Politics in America is changing. I don’t mean ‘Real Change’, ‘Change You Can Believe In’ or any other political slogan using the ubiquitous word for this election period. I mean it’s changing, the way it’s being fought, the personalities, the press, the voters. Everyone seems to feel it even exchange students. There is a wave approaching. What will be left behind can only be guessed at.
Cynics would say that this change is fuelled by the media in haze of sound bites and political personality but there’s more to it than that. There is anticipation, an unmistakable tingle running through the whole process. Surely, even John King’s magic map can’t cause that.
First a word of caution: In March, 1997, there was the same feeling in Britain. Having had a Conservative Government for the past 18 years that practically ran the working class into the ground, when a newly moderate Labour Party burst onto the scene led by a charismatic, young leader the media leapt on board. However, there was also that pervading smell of change in the air. People started whispering of a landslide, an unprecedented win for Blair and his team of promise writers. And so it was, on a bright, sunny, perfect British spring day that we voted and made our mark on history. It was as if the entire country breathed. This may sound pretty dramatic and certainly Labour’s base supporters had their doubts about the amount of compromise the party had gone through simply in order to be elected (only later to be confirmed) but for that day and a good few months after Britain felt light, as if a weight had been suddenly lifted.
The weight of the past 8 years in America still hangs heavy. The country is involved in 2 wars, its human rights record is fast unraveling, Reaganomics has finally come crashing down, the national debt is out of control and anti-American feeling is rife throughout the world. Under this kind of cloud it is not surprising that vice-president Cheney decided not to run, instead leaving the race to those claiming to be mavericks and Washington outsiders, threatening their own status quo with cries of ‘pork barrel’ and ‘fat cat’.
The Democrats have fared much better. After their mid-term gains they managed to have one of the closest primary runs in history with two of the best candidates ever to hit the stump. Hilary was the archetypal politician though and this was not a year for them.
Obama, having succeeded where few thought he would, has become the first African American presidential candidate and most polls now have him to win. To put this in perspective, only 40 years ago he wouldn’t have been able to drink from the same water fountain as a white person.
Make no mistake: this is history.
But it is not simply the racial context of his nomination that has initiated this feeling of expectation. Like Blair, he is young and charismatic. He oozes presidential credentials despite only being in the Senate for only 3 years and unlike Blair he was opposed to the Iraq war. He has undoubtedly had luck on his side too. This timely economic crisis has been manna for the Democrats as since FDR they have been seen as America’s party to the rescue. He is consistently compare to John F. Kennedy, for his charm and speech giving but has managed to become a cultural icon through careful ground level recruitment just as McGovern did in ’72.
But all of this pales in comparison to his message, a message he first gave on a National Stage at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. ‘Red state, Blue state’ has become one of the most famous political speeches of recent years and in the last days of the campaign there has been a resurgence of the bi-partisan, hoped up message of unity for one of the most culturally divided countries in the world.
Whether Obama wins tomorrow will depend on one cold November day. Whether his message of change is achievable will depend on the American people breathing.
Vote.
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