Now, America, What Did We Learn? The Good News.

Unfortunately, my Tylenol PM kicked in a bit sooner than I would have liked, and as such, I missed a large portion of Barbara Walters' interview with two people that I admire a great deal: Barack and Michelle Obama. If anyone could tell me where I could watch that online (or if there will be a re-run, because I've been checking all weekend) I'd greatly appreciate it.

Although Ms. Walters' interviews are 'can't miss' insights into the minds of the we people we love and love to hate in the public sphere, I think I may have found a caliber discussion being held the following day on C-SPAN. The special was a taping of a focus group held in Virginia, and it consisted of voters who voted for President-elect Barack Obama. Peter Hart, a researcher from the Annenberg Center for Public Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, led the discussion by asking a series of questions that required very honest answers from these supporters.

The group itself was very telling of the demographic that the Democrats aimed to reach during this momentous election. While everyone in the group would consider themselves middle class, they varied in beliefs and ideology, political party, ethnicity and race. Gauging from the questions that were asked, we can assume that Hart's goal was to discover what exactly motivated the vote for the Obama/Biden ticket. What were key factors in making a final decision? Some members of the group were motivated by the failing economy, by Obama's charisma and self composure, and others simply voted for him because he wasn't John McCain nor Sarah Palin. The idea that Palin could become president was empathetically terrifying for the majority of the twelve representatives. Some felt disillusioned and betrayed by John McCain's nasty an outwardly divisive campaign, while others truly believed in Obama's platform and enthusiasm for change, as well as the inclusiveness he provided throughout the process.

Very good, if not intriguing questions were asked, and the focus group provided a lot of insight. What I enjoyed the most about these responses were that they all presented different points of view and ideas to consider. It also coerced me to think of my own feelings on this election beyond "historic" "hopeful" and an indication of "generational change". So here are a few of my own criticisms on the election:

Obama the Everyman. Move out of the way Joe - a new guy's in town. Barack Obama is unique in that he embodies the face of America. By this, I mean that everyone can claim ownership of him, and that in itself implies that he is the embodiment of The Great American Melting Pot (School House Rock, anyone?). Think about it:


• Intellectual liberals can claim him. He empathizes with their progressive thinking. He encourages Americans to believe that we can truly harbor this fundamental, age-old idea called fairness – even when it personally pains us to do so. For example, Obama supports the idea that gay people should get the same rights as other couples, and that we should shut down Gitmo (Guantanamo Bay), where American officials have been accused of using abusive tactics to punish detainees, some of who have assisted in terrorist organizations against the United States. Human rights come first, these fair believers say.

• Christian conservatives respect his staunch values on family, God, a moral code and hard-earned, humble success.

• Black Americans own a piece of him because he’s a black guy, who, while may have a unique child and young adult-hood, also had to find his identity in a society that has yet to comfortably identify the contemporary role that black-Americans as an entity contribute to America. This in itself is a whole other blog entry .

• White Americans own a piece of him because he was raised and reared by his white grandmother in Hawaii, and before that, by his white mother, a Kansan native.

• Philanthropists and altruists have a piece of Obama because he advocates for the change that they could only envision, and he has paved a way to render these dreams for an ideal America a reality.

• He’s also a guy who grew up in the post-It’s normal be to be a nuclear family-era. After all, he was raised by a single parent for awhile, then his grandparent, has a step-dad and a half-sister. Sounds like every other family that thinks they’re dysfunctional. 

• He is a mixed kid, and struggled with his identity among his peers. Is he black enough? White enough? Neither? At the end, he was just Barry, but it took some growing pains to get there, and he can empathize with many people in a similar predicament. My little sister shared this sentiment with me, as she is mixed as well.

• He’s a self-made man. Literally. A guy who worked hard, liked to help people, and achieved his goals actively seeking them all. He’s like you, me and everyone else.

I love that about him, and this will work in his favor if it hasn’t already. It isn’t surprising; a guy as diverse as President-elect Obama would have to be intimately aware of his surroundings, and I suspect has naturally contributed to his talent as a diplomat, or a pleaser to all.

In about two months, he’ll be president of the United States, and it’s a great feeling because it means every man (or woman) in America won on November 4, 2008. What an inspiring moment of truth for us! We will never forget.

There are a few things, however, that we seemed to have overlooked...