I heard Speaker Pelosi on KUOW this afternoon state that the Dems might have a few bills they want to quickly put on President Obama’s desk. Nancy, sweetheart, you and Senator Reid had two years to prove you deserved the majority given you both in 2006 and you failed miserably. Yesterday’s results weren’t about your kind of Democrats, it was about the Democrats – and Republicans – of my youth. Men and women who may differ about approaches but ultimately seek the greatest good for the greatest number. President-Elect Obama, while taking a monumentally historic step forward, has also taken a necessary step backward into the land of Statesmanship. Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid, if you can’t take that same step, then stand aside. I am thrilled the Dems didn’t win 60 Senate seats. If the goal is to hold a filibuster-proof majority, then I can only conclude that your goal isn’t to govern, but rather to bludgeon Republicans, as they have bludgeoned you. Get over it and grow up. It’s time to govern, because if you don’t, well, I don’t even want to imagine what that failure might mean to our country.
Finally, a big shout-out to Hamilton County, Ohio, which includes Cincinnati – a place where Joel and I spent more than a few years and also a city recently boycotted because of police brutality against African-Americans. There was a time when the Queen City’s Western Hills was blue-collar Democrat and the east side was wealthy Republican, but President Reagan ushered in ultra-conservatives throughout Hamilton County. Let history show that on Tuesday, November 4, 2008, Hamilton County voters supported Senator Obama by a 52% to 47% margin. Holy Toledo!
Eileen, thank you for this wonderful post. I was shocked to see my hometown vote for Obama, my 83 year old Mom was one of those Obama votes.
Someone in the punditry specifically said something along the lines of “they said Hamilton County will never vote for a Democrat,” so apparently this is the bellwether of bellwethers. Nice!
I agree with your point about Pelosi and Reid. Not sure about the former, but Reid seems like a divisive figure for a majority leader, among his own ranks. But more importantly, if Obama is to succeed as president, which is by far the most important matter at hand, he needs to call the shots and expect Congressional Democrats to follow along, or at least react and work with him in response. The initiative is all with 1600 PA Ave. And that shouldn’t be regarded as threatening; for once, we’ll have a president who listens and negotiates. If there are any republican honest brokers (and I mean IF), then it’ll be great to see Obama include them too.
Good point Eileen. I think that it is our most important task at this time, as Americans, to band together to pull our country up out of the muck and mire that we have found ourselves in. Non-partisan participation in this process is vital.
My friend Bill McCuddy, who shot the photos of President-Elect Obama that were featured in a post last week, is an Ohio resident. I heard from him that there was much celebration from fellow Dems yesterday, who finally felt they could step out of the shadows. Blue at last!!
Eileen –
Your amazement for Hamilton County is matched by mine for my hometown St. Louis County. While I was growing up there, Dems had to pile up big numbers in St. Louis City to offset the thrashing they would get in the County. Not this year.
Obama’s biggest challenges to governing will come from with his own party, especially over the next two years. He’s smart enough, he has the right temperment and his first pick of Rahm Emmanuel gives me reason to think he’s got the political instincts as well.
An interesting question is whether – and how – the Obama administration will try to tap into the campaign’s supporters. I predict it won’t be two weeks before I get an e-mail from someone in Team Obama “updating” me on the transition. It’s a fairly short path from there to “click here to let Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Boehner know that you support a post-partisan approach to governing.”
We’ve elected somebody on the strength of his personality, something that normally would scare the Hell out of me. I pulled the lever (OK, technically I blackened the dot) for him – cheerfully – because I believe he has the strength of character to resist the dangers of cultism. Let’s hope we’re right.
- Austin