I Can Scarcely Believe It

8 Thoughts About the 2008 Election #1

Obama won.

He was born to a woman from Kansas and a man from Kenya. His name sounds Muslim. His middle name is the same as the last name of the man many consider to be America's worst enemy of the past 20 years. He does not look like any man who has been our President. He is an African-American in a country that has never come close to placing a black man in the role of President. Yet, still ...

Obama won.

He has only been a national figure for the four years since he was elected to the Senate and he's been a household name for even less than that. He ran against one of the most popular politicians in his party in the primary and defeated her and then faced one of the most popular politicians in our country in the general election. Yet, still ...

Obama won.

He ran his campaign as an unabashed progressive. He has promised to raise taxes on the wealthy and eliminate loopholes in the tax code. He has promised to give every American the opportunity for health insurance. He has promised to protect Social Security rather than turn it over to Wall Street. He has bucked the conventional wisdom and run to what the media perceives as left of center. Yet, still ...

Obama Won.

He faced the dirtiest campaign we have ever witnessed. He has been accused of being friends with a known terrorist. He attended a church whose pastor allegedly hated America and he never spoke up and against it. He has been accused of hating Israel. They questioned his patriotism. They questioned his allegiance. They even questioned his religion. Some have even go so far as to call him the Antichrist. Yet, still ...

Obama won.

America decided to stand up for the little guy. America decided that it wanted to live up to those ideas upon which our founding was based. America decided to reject 8 years that attempted to redefine America as something less than noble. America has chosen to reject the politics of hate and the politics of fear. America has decided to rise up and reclaim our government from those who have trashed it and left it for ruin. In short ...

America won.