Political Rumble: Wrap Up Edition
by HKS Democratic Caucus & HKS Republican Caucus on November 12, 2008 in Political Rumble
From the left…
Adam Cooper, MPA ‘09
Twenty years from now, people will still be able to tell you where they were when Barack Obama was elected president. I was at the party we threw at Tommy Doyle’s (described in the Crimson as “much rowdier” than other area parties, thank you very much), surrounded by a sea of fellow Democrats. As we walked home after the party, a spontaneous rally erupted in Harvard Square. Hundreds of people chanting in the streets late on a Tuesday night. It was like New Year’s Eve.
I’m told that, after we left, the crowd spontaneously broke into the national anthem. It’s been a long time since people have felt they’ve had a reason to feel a deep pride in their country. I’d say about eight years, in fact. We were hungry for it. Election night, if nothing else, was a badly needed, collective national catharsis. It felt pretty damn good.
We knew what the stakes were in this election, and our joy in the result is understandable. It’s an emotion being shared around the world. During the campaign, Obama supporters often asked others to imagine how America would look to the world the morning after Barack Obama was elected president. They were right. British newspapers called his election “one giant leap for mankind.” Kenya declared a national holiday. Celebrations like ours occurred in every major city, in every country in the world. For an American presidential election.
They like us. They really like us.
There’s a lot of work to be done, and it won’t be easy, but this is ours to enjoy. Those of us who worked so hard and devoted so many hours to this campaign should feel a strong pride of ownership in the incoming administration. Barack Obama enters the White House with a grassroots network unparalleled in the history of American politics. The next four years belong to us.
His election alone is not the change we seek, but it’s a meaningful first step. It is up to us to help make sure President-Elect Obama is an effective steward of the office we worked so hard to put him in. The election of Barack Obama to the White House is not just a rejection of eight years of Republican policies and administrative incompetence, it’s an affirmation of a new way forward.
From slavery to the White House, it’s been a long and tortured road. The legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. has shadowed this entire campaign, culminating in Obama’s acceptance of the Democratic nomination on the anniversary of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech this August. Inauguration Day is January 20th; Martin Luther King Day is January 19th. How fitting that we’ll have an opportunity to honor the legacy of King the day before watching this nation finally, at long last, live out the true meaning of its creed.
It’s a great time to be an American. Now let’s get to work.
From the right…
Andrew Silvestri, MPP ‘09
On November 4th, America had the unique opportunity to elect a genuine American hero who has given his entire life to serving his country. Instead we chose a freshman Senator from Illinois. The best man did not win.
I feel so privileged to have had the opportunity to work for Senator McCain’s campaign and to have fought for his candidacy. Voting for Senator McCain to be my president was a true honor, one for which I will always be grateful.
While I do not agree with Barack Obama on matters of policy, he is my next president and I will give him nothing but respect, not just because he deserves it, but because the office of the president demands it. Rather than sitting on the sidelines for the next four years whining and hoping for failure, I am committed to taking an active role in our government to ensure that strong, smart policies are enacted for the betterment of our country; and I will encourage my Republican colleagues to do the same. That in itself is more than many from the left have afforded our current president, George W. Bush, over the past eight years.
While this historic election has brought about some very important advances for our country, it has also revealed some important challenges we continue to face. Throughout this election, sexism reared its ugly head in this country. Senator Clinton and Governor Palin both fell victim to treatment that should be an embarrassment to us all.
When it comes to Governor Palin, I have heard nothing but snarky, ill-advised remarks from the angry left. But whether you like her or not, she deserves your respect. Governor Palin is a strong, intelligent, and accomplished woman who represents a huge population of strong, conservative women in this country. Her political and personal accomplishments, along with her ability to maintain her family and marriage, will challenge the feminist movement to re-examine their current paradigm of what it means to be a feminist. It was an honor to vote for her, and I am filled with hope and excitement knowing that she is there, along with other great men and women, to lead the Republican Party into the future.
President-elect Obama has a made many significant promises to the American people and has a tall order for his administration to fill. The election is over, campaign rhetoric has ceased - now it is time to produce. Obama campaigned on a platform of bi-partisanship. We support this position and are eager to see him take steps towards that end.
To my liberal colleagues: we attend one of the most intellectual institutions on the face of the earth, yet I have been constantly amazed by some of the close-minded, liberal attitudes I have encountered while at Harvard over the past year and a half. Remember, 57,173,756 Americans voted for Senator McCain, Governor Palin, and the conservative values I so strongly believe in and cherish. I encourage you to examine the bubble you live in and meet one of the millions of Americans who disagree with your world view. If you listen and challenge yourself, you may even learn something.
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One Response to “Political Rumble: Wrap Up Edition”
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Mr. Adam Cooper’s words of ” they like us - they really like us” are quite amusing to me. Who exactly are the they that he refers to?
It would seem to me ( in my total ignorance of course) that there are actually 57,173,756 folks in the U.S.A who possibly do not “like” them, and who knows how many others around the world!
Time to be realistic and stop the rhetoric - serious problems and many hazards are straight ahead and great posturing with empty words are not going to get around them.
The Democrats have a poor record of getting things right anyway - Bill and Hilary attempted with huge effort to fix the medical aid problem and could not succeed, but you guys now will have no problem with that, education, bail-outs,
mortgage re-financing, exports, lower taxes and higher taxes, etc.etc……
Two things here - (1).Don’t be so bombastic and (2).where are you going to get all the money from?
Have a great one and somewhere down the line remember the PROMISES you have made. The party is over -