Yes We Can!
As Barack Obama spoke last night in the clutches of an unexpected defeat, he reminded us that we can do something new. He calls here for a new majority that will take the nation in a fundamentally new direction:
I believe that this is a message that America wants to hear. But there are many who need to be convinced, many who have been led to believe that a Black man with a strange name cannot be our leader. But such a sentiment is counter to the foundations of this nation. That doesn't mean you have to vote for him or support him, but it is important that we pay attention to who the person is!You can be the new majority who can lead this nation out of a long political darkness - Democrats, Independents and Republicans who are tired of the division and distraction that has clouded Washington; who know that we can disagree without being disagreeable; who understand that if we mobilize our voices to challenge the money and influence that's stood in our way and challenge ourselves to reach for something better, there's no problem we can't solve - no destiny we cannot fulfill.
Comments
The endorsement of the Culinary Workers' Union will help in Nevada--they have 600,000 members in a sparsely populated state. We should expect close votes, however. Unless either Obama or Clinton self-destructs (like a Howard Dean scream), we should expect big wins like Iowa to be rare. These are two well-funded, well-staffed campaigns with strong candidates.
I just hope the tough primary doesn't fracture the party come the general election. After all, there are now calls for the nominee (whether Obama or Clinton) to defy conventional wisdom and offer the other to be VP running mate! (I'd prefer to see Obama at the top of that ticket, but it would be a strong one. ) Still, that seems unlikely to me--they don't like each other much and their respective staffs foam at the mouth over each other!
As a longtime peace and social justice advocate, I prepare for the worst: our work goes on no matter who is office. So, IF Clinton becomes Pres., my job is to see how I can lead pressure movements to move her in a more progressive direction than otherwise--same with Obama. But, as the last 8 years have show, who is in office DOES matter.