The Election

Last week my wife and I voted for Barack Obama. He’s impressed us with his intelligence, his wit and humor, and his willingness to try and reach out to all Americans, not just Democrats. He’s been patient and steady through a very long and difficult campaign. He’s used the skills he developed as a community organizer in Chicago to build a nationwide campaign organization of unprecedented size, and it has attracted a huge number of enthusiastic volunteers. He clearly has the ability to attract and inspire very talented people—the ones at the top of his campaign are aces. He has attracted the support of people like Warren Buffett and Colin Powell.

But most importantly, he has convinced me that he understands that the future is not about him. It’s about us. No President, no matter how smart, talented, and articulate, can accomplish much without the support and active participation of the citizens. Historically, the quickest way to bring the country together was to have an external threat. The attack on Pearl Harbor and the national effort during WWII is a classic example. In contrast, after 9/11, we were told to support the country by—shopping.

Turns out that while we were borrowing and shopping, the deregulated mortgage industry and Wall Street were gambling away trillions of dollars. Now we’re in the middle of an economic meltdown. (It may, unfortunately, not even be the middle. It may only be the beginning. No one seems sure.) In addition our exhausted troops are fighting two wars, our reputation as a world leader is in tatters, our infrastructure—roads, bridges, airports, railroads, schools, and hospitals—range from dangerous to inadequate, and the current President...well, let’s just say that no one seems to be listening to his speeches.

So it’s up to us. Not to the Democrats. Not to the Republicans. Not to the Libertarians or the Green Independents. Us. We can figure out what needs doing, roll up our sleeves, and get to work while we still have time, or we can bicker and bitch and blame everyone else until the good ship America founders. And we’ve already started to transform our country. That’s why there are windmills in Texas, green roofs in Chicago, and a lot of people carpooling. But wouldn’t it be refreshing to work together as a nation?

The problems facing the next President are stunning. But guess what: he’s not going to be able to fix those problems by himself. Obama or McCain can give speeches until their voices are raspy whispers, but without our help, they won’t accomplish anything.

But it does help, when confronting a mountain of problems, to have a smart organizer around. Someone who can clearly explain what the problem is, intelligently explore possible solutions, attract and consult with the best available advisors, and come up with a plan. It doesn’t guarantee success, but it sure beats blind guesses. And if we, the people, are going to work together and sacrifice together, we need a President who can explain the plan so that every man, woman, and child understands what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it. And we need a President who is willing, even eager, to listen to people who don’t agree with him, a President who can understand and appreciate strongly held opinions which don’t echo his, and forge a consensus.

So we voted for Barack.

PS I hope every voter in America will vote this year. Regardless of who wins, voting is the first step toward reminding our representatives at the state level and in Washington that WE are the people they serve. Voting en masse is a clear way of telling our reps that we are watching them, listening to them, and that we care about what they do with our money and our country. We’re easier to ignore when half or less than half of the voters bother to vote. When we all vote, the collective voice is a powerful voice, and reps who ignore it risk a short career in politics.

PPS I finally realized today why the Joe the Plumber stuff irritated me so much. Here’s a guy who owes back taxes and claims to be a plumber although he’s missing a license, and he’s been transformed—through the magic of the media—into an odd sort of celebrity. And then I remembered Rosie the Riveter.

If we’re going to give our children a decent future, Rosie should be our role model, not Joe.