Obama Wins Election: Some Thoughts

Some thoughts about the 2008 Presidential Election...

I've been following Barack Obama's career at least since 2006 and was especially impressed with his work on the Senate Foreign Relations Committe (via C-Span, the best way to follow politics, albeit sometimes boring and a little too detail oriented for most viewers). I read and loved his book, The Audacity of Hope, and in it Obama showed me that he was definitely a liberal Democrat but not a liberal idealogue. Someone once said that an idealogue is the cruelist taskmaster and we've seen examples of this in history -- in Nazi Germany and in Communist China and the Soviet Union, not to mention the ideologically-inflexible Bush/Cheney/Rove Administration that we've had to endure for the past 8 years. As a student of history with an interest in Edmund Burke and his contribution to modern political conservatism (as well as being the hero of many 19th century British Liberals), I have been EXTREMELY irritated and displeased by the misuse of Burke's legacy. The neoconservatives have been anything BUT conservative, in my estimation.

With the Obama/Biden Administration, I believe we have our first real chance for substantive, helpful, pragmatic change. I was very happy with the ticket (especially since Joe Biden was an early favorite of mine). As so many others have said, the Obama campaign has given us hope for the future. Many people, especially on the Right, are still cynical. I still hear, "Well, all politicians lie. You can't trust any of them. They are all in it for themselves." But my cynicism has been replaced by an optimism I haven't felt in a long time.

Let's all work together to take the wind out of the sails of cynicism. Let's expand opportunities so that more of us can participate in the American dream. Let's all learn to be citizens of this amazing country -- participating in our own democracy -- and not just mere consumers.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Barack
• Obama
• Joe
• Biden
• George
• W.
• Bush
• 2008
• President
• Presidential
• Election
• liberal
• neoconservative

[FL0RAN]

Hi Steve,

Nice to see you again after so many years.

I hope you can give an updated review of your views periodically. I would love to hear your post election views on all the changes happening.

Best regards,

Keith

[bookwoman40]

Thank you for a well articulated presentation. You have many ideas I agree with. Even though I'm a progressive through and through. You state your ideas in a respectful way; Thank you for doing so.

[happywoned]

Who picked Obama's Vice President.... it was not Obama.

[ninjaxtx]

You make a lot of good points Mr. Mullins and I agree w/ you 100% You are a highly intelligent man and a fellow martial artist. I was wondering you'd take me under your wing and mentor me ?