edited by robert wolff
USA: A new era?
The rise of the other America
S. Kaluvas
«We have a long road ahead of us, but tonight, thanks to what we achieved in this critical election, America turns the page» is what Barack Obama said in front of the 200,000 of his supporters at Chicagos Grand Park, after the victorious presidential election results. «The road ahead of us will be long» he said· and continued: «Our rise is tough. There is the possibility that we dont get there in a year, or even a in a term. But I have never been more optimistic than I am today that we will get to the end». Indeed Barack Obama is bound to face an array of challenges. The USA slips through the worst crises ever since the 1929 depression and he is now called upon to save the American middle class. His second most important bet is the removal of the American military forces from Iraq, as well as terrorism. On the other hand, Obama has stated that among his primary goals is the enhancement of Americans ties with its traditional allies, including several European countries. European leaders on their end also state their readiness for a fresh start with the USA. The USA-Russia strained relationship as well as environmental and energy policies are two more thorny issues to be tackled. Will the new President be able to inaugurate a new chapter in the history of the superpower?
It is difficult for someone to describe the situation in American on Tuesday night, when the announcement for Barack Obamas victory was made. The enthusiasm and emotion were unprecedented. The former Secretary of State Colin Powel described the night that reminded Christmas or New Years celebrations, a description better that any other. How can such a rush be explained? And what does Obamas triumph signify?
Lets begin with the second leg of the query. During the past eight years the United States experienced some dead-end situations, which were a result of ideological fanaticism coupled with consistent bad administration. The disaster at New Orleans, the Iraq fiasco and the collapse of the banking system were the highlights of an eight-year teem that was mainly based on a blind faith in an extreme ideology. From this perspective Obamas victory can be constituted as a political correction and signifies Americas return to pragmatism and the center.
However, how does this pragmatism coexist with the utter enthusiasm and the unprecedented mobilization that led to Obamas triumph? Theres obviously a racial symbolism: many African Americans didnt even have voting rights 50 years ago and lynching was not uncommon in the South during the 20s.
The significance in Obamas victory, however, overcomes this, by all means, extremely important symbolism: it expresses the outbreak of the other America, which after Vietnam was politically marginalized.
This other America, which could be found in close-knitted university campuses, in Hollywood and in new technologies, in New York, in San Francisco and some other cities, had the traumatic experience to see the predominance of an ideology that was represented by the departing President Bush, the blithe Sarah Palin and also the tragicomic presence of Joe the Plumber, McCains presidential campaigns central element. The arrogance, aggressiveness, obscurantism and contempt for science, along with the hillbilliness, the indifference for major international issues such as the environment and the fixation for a religious faith thats stuck in the mud, became synonymous with America. The other America lost every political ground, since the prevalence of the opinion that imitating the Republicans was a one-way road to power was enforced as the predominant dogma in the hearts of a scared and timid Democratic Party. Its last representative, Hillary Clinton, who voted for the war in Iraq, based her decision on this exact logic.
Barack Obama gave this other America, a voice. Armed with support from young voters and the end of the war in Iraq as his keynote address, he found in this other America his first political support, and thus achieve to prevail in the critical primaries of Iowa last January. That victory ensured him the African American communitys attention and led him to his victory on the primaries. The Latinos were added in the team by the summer. The last piece of the puzzle was the white middle and working class, who made a decisive turn after the recent collapse of the markets.
The rise of the other America into power is a victory on its own right. This victory can also be deemed as a unique opportunity during these challenging times not just for the other America but the entire world. The challenges and difficulties are infinite. With his ability to inspire and mobilize the most powerful part of America and his victory in the electoral marathon, Barack Obama proved that he has the vision and the judgment to be a trailblazer.
Mr. Stathis Kaluvas is a Political Science Professor at Yale University.
http://tovima.dolnet.gr/print_article.php?e=B&f=15506&m=B20&aa=1
To Vima, November 9th, 2008
USA: A new era?
The rise of the other America
“We have a long road ahead of us, but tonight, thanks to what we achieved in this critical election, America turns the page,” is what Barack Obama said in front of 200,000 of his supporters in Chicagos Grant Park after the presidential election results were announced. “The road ahead will be long,” he said, and continued, “Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.”
Indeed, Barack Obama is bound to face an array of challenges. The USA faces the worst crisis since the 1929 depression, and he is now called upon to save the American middle class. His second most important task is the removal of American military forces from Iraq, and deal with terrorism. On the other hand, Obama has stated that among his primary goals is the enhancement of Americas ties with its traditional allies, including several European countries. European leaders on their part also have stated their readiness for a fresh start with the USA. The US’s strained relationship with Russia, as well as environmental and energy policies, are more thorny issues to be tackled. Will the new President be able to inaugurate a new chapter in the history of the superpower?
It is difficult for someone to describe the situation in America on Tuesday night, when Barack Obama’s victory was announced. The enthusiasm and emotion were unprecedented. Former Secretary of State, Colin Powel, described the night as reminding him of a Christmas or New Years celebration, a description better that any other. How can such a rush be explained? And what does Obamas triumph signify?
Lets begin with the second part of that query. During the past eight years the United States experienced some dead-end situations, which were a result of ideological fanaticism coupled with consistently bad administration. The disaster at New Orleans, the Iraq fiasco and the collapse of the banking system were the highlights of an eight-year term that was mainly based on blind faith in an extremist ideology. From this perspective Obamas victory can be understood as a political correction, signifying Americas return to a centrist pragmatismr.
However, how does this pragmatism coexist with the utter enthusiasm and the unprecedented mobilization that led to Obamas triumph? The racial symbolism is obvious: many African Americans didnt have voting rights even 50 years ago and lynching was not uncommon in the South during the 20s.
Obamas victory, however, is yet more than this extremely important symbolism: it expresses a breakthrough of the other America, which, after Vietnam, was politically marginalized.
This other America, which could be found in close-knit university campuses, in Hollywood and in new technologies, in New York, in San Francisco, and some other cities, had the traumatic experience of seeing the rise of an ideology that was represented by soon to depart President Bush, the blithe Sarah Palin, and also the tragicomic Joe the Plumber, McCains presidential campaigns central element. An ideology of arrogance, aggressiveness, obscurantism and contempt for science, along with a kind of “hillbilliness,” an indifference to major international issues such as the environment, and a fixation on religious faith thats “stuck in the mud,” became synonymous with America.
The other America lost all political ground, since the prevalence of the opinion that imitating the Republicans was the only road to power, became dogma in the hearts of a scared and timid Democratic Party. Its most recent representative, Hillary Clinton, based her decision to vote for the war in Iraq on this logic.
Barack Obama gave this other America a voice. With support from young voters, focusing on the end of the war in Iraq, he found in this other America his first political support, and so could prevail in the critical primary of Iowa last January. That victory ensured him the African American communitys attention and led him to his victory in the primaries. The Latinos were added by summer. The last pieces of the puzzle were the white middle and working classes, who gave a decisive turn after the recent collapse of the markets.
The rise of this other America into power is a victory in its own right. During these challenging times this is a victory not just for the other America, but for the entire world. The challenges and difficulties are infinite. With his ability to inspire and mobilize the most powerful part of America, and his victory in the electoral marathon, Barack Obama proved that he has the vision and the judgment to be a trailblazer.
Mr. Stathis Kaluvas is a Political Science Professor at Yale University.
To Vima, November 9th, 2008
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