Borrowing his cadence from the last address given by Martin Luther King Jr., Barack Obama spoke last night of the continuing challenges this country faces. But while King’s remarks about reaching the mountaintop were bittersweet, Obama’s were characteristically jubilant.
“The road ahead will be long,” he said in his acceptance speech. “Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.”
Obama mentioned the two frightful wars the United States is fighting, the lost and endangered jobs, the lack of access to health insurance, the country’s frayed international alliances, the struggling economy and the fact that we and the world are stewing in our own global-warming juices.
He might have added the precarious state of Medicare to the list, as well as the need to restore the long-term solvency of Social Security, to tackle the trade imbalance and to reduce the unprecedented national budget deficits and debt. Collectively, these tasks may be more than daunting, but the president-elect has shown through his flawless campaign and his capacity to move and inspire large numbers of people that he is willing to tackle problems others prefer to avoid. Why, last night, his victory even brought out the gracious and thoughtful John McCain so many of us had long admired:
“Senator Obama and I have had, and argued, our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt, many of those differences remain. These are difficult times for our country, and I pledge to him tonight that I will do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face. I urge all Americans who supported me to join not only in congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and honest effort to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences.”
Obama has won a huge victory, but not by a huge margin. He has transformed the United States from a 50-50 nation into a 53-47 nation. As he put it last night, there are those “whose support I have yet to earn.” But, he added, “I need your help, and I will be your president too.”
Meanwhile, Obama’s victory could make a great deal of difference in a great many lives. Three months from now, he will be in a position to start making good on many of his campaign promises by reversing pernicious initiatives of the Bush administration, at home — Congress willing — and abroad. And he will have an opportunity to refashion the defense and anti-terrorism efforts of the United States along lines that build on American principles, instead of casting them aside.
The past eight years have been a difficult time for many Americans, and for those around the world who admire American achievements and count on American help and decency.
Countries, like people, don’t always get second chances. But there are exceptions. There’s been much talk of hope lately. We hope Barack Obama will make good use of the second chance he has created for us all.
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