Not to bore you with my half-baked political observations (and on an “arts blog,” no less), but … here are a few of my half-baked political observations!
Specifically, these are some of the ideas I held on to from last night’s “until dawn” (here in Amsterdam) election results viewing.
It was beautiful to see a huge, hopeful, joyous political rally in a big city.
The Chicago skyline could not have been more beautiful a backdrop for Obama’s moving victory speech last night. As I waited for him to appear, I tried to recall the last time I witnessed an American President deliver a moving address in an urban setting. What did I remember?: George W. Bush’s canned rhetoric from atop a pile of rubble a few days after 9/11 – an utterly depressing vision.
For the last 8+ years, big American cities have been painted as the cultural enemies of the political establishment and enclaves of well-educated, European-influenced liberal thinkers. Well, guess what?: to a a large extent, they are. Oh, and guess what else?: they are a vital part of America’s future. The Obama administration will no doubt show a bit more respect for our cities.
John McCain’s concession speech re-affirmed that he is still a decent man.
It was as if he suddenly snapped out of a fog, as if a spell hadbeen broken. With nothing left to lose, and no more GOP operatives scripting his every move, John McCain delivered a respectful, passionate, and balanced speech praising Barack Obama and imploring the nation to stand behind the new administration. It was vintage, respectable McCain – something I thought had disappeared.
Sarah Palin might yet save America (or at least help bring some semblance of respect to the GOP).
My idea: in the wake of a Republican loss, many within the party will put the blame on Palin. We’ll then see a schism develop – GOP “thinkers” will distance themselves from the loony, ultra-conservative, bible-thumping Republicans (as did Peggy Noonan, George WIll, etc., who expressed doubts about the VP pick). Palin then becomes the standard-bearer (insert Alaska-centric grizzly bear joke here) of the anti-science / pro-life nutjobs, while the more “reasonable” conservatives attempt to redefine the party as to be more appealing to people with brains.
I was more fond of this theory about a week ago when it appeared that the GOP was pointing fingers at Sarah Palin as to why they were tanking in the polls. I think it’s still a possibility. Who knows?
The world is not ready for holographic news correspondents.
CNN had quite a bit of hardware on display last night. The Magic Wall, the Virtual Capitol, and – of course – the holographic news correspondents. Oh, and holographic will.i.am of the much-hated Black Eyed Peas. He redeemed himself (somewhat) by composing a catchy pro-Obama song, but a pundit this does not make. His yammering with Andersen Cooper defined “filler”.
Beyond my immediate yelp of “Help me Wolf Blitzer, you’re my only hope!”, the holographs were good for nothing. I’m certain that every four years, the networks will unveil some new-fangled widgets and geegaws to “help” the viewers “better understand” the election. But beyond the decent malleability of data on the Magic Wall, I think we can do without most of it.
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In closing, let me state the obvious: this was a greatly inspiring election. I am proud to be an American (cue Lee Greenwood), and having observed this election as an expat, I’m glad to see that the America I’m returning to looks it’s got a whole hell of a lot more potential than the one I left. Here’s hoping.
