In Closing, First Principles

*Note: I turned some of this post into a little radio piece you can read about and listen to here.

It's a mixed bag seeing this election finally--we hope--ending tomorrow. It's been neat to feel out my own perceptions of politics and politicians, government in general and the specific issues of import in particular. What an election cycle. I wrote my first post here on December, 3rd, 2007, and appreciate everyone who has taken a chance to read some here and there, as well as those who have offered comments and engaged with me on some critical issues.

Now that things are finally, finally coming to a close (and again, I do hope it ends by at least Wednesday AM), I wanted to offer some final thoughts. Though I may throw up a post here or there over the next few weeks or months, I am looking forward to backing away somewhat from all things political (as much as I can with the vigor that will undoubtedly surround a new president, and the related drive I will have to watch who I hope will be in there as he begins to rebuild our country).

My final thoughts are simple, and thus "first principles," as I noted in my title. One of the first principles in a society, I believe, is for the less vulnerable to help the more vulnerable. Under George W. Bush, the most vulnerable have been preyed on--with unregulated mortgage lending, a war of preemption, an economy and tax system tilted towards the wealthiest among us, and a health care system that multiplies in cost, again and again, year after year. Why??

We can certainly allow it, as we have. But are we not more than animals to fight for what we can get and call it survival of the fittest? Surely we are. But it takes gumption to change this system of greed, of self-interest, of warrior mentalities and individualism.

The reason Barack Obama won out over Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Joe Biden, Dennis Kucinich, and the other Democrats, is because, in my view, he called more of us out of ourselves than did the others. If he had simply called us out of ourselves without calling us into something, that would have been the end of it. But he called us into something exponentially larger--that is, into interdependence. That's a good thing, it is. Because again, the alternative is some version of survival of the fittest, and I’m not okay with that, because we’re not all operating from an equal playing field.

Our tax code can be fair, taking into account the most vulnerable with deliberate compassion--weighed by sensible understanding of personal responsibility. And you will hear that in Obama, as he said in his 30-minute TV piece this last week, and in his stirring call in Manassas, VA tonight (available here); he's repeated the theme throughout his campaign, saying we have a "crisis in responsibility." He went on to say tonight that we have a crisis in "civility." The speech was probably the most moving I have heard him deliver. Perhaps it was due to the unimaginable timing of the death of his grandmother today (she helped raise him, as he talks about here); in fact, I imagine it is that, in combination with this, the final day of his campaign. The tenor in his voice reaches that of a leader though, even as he spoke more softly at one time or another during the speech. I finished watching it encouraged about what this man can do for our country.

Barack speaks to where we are and where we aren't. And while many of us can quickly name where we aren't, personally or as a country, he doesn't stop there--he talks about where we can be. He did that with his broad look at our country, as he ventured--or fought, perhaps I should say--his way into Republican state after Republican state.

What do we have now? An electrified country, where I can hear stories, as I did last week, of a 57-year old from Arlington, Virginia who had never voted before, but was planning to do so for Obama on Tuesday. Wow. We have a presidential candidate who dared to trek into areas like central Virginia, where no presidential candidate had gone since Nixon in '68--forty years ago; no Democrat had gone there since Abraham Lincoln's challenger, Stephen Douglas, a hundred years earlier, in 1860. This is vision--but not just vision of how to win an election, but how to mobilize people for something bigger than themselves.

You see, Obama doesn't have some delusions of grandeur, in my view, but rather simple, even modest ideas of returning the country to the many hands of our people--prodding us to get our hands dirty as we build and develop, calling us to reach down for those most vulnerable and balance out the playing field. He's brought many people along in the ways he's reasoned through how we need health care within financial reach of all Americans, bridges and roads rebuilt, alternative energies pursued and conservation championed. Everyone would be deceived, including Obama, if they thought he could do it himself. No, this is a world he has helped paint before the eyes of Americans, offering the chance to grab it if we would. And no doubt, he is standing on the shoulders of many who have come before him, echoing their calls--yet he has brought so many into the game that he stands unique among political leaders. And so the choice is ours to hope, as it were, in that more just, more communal world that he has helped so many believe is possible.

Obama Meets the Shenandoah Valley

"I am so grateful to be in this gorgeous Shenandoah Valley. I am so grateful to be with all the people of Harrisonburg and the Valley as a whole, and here at JMU."

-Barack Obama, addressing 8,000-person crowd at JMU

So yeah, that's definitely a shot of Obama's plane at the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport on Tuesday, in none other than Weyers Cave, VA (a wee little town 15 minutes from where I grew up, with an airport just as small); and yeah, those are also our boo-yow Blue Ridge Mountains in the background--aren't they beautiful? Obama was coming in for a rally at JMU, in Harrisonburg, VA, but he was, believe it or not (for you fellow Stauntonians out there), planning a stop in Staunton before that!! Unfortunately he got in late, as this piece in our Staunton paper talks about (fun piece by the way, gives a good sense of the hubbub of having a candidate in the area). The Daily News Leader there in Staunton also has a good collection of online pics they took of the whole episode of Obama landing, the security folks running all over the place, etc. You can also see some of the dichotomy of folks in the area with the comments they left on the paper's website for the various articles they did on the visit (like this one here).

As far as the JMU rally though, my mom, one of my little sisters, my grandmother, and some family friends started standing in line at 1:45 or so Tuesday to see Obama, and got in about two hours later--that's cause there were 20,000 people who showed up. Only 8,000 got in, with the other 12 left apparently hanging outside. Here's a pic to the right that our family friend took of Obama inside, though hopefully there are some more I can post in an update later. I'll also post some other shots from the area and a video of some parts of the speech a little farther down.

But I'll tell you, my grandmother is a rock star, making the trek down from DC to see him speak. She's also a real pragmatist though, and so I was surprised to hear her mention how she found herself stirred when she heard Obama in person talk about the idea of motivating people by hope instead of fear (and believe me, she's a politico to the heart, living in DC most of her life, so she's heard tons of his speeches, read about him throughout the year-and-a-half of the campaign, etc.). I know I've told people who have shirked at the idea of Obama's hope-talk that hope can mean everything or it can mean nothing, depending on whether there is any substance behind it.

In my view there is with Obama. In talking to my grandmother tonight about the rally, it made me think about the seemingly-eternal comparison presidential candidates will have to our goliath US presidents, such as FDR. Some would say Roosevelt did some bad, but many say he did much more good (I actually watched an interesting news piece tonight on PBS' NewsHour about FDR's handling of the economy in a financial crisis, with a comparison to today's economic situation; for anyone interested you can listen to the audio here). But if a presidential candidate were to ever reproduce some of the successes of FDR, and/or the related public approval that won him four terms in office, then it would most certainly be through bold propositions of what might be, not by scaring people into what's "safe." Obama is comfortable in the realm of what might be, but, as with anything new, it takes an openness to change, an energy to work towards what might be (which many would call "hope"), and, as my grandmother pointed out, an innovative spirit.

FDR is known for having said "It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something" (emphasis added). I have no fear that Obama would try things--but I at the same time think he will balance innovation with the methodical approach he's become known for. In that respect, he may even, if I can dare to say it, surpass FDR in ways; for FDR, according to the above piece I watched tonight, would aribtrarily raise and lower the price of gold to see what happened (though they noted that most else he did was much more pointed and purposeful). Perhaps the ever-increasing respect and related ubiquity of science and research will also allow an Obama administration the opportunity to do some precision governing that wasn't as possible during FDR's time (to certain extents; though I'm sad to say that Bush doesn't appear to have that same excuse for some things).

Enough said in that respect though, now for some random Shenandoah Valley-related stuff--here's a few front page shots from newspapers in Harrisonburg (at left) and Staunton (which again, is where I grew up, half-an-hour South of Harrisonburg, where Obama spoke; you can click on the pictures to enlarge, where you'll see a 78-year old woman in tears in the Harrisonburg paper as she listens to Obama speak; you can also read about how "Daily swim keeps man fit"--I love it):























Check it out though, we even got a piece on a New York Times blog post about the huge event it was to have a presidential candidate come to the Valley--after all, as Obama points out in his speech, "the last time a Democratic presidential nominee visited the city was 148 years ago when Stephen Douglas, another Illinois senator...came through en route to losing the election to Abraham Lincoln."

Lastly, here's some video clips from the JMU rally that the Daily News Leader put together:



Photo credit of plane above: The Daily News Leader

From Staunton, VA, a Call for More Women's Rights Through Obama

The following was published a few weekends ago in the Staunton News Leader, the paper from my hometown, Staunton, VA, found in the beautiful rolling hills of the Shenandoah Valley. It's called "Voting for Obama with Equality in Mind," and I totally appreciate the focus on women's rights (it lacks some full-on specifics, though there's more on Obama's positions related to women here and here, and on his running mate, Joe Biden's violence-against-women work here):

"Since 1920, women have had the right to vote; the suffrage movement in the United States marked 144 years of oppression by our founding fathers, which disenfranchised women, simply because of their gender. Although the 20th century marked numerous reforms allowing the extension of rights to all people, today women continue to suffer when it comes to wages and earnings. In 2005, women in the U.S. made 79 percent of what their male counterparts (who did the exact same work they did) made.

Unfair? Heck yes! Well, there is hope. Recently Lilly Ledbetter, a retired worker for Goodyear Tires, spoke to a crowd of hundreds about her fight that climbed all the way to the Supreme Court to achieve recompense for her company paying her less than male coworkers. Her moving speech was followed by another moving speech by Michelle Obama, (the wife of Barack Obama) who discussed women's rights, particularly the right to deserve equal pay. Folks, the time is now for change, but change cannot occur if you do not vote.

Voter registration for Virginia ends on Oct. 6.

So if you care about equal rights, equal pay and want your government to serve you and not the wealthy minority of this nation, vote. Make your voice heard. If you wonder who will bring about this change, just read the headlines, and you'll find the word Obama synonymous with the word 'change.'

TIM CUNNINGHAM Waynesboro"

As a quick follow-up, a stellar video from Obama recently in Florida--he cut to the center of me with it with some honest remembrances of the hard, HARD work women have done over the years, naming the plight and work women have done in such a refreshing, and again, honest way (I was way tired when I watched, but definitely teared up with it, let me know if it gets anyone else like that):



Oh, and while I'm posting videos, here's a great one on Biden's work on a great bill to seriously fight violence against women:

VA's Repub. Leader Crosses Line, Comparing Obama to Osama

I feel I'm losing grip on reality as I hear some of these comments spewing out of the Republican party--is it real? It feels like an alternate reality, surreal, as I read of the head of Virginia's Republican Party, Jeffrey Frederick, comparing Barack Obama to Osama Bin Laden: "Both have friends that bombed the Pentagon, that is scary," he said last weekend. And who was he saying this too? To volunteers who had come out to knock on doors in Virginia for McCain.

What world does this man live on? What hatred does he so easily let fall from his mouth?! I write that in complete seriousness--it infuriates me that, as Obama has rightly said, all this is making a big election about small things. The words of this Republican leader in VA would likely qualify as hate speech if it were directed at someone else, and this supposed leader--and how it degrades the word to use it for folks who act this way--willingly misleads with it. As I wrote here, these type of comments have been completely disproven, named as "one of the most appalling campaigns" in history, and yet McCain allows it--and not only that, he's continued to support phone calls pushing the same disgusting ideas. His appeasing comments at the last debate about always repudiating out-of-bound remarks just isn't true, with one of the most shameful of all coming out of his running mate's mouth, with not a word of repudiation.

As I've said before, both candidates have misled in ways, but the evidence is hugely stacked against McCain, and leads me to give up on the question of whether he or Palin are measuring their actions with any serious or consistent ethical or moral considerations--a distressing thought for me, as these folks are of course one of two options for not just any leadership positions, but two of the most powerful in our world.

If I have children one day, I can safely say that I would strongly consider living in another country if these guys are elected and things continue in this direction--we need people our nation's children can aspire to, respect, and mimic; and no, I don't believe that's too much to ask from politicians, as it has been done in the past, here and abroad, and there are some politicians leading in that way today.

Here's the full quote from the Time magazine article I quoted above:

"[Virginia GOP Chairman Jeffrey M. Frederick] climbed atop a folding chair to give 30 campaign volunteers who were about to go canvassing door to door their talking points — for instance, the connection between Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden: 'Both have friends that bombed the Pentagon,' he said. 'That is scary.' It is also not exactly true — though that distorted reference to Obama's controversial association with William Ayers, a former 60s radical, was enough to get the volunteers stoked. 'And he won't salute the flag,' one woman added, repeating another myth about Obama. She was quickly topped by a man who called out, 'We don't even know where Senator Obama was really born.' Actually, we do; it's Hawaii..."

These are folks from Gainesville, Virginia talking, and I can understand how they may have been misled, but it only emphasizes the need for anyone out there with a conscience--whether you're for Obama or not--to combat this crap whenever you come across it.

Photo credit: Time magazine.

My Mom on Measuring What Matters

What matters most in this election? Professor Sarah O'Connor of James Madison University (JMU)--who I can proudly claim as my keen-minded mother--wrote (and read) the following radio piece for her local NPR station, calling voters to consider what matters most in the election: the candidates' stances on issues or their personal life stories. I can say (neutrally, I believe) that my mom is, for starters, an inventive teacher, dedicated to engaging her college students in both their local and global community--be it through assignments to write their members of Congress on an issue they care about, to write down why they believe what they believe about the world (following the model of the NPR series This I Believe), or to volunteer a certain number of hours in a community organization; those things, and the related community service learning initiatives she's been involved with (which I mention in relation to the candidates' national service plans here), would have changed my college experience in big ways, so I find them worth mentioning. But below is her piece, called "Lipstick Wars," which can also be listened to here, via the radio station she recorded it for:

"This presidential campaign is quickly becoming a campaign of competing narratives. Who has the best personal story? Which story tugs at our heartstrings the most? Who had the most destitute childhood or the worst tragedy in his/her life? McCain advisors urged him to pull out the stops in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention and describe his years as a prisoner of war. (Comedian Jon Stewart later commented that if being a prisoner of war equates with being a leader, maybe we should start thinking of Guantanamo as a leadership training camp.) We’ve heard the speeches and seen the videos with their black and white photos: Obama’s white mother and African father, his grandparents who raised him in Hawaii, and his years as a community organizer before law school; Biden’s wife and daughter who were killed in a car accident just as he was sworn into Congress, his near-death from an aneurysm; McCain’s father and grandfather, both admirals, his military service and captivity; Palin’s snowmobile racer husband, Down syndrome baby, and pregnant teenage daughter.

It is understandable that we are drawn into these stories. Everyone loves a story, and stories are certainly more interesting than listening to a list of issues and proposed solutions. That said, our country is in bad shape. Nearly eight in ten Americans believe it is headed in the wrong direction and Bush’s approval rating is at its lowest level ever. Some of our oldest financial institutions are tanking, people continue to lose their homes, unemployment is rising, the environment is eroding, and we cannot seem to decide as a country whether it is OK to torture our prisoners or not.

I hope I am not coming across as pessimistic, because I also believe that if we have the will as a country, we can solve these problems. What I am saying is that the issues are what this campaign is really all about, and we had better be paying attention to them. Let's forget about whether we like hockey moms or not, how many kids a candidate has and the circumstances of their births, what designer a spouse uses, whether someone is black or white, male or female, and look at where that person stands on basic human rights, on an adequate response to global warming, on what we need to do as a country to fix our economy, on health care for all citizens, on making the world a safe place. The list goes on and on. These are topics that affect every single one of us, and our future as Americans and as global citizens. We do not have to let ourselves be manipulated by emotional appeals or distracted by half-truths and downright lies. We have the ability to make rational decisions, so let’s find out where the candidates stand and vote with our heads as well as our hearts."

Barack in the (Pouring) Virginia Rain

For the other Virginians out there, take a look at Obama's speech from Saturday in Fredricksburg, VA--and yeah, he gave it, and they stayed, in the pouring rain:



Rousing ay? And what do you know, it turns out there's something to ideas like "change" and "hope"--they mean things aren't right at a given time, and need to change; but hope means that, with serious interests at stake, it takes some motivation, some hope, to consistently fight and work and push to bring about whatever changes may be needed (in health care, in our approach to war, to energy, to civic engagement, etc.).

Republican for Obama: Enough is Enough

I'd meant to put the following article from this summer up earlier, as it really stood out to me; it was in The Huffington Post (here) under the title, "Why This Fifty-Five Year Old White Lifelong Republican Wants Obama To Win." It was written by New York Times best selling author Frank Schaeffer. Note the interesting comment about how the Bush family gave one of Schaeffer's recent books a "ringing endorsement."

"This is a great day for those of us who have been fighting for Senator Obama! I'm a good example of why he'll win in November. I'm the least typical Obama supporter. And there are many more like me.

I cut my political teeth in the seventies through the early eighties as an organizer in the antiabortion religious right. I'm a fifty-five year old white man who has been a conservative most of my life. I've been a Republican activist who campaigned for McCain in 2000. I'm a big fan of the military. My son served in the Marines. If Obama can reach me he can reach anyone.

My support for Obama has cost me friends. For instance the Bush family gave one of my recent military-related books (Keeping Faith-A Father-Son Story About Love and the United States Marine Corps) a ringing endorsement. After Laura Bush read an excerpt out on Meet The Press sales skyrocketed. I probably won't get too many more of those sorts of endorsements. But the chips are down and the presidential choice this year is too important not to not fight for.

We can't afford McCain. He'd be a president with a desire to be vindicated and "win" at all costs in Iraq. Iraq never attacked us. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. The terrorists were not in Iraq while Hussein was in charge. We opened the door for them. We aren't bringing democracy to Iraq. This was a war of dumb choice launched in a part of the world that can't ever be fixed by our military.

The next president will inherit the mess George W. Bush created with a big assist from Senator McCain. Above all we need a completely fresh start. And only Senator Obama can provide that.

McCain has taken his lack of judgment about Iraq to the next level. McCain won't do do what is good for America, or even good for our military men and women. For instance, he is against the new GI Bill that would give fair educational benefits to our men and women. McCain doesn't want to give them anything that might entice them to do anything but go to war, again and again and again. McCain serves the warrior god of his warrior ancestors, not America's best interests.

As I see it our choice is between a heroic old man whose time has long past and who will perpetuate failed policy, and a brilliant, openhearted new founding father of the new post-racial, post-divided America the likes of which we have not seen.

How do my old pro-life views square with Obama's pro-choice beliefs? Very well. Today when I listen to Obama speak (and to his remarkable wife, Michelle) what I hear is a world view that nurtures life. Obama is trying to lead this country to a place where the intrinsic worth of each individual is celebrated. He is a leader who believes in hope, the future, trying to save our planet and providing a just and good life for everyone. This makes him someone who is actually pro-life as opposed to Bush who paid lip service to right wing religion but did the opposite of nurturing life at every turn, including senselessly killing our soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis.

The society that Obama is calling us to join him in striving for is a place wherein life would be valued not just talked about. As he said in his speech delivered on February 6 in New Orleans, "Too often, we lose our sense of common destiny; that understanding that we are all tied together; that when a woman has less than nothing in this country, that makes us all poorer." Obama was talking about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but his words also apply to our overall view of ourselves.

How do my pro-military views square with Obama? Very well.

Republicans may talk about patriotism but through their stubborn support for Bush's Iraq war they have become our military's worst enemies. And many of us in the military family have had it with the Republican's bellicose nonsense -- Bush's "Bring it on!" and now McCain's version; "I'll chase bin Laden to the gates of hell!" and "We'll win!" Enough is enough.

Obama comes to us from outside the system that has produced our present multiple crises of wars of choice and a failing economy. He does what all truly great leaders do: he speaks to the soul in plain self-revealing words of hope.

I think we all vote on an emotional level, whatever we say about our "reasons." And I know that I'm not the only tired culture warrior from the right who feels relieved and uplifted and -- most importantly -- believes Obama when I hear him talk about bringing us together to shape a better future. I also believe that he is an authentic man of faith. His sincere inclusion of Christian faith in his conversation with us rings true to this preacher's kid.

Obama touches me. He has a prophetic authenticity that reminds me of W.E.B. Du Bois' prayers that Du Bois sometimes wrote for his students. Obama also brings a touch of Billy Graham with him to the podium. His is a deeply spiritual call. And his critics that have dismissed Obama's ability to inspire as "mere words" are dead wrong.

We have never needed inspiration more. And we have never needed a president to inspire the rest of the world more. Every international opinion poll shows that Obama is not only the most popular American leader, perhaps ever, but more popular than any other world leader today.

Obama offers civility. Obama speaks in complete sentences, well-turned paragraphs, offers thoughts with intellectual depth, nuance, humility and compassion. Obama does not play on our fears. Electing Obama will also tell the world--and most importantly ourselves--that we can grow, learn and move on when it comes to race. We can heal our wounds. We can set an example again.

Obama is worth fighting for. He is worth losing old friends for. History has given us an unlikely lifeline. Do we have the decency and sense to open our hearts? What a great moment this is!"

As I mentioned, that article was from here in the Huffington Post. Also, for any Republicans out there, check out this section of Obama's website that highlights both well-known and everyday Republicans supporting him, and has a related section addressing some traditional Republican issues. You can even submit a question to have answered. I also appreciated the below video found on that section of their site, being a Virginian as I am (though it does not go particularly deep into issues and at least one of them that I remember didn't use great logic, it was still worth hearing from everyday people in my state about their thought process):



Update: Here's another great video of conservative voters who have come to Obama's side, and a related website of Conservatives for Obama that has more in-depth videos of why Conservative folks are supporting him: