Bob Cesca
November 5, 2008
Some excerpts :
President-elect Obama hasn't and probably can't absolve those sins, and no single event or person can be expected to accomplish such a task. The southern and Appalachian white vote was evidence of the continued existence of those deep prejudices, and certain Gollum-ish elements of the Republican Party have proved this year that the Southern Strategy is very much alive.............
But this new president has set for us an unique example -- he's become a national role-model and a guide, leading a record number of us towards the realization that it doesn't have to be "that way." It doesn't have to be us versus them anymore. The multi-racial, multi-cultural coalition that President-elect Obama achieved in this election -- his truly American coalition -- has succeeded in further marginalizing the ridiculous and archaic fear-mongers and fire-eaters who feed upon the exploitation of our original, founding sins...........................
Fact: their Reverend Wright ads failed in Pennsylvania. Their William Ayers attacks failed in Ohio. Their "little black man-child" remarks on the radio were wholly rejected in Virginia. Today, with their best tactics rendered ineffectual, they're rightfully staring into the maw of a change-or-starve conundrum. So it can be written that not only is our president-elect a post-racial leader, he's very likely the first post-fear leader of this new American century.
...............In terms of race, in terms of history, politics and American life we've crossed over to a better place and a more hopeful time. Not simply because of one man, but because we were prescient enough to have recognized ourselves and the true nature of America reflected in that one man. From there, we set about the task of freeing ourselves from the darkness of this decade and the skulking shadows that have for too long haunted us. In this respect, all of us -- all races -- are a little more free at last.......................
After all these years, we've finally arrived at moment when America feels like it's supposed to feel.
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