Estimates on the cost of the just-concluded presidential campaign are running around $1 Billion. That's certainly a lot of money, but, to put it in perspective -- it's only 3 days in Iraq.
A friend of mine recently lamented what she called a bigger travesty -- the consumption of time. I have to say that I disagree. Sure, there was plenty of time wasted, particularly the moments when the Republicans tried to call Obama a terrorist or a socialist, or when Sarah Palin went around telling people that only Republicans love our country.
But, as Barack said so eloquently on Tuesday:
This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change.So, too, is it the case that the few moments that we each spent voting were not the election. They say the Presidency is a bully pulpit, but Barack Obama has been using the bully pulpit of the campaign trail for a year. His victory -- our victory -- would not have happened without his leadership over that time. By educating people, by advancing his agenda, by helping people understand that we could talk about hope rather than fear, and by helping people learn why our country deserved a leader like him, he has already changed the country for the better -- and it is that changed country which elected him.
That change couldn't have happened without a lot of time -- time that wasn't wasted.
2 comments:
I'm glad that the campaign is over, because I'd like to spend a commensurate amount of time MOVING FORWARD.
"This victory alone not the change we seek." <-- That is precisely what irks me about all the stickers and t-shirts that say "Yes We Did." Electing him is only the first step; the hard part is going to be enacting the change he promised, and there's no way he (or his administration) can do it alone.
Post a Comment