“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer…It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.” – President Elect, Obama
God bless America.
This is what makes America such an amazing place. We took an ugly fork for the past eight years, and we are all paying our share of the price – lest we forget the lessons learned anytime soon.
But in America, the past is prolog. It is not destiny. What makes our country so great is its ready elasticity and ability to accommodate seemingly head-spinning change.
In four years, we have gone from the re-election of George W. Bush to the election of Barrack Obama. From the scorched earth politics and division to a commitment to unity and global outreach.
This election was fought in 50 states, which ironically is a departure from recent times. Most campaigns are constituency plays and chasing ‘winnable’ states with meaningful electorate counts. We have elected a president that recognizes that not all of these good folks voted for him.
But unlike his predecessor, “THAT ONE,” as McCain euphemistically called Obama, reaches out versus squeezing out. The headline is clear: Hope (once again) Prevails over Fear.
How improbable that such an audacious vision should take hold in the face of a meltdown, no less (too see where our markets/economy is headed, read my post ‘Capitalism 2.0’). We Americans should take great pride for being willing to hold such a vision as essential and true.
Slaying the Rove and Clinton Dragons
But it wasn’t easy or bloodless. To be the king, you must slay the dragon, and our political system has many such dragons, and the one question that this long campaign has answered is whether Obama is mere orator and academic, or couples that goodness with the boxer’s intensity and ability to go for the knock out (read, 'Obama and the Dems').
By perennially exhibiting grace under pressure, by being reasoned, well-prepared and showing good temperament, Obama slowly, but surely, squeezed the life out of both McCain and Hillary Clinton.
It was amazing to watch. The way that they were out organized and out funded is impressive, but the way that they ultimately fell on their own swords, says as much about the failure of our current political system (which Clinton and McCain are offspring of) as it does about Obama’s own prowess.
For Clinton, it was stumbling out of the gate when the official story line was invincibility and quick victory. For McCain, it was the campaign suspension ‘hail mary,’ which coupled with the Palin pairing, raised all sorts of questions about his judgment and temerity to lead.
Some Thoughts on the Road Ahead
Let me leave you with three thoughts. One is that we have a tough road ahead. Every day I see the old homeless lady in my upscale neighborhood I am reminded that the line between Capitalism 2.0 and ‘eating dog food’ is relatively thin.
Two, we as individuals must commit to “something” real, no matter how small the ambition committed to is. We must own the outcome and become more compassionate and more engaged in the ambitions of others. Change begins within.
We must find our own call to action, and I believe that this president is committed to harvesting our willingness to be enlisted. His roots are as a community organizer, after all.
Three, CNN commentator, Alex Castellanos sagely compared Obama and McCain, and their respective campaign approaches to ‘The Cathedral and the Bazaar,’ Eric Raymond’s seminal piece on the yin-yang marketplace of open source versus closed architectures.
While chewing on how embracing such a credo might open up new market horizons, know this; the results prove out (as NYT’s David Brooks frames it) that the Obama election “marks the end of an economic era, a political era and a generational era all at once.”
In terms of where this leads us to (beyond Capitalism 2.0), it’s worth also noting that in an age of irrational financial markets, the concept of the ‘wisdom of crowds’ passed a litmus test in this election.
Specifically, the prediction marketplace (Intrade is my source) did a pretty good job of pegging an Obama blowout in the 364-174 electoral vote range for two plus weeks running.
Even more amazing, other than Indiana and Missouri flip-flopping in the last week (from Blue to Red, and vice versa) the rest of the map in terms of which states voted in favor of whom, was completely accurate.
If you haven’t read James Surowiecki’s ‘The Wisdom of Crowds’ you should as this is a long term trend that touches media, markets, communications and ideation.
So what’s next? Happily, this is the beginning and not the end. To frame this truth, in ‘Finishing Our Work,’ Thomas Friedman imagines all of the would-be McCain voters that flipped for Obama on voting day, wondering aloud why did they do it:
“Some did it because they sensed how inspired and hopeful their kids were about an Obama presidency, and they not only didn’t want to dash those hopes, they secretly wanted to share them. Others intuitively embraced Warren Buffett’s view that if you are rich and successful today, it is first and foremost because you were lucky enough to be born in America at this time — and never forget that. So, we need to get back to fixing our country — we need a president who can unify us for nation-building at home…There is just so much work to be done. The Civil War is over. Let reconstruction begin.”
Amen. Only in America.
Related Posts:
- Capitalism 2.0: TED Spreads and Lessons from Japan’s Lost Decade
- The Politics of Hope over Fear: The underlying narratives of McCain v. Obama
- Eating Dog Food: On Safety Nets
- Obama and the Dems: The need for killer instincts in an election of change
- Predictions, Markets and the Wisdom of Crowds: on Intrade and prediction markets
