Obama’s recent surge in Iowa is a classic American story: in true American fashion the underdog roars back to life against the frontrunner, with only the finale of the underdog’s ultimate victory lacking. Yet just a few weeks ago, commentators widely predicted the procession of another Clintonian dynasty. Hillary’s coronation, with her campaign bearing all the hallmarks of her husband’s famous, efficient political juggernaut, seemed a done deal. Instead, the machinery’s march now seemingly slows, if not grinding to a halt, against an entity that is more abstract–what Obama quotes as “not calculation but conviction.”
Obama’s renaissance culminated with his outstanding speech at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner – a reminiscence of his 2004 Democratic Convention speech. The subsequent media coverage only reminded us why many initially became enamored with him: that powerful rhetoric, that magnetic tenor and that passionate conviction. We relived the appeal that made us feel good and made us hopeful. Most importantly, we are noticing a change.
This election is about race and gender, yet it is also more about getting past them. The fact that we actively contemplate a diversion into uncharted territory illustrates our progress from skepticism to our readiness to embrace new possibilities. We might not agree on an Obama candidacy, but we care enough to discuss and debate our fundamental differences.
In a way, Obama’s candidacy signifies the inevitable generational passage. Obama’s personal story, a unique blend of diversity, is often inspirational. Yet it isn’t merely about what his life narrative is – it is also about what his life narrative isn’t. As some commentators note, Obama doesn’t carry the excesses of America’s past. He is post-civil rights, post-gender rights, post-Vietnam and post-Baby Boomer. Unlike other candidates, this post-ism is Obama’s unburden. In his focus on the future without past constraints, the persuasion for change rankles.
This change demands reason. Today’s increasingly complex world presents novel challenges, and the case for judgment grows louder. As the influential the New York Times columnist Frank Rich points out, Obama presciently called for military action in Pakistan, should it be necessary–President Musharraf’s recent Constitution suspension illustrates President Bush’s folly of clinging to perceived allies–as well as denouncing the Iraq war.
And this change personifies what America needs now. In his eloquent and incisive The Atlantic article, Andrew Sullivan, a prominent conservative commentator, believes that Obama’s candidacy arrives at a critical juncture–the precise moment when America clamors for a uniting narrative. Accordingly, America faces myriad challenges not only from Islamic fundamentalism and environmental problems, but to the interchanging political dynamics of China’s ascension. The time for change is now.
This need for unity appears in America’s dichotomous interests. The Republican fear-mongering works because they appeal to our innate fear. They succeed because we empathize with temporality of our own lives and we sympathize with difficult predicaments. Yet to constantly focus on the past is to constantly forsake future opportunities. In aligning to partisanship, we are allowing ideology, not reason, to define us.
As divided as America is, the American way has always been to believe that we triumph by putting our hearts and minds into overcoming challenges. To succeed, we need to believe in possibilities rather than fear possibilities. Obama’s remark “Let us reach for what we know is possible” represents that exactly—to transcend our differences.
Critiques about this phenomenon are growing by the day, and the magnitude of the cacophony is remarkable. TIME magazine’s Dec 10th edition profiles Obama’s case, as do a slew of other commentaries. And in these critiques, we notice change. We hear voices that offer us the chance to move past our past divisions. We see the opportunity to overcome our ideological and electoral differences.
We are seeing an Obama revolution.
ZACH HAN believes that Obama’s revolution is gaining momentum, and is waiting to hear the good news from Iowa in January. Email him at zklhan@ucdavis.edu if you believe it too.
