Bits and Pieces

Yesterday’s election of Barack Obama was a truly momentous occasion, for the change it signifies in the political preferences of the American people as well as its historical significance. Both Senator McCain and Senator Obama gave excellent speeches, which you should read if you missed them the last night. The commentators have a lot to say about it all, below are some of the most interesting bits and pieces I have read. 

EJ Dionne, of the Washington Post: 

Above all, it is time to celebrate the country’s wholehearted embrace of democracy, reflected in the intense engagement of Americans in this campaign and the outpouring to the polls all over the nation. For years, we have spoken of bringing free elections to the rest of the world even as we cynically mocked our own ways of conducting politics. Yesterday, we chose to practice what we have been preaching.

Micheal Gerson, of the Washington Post:

This presidency in particular should be a source of pride even for those who do not share its priorities. An African American will take the oath of office blocks from where slaves were once housed in pens and sold for profit. He will sleep in a house built in part by slave labor, near the room where Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation with firm hand. He will host dinners where Teddy Roosevelt in 1901 entertained the first African American to be a formal dinner guest in the White House; command a military that was not officially integrated until 1948. Every event, every act, will complete a cycle of history. It will be the most dramatic possible demonstration that the promise of America — so long deferred — is not a lie.

I suspect I will have many substantive criticisms of the new administration, beginning soon enough. Today I have only one message for Barack Obama, who will be our president, my president: Hail to the chief.

NY Times Editorial:

Mr. Obama will now need the support of all Americans. Mr. McCain made an elegant concession speech Tuesday night in which he called on his followers not just to honor the vote, but to stand behind Mr. Obama. After a nasty, dispiriting campaign, he seemed on that stage to be the senator we long respected for his service to this country and his willingness to compromise.

That is a start. The nation’s many challenges are beyond the reach of any one man, or any one political party.

And finally, Thomas Friedman, of the NY Times: 

But a new politics of the common good can’t be only about government and markets. “It must also be about a new patriotism — about what it means to be a citizen,” said Sandel. “This is the deepest chord Obama’s campaign evoked. The biggest applause line in his stump speech was the one that said every American will have a chance to go to college provided he or she performs a period of national service — in the military, in the Peace Corps or in the community. Obama’s campaign tapped a dormant civic idealism, a hunger among Americans to serve a cause greater than themselves, a yearning to be citizens again.”

None of this will be easy. But my gut tells me that of all the changes that will be ushered in by an Obama presidency, breaking with our racial past may turn out to be the least of them. There is just so much work to be done. The Civil War is over. Let reconstruction begin.

The VP Debate: What We Already Knew

Last night’s VP debate demonstrated what many of us already know: Senator Biden is incredibly knowledgeable and articulate, while Governor Palin appeals to some “soccer-moms” but is unfamiliar with both the domestic and foreign policies (other than energy issues I suppose, which she returned to when asked about various other topics) which she and Senator McCain stand for. Neither made any huge gaffe’s, though both had some minor mistakes that are typical in political debates of this nature. 

Did Gov. Palin win, as some commentators like Pat Buchanan have claimed? No. It is abominable that the expectations for a vice presidential candidate in a debate were simply to show up and say a few quasi-logical things. To say Gov. Palin won, because she met those “expectations” is absurd. They was hardly anything to the expectations to begin with. 

The biggest challenge for the VP nominees going forward in the next four weeks will be convincing Americans that they are qualified for the job. According to the 10/1/08 Pew Research Center polls, Biden is ahead on this.  The public is increasingly worried about Palin’s qualifications and is also gaining confidence in Obama’s ability to lead. This is, in large part, because of his performance (and McCain’s flop of a performance) in dealing with the bailout legislation. 

Sen. Biden is one of the most knowledgeable senators serving in the US Congress and that came through in last night’s debate. His 90 second responses demonstrated both the big picture, philosophical understandings of problems and policies, as well as the minutia involved with his policy proposals. Simultaneously he appealed to average Americans as a father who struggled to care for his two sons after the death of his wife and daughter, who understands the “kitchen table discussions” that worry so many voters. 

In contrast, Palin failed to convince viewers that her policy positions are sound and the she will be able to execute them appropriately should she and McCain be elected. Had she been able to do that, a claim to victory would have been valid. For one, Palin botched the strategy and the name of the US commander in Afghanistan. “Now, in most cases, this type of oversight on the part of a politician could be dismissed–maybe even attributed to nerves. But when Afghanistan is exploding and on the verge of failure, details matter. Facts matter. Being familiar with the situation matters–a lot. The troops depend on it.” 

That Palin could not articulate her guiding philosophy behind the position of the vice presidency is terrifying to Americans who have seen the Constitution and our civil rights eroded under current VP Cheney. That Biden understood the constitutional issues at risk, and clearly defined how he would operate within them, provided  confidence and comfort to voters that Palin was unable to give.  “She went into this debate with most Americans believing she is unqualified for the office. She did nothing to dispel the doubts voiced about her– even by Republicans–and frankly reinforced those doubts mightily.” 

Nor could she come up with an answer to the achilles heal question, or the question about campaign promises that won’t be met. That one is unable to admit to the realities of one’s own and one’s party weaknesses demonstrated a world view in line with that of the Bush Administration, a disheartening fact for a population that is fed up with the guiding philosophies and policies that have emerged in the last 8 years. 

Questions for the VPs

Similar to the questions posted for the Presidential debate last week, today’s New York Times poses a number of questions, from various policy makers and analysts, to the VP candidates for their debate tonight.

Senator Biden, do you believe that continued withdrawal of American troops from Iraq will lead to a newly ignited civil war?

Governor Palin, since you were selected as a vice presidential candidate, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has given more press conferences to American reporters than you have. Why do you have less confidence in the American press and people than the president of Iran does? And when will you dare to face the press for real?

— ANDREW SULLIVAN, a blogger for The Atlantic and the author of “The Conservative Soul”

Can the vice president shift between branches at his convenience? If not, what, in your view, is the constitutional status of the vice presidency?

— GENE HEALY, the author of “The Cult of the Presidency: America’s Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power”

Governor Palin, I love my frontier state, but the first thing I learned when I moved to the Lower 48 was how unlike the rest of the country Alaska is. How would you govern America when as mayor and governor, you hardly had to provide basic public services? In Wasilla, less than a tenth of the town is connected to the sewer system.

Alaska’s economy runs on oil proceeds — we don’t even pay income tax. And despite our disdain for Washington, we are given hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government each year. How would you handle our financial crisis when you’ve never had to balance a budget while tax revenue fell?

— RACHEL KLEINFELD, the executive director of the Truman National Security Project.