No One Should Be Surprised

I think that history will characterize the eight years of the Bush administration as a very dark period in this bold experiment we call democracy. Our nation was attacked. We remain at war. The coffers are empty, and our infrastructure suffers from short-sighted neglect. Our current administration embraces secracy for itself while invading the privacy of citizens, all in the name of protecting us from a faceless enemy. And, yet politicians of both parties claim to be suspicious when a messenger of hope for change packs arenas with thousands happy just to say they were there, even if they never make it in the door. First, they whispered, but now they boldly speculate about whether there is something just a little "messianic" about Barack Obama, something a little scary, all in an attempt to make people afraid to hope, afraid to risk change.

In fact, no one should be surprised. In the worst of times, we reach for hope, not for a list of programs. It is our nature-part of our survival instinct. Barack Obama is no messiah. He's a senator from Illinois with a gift for oratory and the sharpest, smartest political machine in modern history. In important ways, it's not even about Obama-it is about the "we" and the "hope" in the message. He has successfully engaged a new generation of voters and effectively made the argument for why democrats should be allowed to lead. There are no skies opening, no angels singing, just the power of we, the message of hope and the promise of change. That's enough.

Sphere: Related Content