(Unexpected) Closing thoughts on the 2008 Presidential Election

It should be wildly apparent that I, and we, did not agree with the way that McCain and Palin ran their campaign. Mostly, I took issue with how McCain and Palin drew on the rhetoric of terrorism in order to cast doubt on Obama's character. I also took issue with the dumbing down of issues that are, as we are finding, quite complex. Finally, as I mentioned in the last post, I generally take issue with policies that are tailored to benefit the economic elite.

I had mixed emotions last night when McCain gave his resignation speech, however, because the man that gave that speech was not the man who ran against Obama this past year. McCain was humble, thoughtful, gracious, and hopeful, and his ethos as a speaker gave credence to the argument that the Republican party transformed him in a negative way during this election. It was with a tinge of remorse, then, that I watched this speech because, although I wanted Obama to win, more than anything I wanted to see a competitive race where both candidates presented a coherent and compelling argument for why they should assume the presidential seat. In other words, I wanted to be motivated to cast a vote not because I was afraid of what the other candidate would do in office, but because one argument was slightly better than the other.

The McCain who gave that final speech last night could have accomplished that task, and could have rallied the country in a more productive manner. Unfortunately, his rhetorical tactics polarized too many people and resulted in a landslide victory that was, in the final tally, embarrassing to the Republican party. I wonder if, when historians look back on this moment, Obama's speeches will be read as more hopeful and intelligent because McCain's were not. Either way I think we should celebrate, as many have said, that we have an African-American man in the president office who seems to promote the intellectual, political, and social values that will reduce violence and thereby increase hope.

I feel substantially more excited about our country than I have in the last eight years of my adult life.