophe still unfolding in the country and the world. No administration can wave a magic wand and return us to the days of easy credit and pyramid wealth. Times will be tough for everyone. Our best hope of surviving these difficult times is through the embrace of shared sacrifice. Obama seems to understand this. Moreover, he is, at his very core, a uniter. I hope the nation wants to be united.
Post-Partisanship
Forget “reaching across the aisle.” Let’s do away with the aisle. The two-party system has nearly bankrupted American politics by favoring party power over public good. If there are good ideas from the Right, I want them. If there are good ideas from the Left, I want them. If ever there was an opportunity to replace Partisan Politics with Smart Politics, now is the time.
The Return of Reality
More than anything, I hope for an end to that other Bush Doctrine of ignoring reality in favor of expedient fantasy. No matter how painful the facts on the ground, I want a President with the courage to face them as they are. You can only ignore reality for so long before it bites back.
November 5th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Nice cake! I posted one of my hopes for the next four years and discussed Cycler today at http://necromancyneverpays.blogspot.com.
November 5th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
If President-elect Obama decides to govern from the center, there is some reason to hope we might have genuine unity, post-partisanship and a return of reality rather than pipe dreams. I suspect, however, that he is not the “uniter” that you think and that he will govern from the far left (where he has resided his entire political life) thereby ensuring more years of rancor. Either way, congratulations to all who supported his candidacy. Love it or hate it, his is a historic victory.
November 5th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
I could be wrong, but I have a feeling Obama will govern from his brain rather than worrying about the Left/Right divide. The last thing we want now is a bunch of pointless deal-making to satisfy the narrow demands of either party. We need new thinking, fresh thinking, thinking that’s not merely outside of the box but off the political spectrum. Hopefully, Obama’s coattails are so shiny right now, Congress will follow his lead rather than attempt to drown him in OldThink. Fingers crossed. One thing for sure, his presidency is going to be under a powerful microscope, so he won’t get away with anything.
November 6th, 2008 at 7:22 am
Thanks, Jeanne. I just rescued your comment from my moderation queue. Sorry about that. I too am disheartened by Prop 8, but I believe that we will win this battle eventually.