Final Thoughts on the Election and the Future

Posted by Bryant Daniels on 11.07.2008

What did we say on Tuesday and where are we going?

I spent the last month working as a Deputy Field Organizer for the Obama campaign in Pennsylvania, so I haven't had a whole lot of time to write anything new for 411. We were able to turn Chester county, a Philly suburd that went for Bush 4 years ago and has had a long history of voting Republican, into a blue county that ultimately helped seal the deal in PA. For McCain to have won the state, he would have had to win 3 counties outright and build on them; Bucks, Allegheny and Chester. He didn't win one of them.

My overall thoughts on the election are positive. Simply put, I think America saved itself Tuesday. I realize at first glance that may seem to be a bit much, but it makes sense when all sides are considered. Frankly I had become disillusioned with the country's intellectual prowess and was afraid we simply wouldn't make the change we needed to save ourselves from disaster. Obama may seem like a coin toss to some, but the alternative was unequivocal failure, both foreign and domestic, that would have crippled the country in ways that are difficult to fathom. Regardless of how the Obama presidency goes we still made the right decision Tuesday, because we chose possible success over definitive failure.

This country has come a long way in 4 years. Is this the beginning of a new liberal majority? Of that I remain skeptical. I'm still not even sold on whether or not this country woke-up and realized how much better off we'd be with Obama or if they just woke-up and said, "well we gotta try something different, whatever." Either way I'm happy we woke up. I also think that those who voted Democrat based solely on the need for change will be pleasantly surprised when they see how effective a government run by intelligent, well-qualified people can be. Indeed, Democrats have become the party of ideas, but they always were the ones striving for more. That's what makes them progressive and not conservative, that need to always try and better ourselves. Republicans, on the other hand, are at a cross-roads. I predict we'll see something of a power struggle between those who wish to maintain the current incarnation of conservatism and those disenfranchised by the party's move away from intellectualism. You saw the early makings of it during this campaign season, when so-called intelligent conservatives began openly expressing their discontent with Palin pick; Peggy Noonan on MSNBC, Christopher Buckley in "The National Review," Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama. To these pundits, the writing was on the wall, and I sense many more conservatives will follow suit and leave behind this Palin/Bush version of conservatism that has dominated the party for the last 8 years. Once people see what intellectual politicians can do, they'll be leaving this bullshit about "narrative," who's folksier and more uber-patriotic, that Noonan talked about during a commercial break with a hot mic. I'm not positive, but I think this country is ready to start electing people again based on their ideas, intelligence and accomplishments, rather than whether or not they want to have a beer with them. If that is the case, we'll all be much better off.