The Candidate

Well after months and months it’s over . . . the ‘change’ is in the air and a night full of celebration is over. I am reminded of a line in one of the best movies about political campaigning, “What do we do now?”


Solidly the best movie about a political campaign and the rigors of the campaign trail The Candidate, the charming, unapologetically liberal Robert Redford vehicle from 1972. I was considering writing a post on the ways in which the movie predicted this modern campaign but I was busy and like many of us never got to it. See for yourself . . .


The question that ends the segment is the question that ends the movie, and it’s the question that’s before our nation today: What now?


When Obama was announced last night even an hour before the polling places closed in Alaska, it was Obama and now his party will finally have to come up with an answer. To its credit, the film doesn’t attempt to provide one and we were left with the promise of John McKay and “there’s got to be a better way.”


Come next January, when the new President occupies the White House he will not have that option. So what then?


Obama’s strength is as an orator, and I have little doubt that the quality of our presidential address will improve dramatically. But speech making only goes so far. Obama will have to actually govern . . . something that he’s done very little of so far. He has managed a massive campaign, of course . . . and done so exceedingly well including raising massive amounts of money. He used and surrounded himself with great staffing whose decisions to go after the young vote, the early vote, and the various minorities was in the end unstoppable. I have confidence that he’ll be an excellent manager. But managing isn’t the same as governing or legislating, and that’s where he’s going to run into trouble.


The smart money is hopefully using the talents regardless of party affiliation to staff those positions with quality and qualified people to help steer us in a new direction.


It took us over thirty years to get into this mess so I’m sure things will take awhile to correct itself. All everyone can do is take the excitement, the new blood to energize this country once again.


Ice

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