President Obama

I had been a strong supporter of Senator Hillary Clinton for president. First of all, I liked her and felt she would be a very good if not great President. Additionally, I also felt that the notion of this country electing an African American President was just not a realistic one at this point in time. I was not alone in that belief. It should not be forgotten that African Americans also strongly supported Hillary Clinton, because they too had difficulty seeing Senator Obama as a serious candidate. It was not until Obama won in Iowa, a predominately white state, that African Americans began to believe that white America would actually vote for a black man for president.

There can be no doubt that this election represents a very historic moment in American History. Those of us who lived through the Civil Rights Movement are overwhelmed at where we are in this country today. The vivid scenes of peaceful demonstrators being attacked on our television screens each evening remain very much with us. Being a part of school integration, and then watching as very quickly schools essentially became resegregated and stayed that way did not give one much reason to hope. Yet America really has changed. Is there still racism and discrimination in our country? Of course. Are there blocks of voters out there who would never consider voting for a black man for president? Absolutely. But the undeniable truth is that the percentage of such people was simply not large enough to change the outcome of this election. President-elect Obama received about 44% of the white vote, which is actually more white votes than Bill Clinton ever received. It is also true that white voters no longer represent as significant a prpoportion of the electorate as in the past. African American and Hispanic voters voted in large numbers for Obama.

As historic as this election has been, it is interesting to note that young voters don't have the same perspective about the magnitude of the event as older voters. Two thirds of voters under 30 supported Obama. These young voters, however, whether they were black, white, hispanic, etc. did not factor race into the equation to any extent. They latched on to a young, intelligent, competent candidate with a good program, and they voted for him. In that sense I think their attitude is 'what's the big deal', he was the best candidate and he won.

Where do we go from here? The election of any new president brings a period of good will, and I believe even most Republicans understand the logic of what happened in this election and are prepared to meet the new president half-way. The challenges are enormous and patience is the name of the game. I believe it is critical for President-elect Obama to put together a truly bi-partisan administration with not just a token cabinet member. I believe all Americans are filled with hope, and certainly prayer will be important as well. Our hope, however, has to be based on the quality of the people called to serve in the administration, and the leadership a President Obama can deliver to move effectively, however gradually, to address the severe problems we face in the economy and in foreign affairs.

In terms of race relations in America, the encouraging thing we have seen is that our young people really are moving beyond race and want to live and work together in a more perfect world. As Ambassador Andrew Young put it, he still has the scars of his long struggle that he can't fully put aside, but Senator Obama does not have these same scars which made it possible for him to be a post racial candidate. All Americans now, young, old, black, white, and others need to join in that post racial world and maybe we will have gotten to the promised land of Martin Luther King and can begin to sit down at that table of brotherhood where all God's children can be free. No we have not arrived at Utopia, but maybe we can have the audacity to hope.