The America We Want to Be

Barack Obama’s victory speech after the South Carolina primary was exceptional. He didn’t mince words, but took direct aim at the racial undercurrent that had begun to dog the democratic primaries. He pointed out that, while there may well be racism and sexism and all that stuff, playing on that was beneath us, and that we all strive to be better than that. It is not, he observed, "the America we want to be."

And that’s precisely why I’m going to go with Obama in the primaries. He has that ability to inspire us all to look past divisiveness and seek to be who we want to be. To reach for the better in all of us. Good stuff. Maybe even great stuff.

Now, I still agree with Paul Krugman that many of Obama’s policy initiatives are flat. Hillary Clinton has far more knowledge and vision in her policy proposals, but she has been unable to inspire – except, of course, for that brief window between Iowa and New Hampshire. Obama’s health care plan was seriously muddled, as Krugman explains here.

That’s precisely why I had switched from being an early Obama supporter - to neutral - to favoring Clinton. Now I’m back behind Obama, and it is entirely because of his ability to inspire about the right thing at the right time. We, democrats, Americans, and the entire world, are in desperate need of inspiration -- inspiration to seek friendship and brotherhood and cooperation with everyone else on the planet; inspiration to work together for the betterment of all our lots. Obama has that voice, that ability and that vision. That ability was there in his 2004 speech at the Democratic Convention to a fair extent, but he has raised his game a notch (or three) over the course of the last six months. He was really faltering over the summer, but now, he is something special. I suspect it is the confidence he has gained from such strong support and from a couple primary wins.

I have also been sorely disappointed with how the Clintons have been running their campaign. Bill has been talking some trash, and while trash-talk is expected, Bill has lapsed into falsehood. And that’s not cool. And now Hillary wants to seat the delegates from Michigan and Florida, after all the candidates agreed not to campaign there? In Michigan, the other candidates removed their names from the slate, but not Hillary. And with the Florida primary happening today, Hillary’s delegate statement can only be seen for what it is - campaigning in Florida. I have one word for that tactic – cheating! It is cheating, and it is sorely disappointing. Just when we want, need, crave inspiration, the Clintons go in the other direction. No thank you!

Meanwhile, Obama has chosen to embrace inspiration, to charge us to be the America we want to be, not what we have been over the past eight years (or longer). And, Ted Kennedy’s endorsement of Obama also guarantees that Obama’s policy initiatives will be goosed up a notch. Kennedy and Obama appeared on the Today Show this morning, and when the singularly annoying Matt Lauer tried to confront the two about Obama’s plan not offering universal health insurance, Kennedy just came out and stated that an Obama presidency would come forth with a universal coverage plan. Good. That’s precisely where Obama needs the help, in the policy details and in pushing his vision even further.

I think an Obama presidency would be a singularly healing phenomenon throughout the world. The United States could reclaim all of those principles that are embodied in our Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, but have been left on the dust heap by the Bush Administration. Obama could show the world, and ourselves, that we are a country who stands behind our ideals, and indeed tries to live by them.

That is why I’m now, once again, an Obama man. And I hope you’ll go for Obama too.