Exams

Sorry that posts have been temporarily suspended for exams (when many of you need distraction most). There's still a lot going on -- watch the news and check back at the end of the month.

John McCain Tribute

John McCain's concession speech was the finest moment of his campaign; he finally had nothing to lose. As he addressed the noiseless crowd we all saw a John McCain we remember -- the one who would have run with a Democrat, Joe Lieberman, just to show the country what unity could mean. I'm reminded of the scene from Hook where a Lost Boy presses the wrinkles out of an aged Peter Pan's (Robin Williams) face until he exclaims "Oh, there you are Peter." There you are John.

I've always resented the effect an election has on the candidate. It forces the candidate to be someone he or she isn't -- or at least to bend his or her image to something that the electorate wants to see. The truly genuine candidate cannot be elected. We selfishly want them to tell us only what we want to hear -- and they do, though it sometimes costs their soul.

John McCain finally had the weight off his shoulders so that he could tell his constituency something they didn't want to hear, but needed to hear anyways. "I urge all Americans who supported me" he said, "to join me in not just congratulating [Obama], but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together."

The periodic boos in the arena at the mention of the resented victor seemed to make Sen. McCain uncomfortable with the supporters he had been leading only minutes before. Those boos were fueled by a long, and often dirty campaign that left few without mud on their hands. John McCain after losing to Bush in South Carolina commented that there was a special place in hell for those that ran the smear campaign against him there. John's now got his own repentance to deal with, but his gracious speech showed that the McCain we remember is still there and willing to make of this country what he dreamed to make of it through the office of the presidency.

Maybe McCain wasn't fit to be president -- at least not this year (2000 sure would have been nice in many people's opinions) -- but he will remain a honorable Senator. "Country First" doesn't die with an election, and if John McCain is still John McCain, he will be at the forefront of competition and comprimise with the new administration to guarantee that the interests of the nation are the priority in Washington. I'm honored to know that John McCain continues to represent us in the Senate and trust that he will lead his battered forces to reconciliation with the new President Elect.

A New Brand of Democracy

Last night's celebration outside the White House had the excitement of an at home basketball upset over Duke-- District residents "rushed the court." The victory was hardly an upset in the short run - Obama has been expected to win for months - but in the long run this was an upset victory over the pride, political interests, prejudices, and patrimony that mark Washington-as-usual.

Some would deride the recent political enthusiasm as a mark of a radicalism and faction, of the sort criticized by Federalist 10. I beg to differ. What we see in reality is a young, highly educated and compassionate generation reinvigorated by the hope of a new brand of politics. A good friend sent a brief text message saying, "I will admit it was great to feel so inspired by our new leader after so long of not feeling that." Not since a brief period after September 11 has my generation felt encouraged by our democracy. Mark Shields commented in a Newshour interview, "I think there's a sense of goodwill in the country... A sense of goodwill in the world that George Bush had after 9/11 and the country had after 9/11 that was squandered, quite honestly, in Iraq...which has been repurchased in his victory." For many of us our democratic enthusiasm was betrayed in Iraq with lies, deceit, and political interests.

Last night, I saw wounds heal. Last night was a stamp on the self-efficacy of a people, and especially on the self-efficacy of the young and minorities.

The Obama presidency now has the burden and privilege of redefining democracy in America and setting the example of what the standard of politics will be for my generation. In the words of John McCain, a man who paved the way for the kind of politics Obama represents, "Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president."
Godspeed President Elect Obama and Godspeed citizens of the United States of America.

Virginia Blue

In 1959 public schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia, closed for five years rather than integrate as the federal government had mandated. The state government looked on passively and even provided vouchers for the private educations of white students. My great grandfather became superintendent of the county in 1965 to oversee the integration process begun in 1964. According to my grandmother, it was a battle her father would aver “ruined me among my peers.”

Last night the Commonwealth of Virginia offered its 13 electoral votes in support of a black man as president of the United States. When Barack Obama was born, Virginians would have pulled their children out of school rather than have them go to school with a black boy. Yesterday Virginians affirmed their confidence to hand responsibility for their education, economy, security, and general wellbeing over to a black man of the same generation to which they denied an education fifty years ago. I couldn’t be prouder to be a Virginian today.

InkBlogs' First Official Campaign Endorsement

Well the absentee ballot is in the mail as of a few minutes ago, and given our anticipated rapid ascension to the peak of political media, InkBlogs thought it appropriate to release an official campaign endorsement.

After great deliberation, we have concluded that Barack Obama will make the better president of the two candidates. This is not to detract at all from the great respect and admiration I still hold for John McCain as a Senator and American hero. In spite of a celebrated tenure in the Senate, McCain proved to be less of an astute campaign manager. While I acknowledge the very difficult balancing act he had to perform, McCain's campaign showed that you can shout "Maverick" from Washington to Alaska, but your message will be considerably muffled if you're stuck in the pocket of the hard Right. David Brooks commented in a Newshour interview, "You have to reform your own party before people trust you to reform the country." If anyone could do it, I thought it would be John McCain, but McCain let the opportunity slip through his hands and probably the presidency as well.

Obama showed profound professionalism in the executive capacity of managing a long and arduous campaign. His amazing ability to rally votes, expand the democratic process, conduct unprecedented fundraising, and maintain a calm respectability about him will surely translate into an effective chief of state.

But, after all, we don't vote for a campaign manager but for a president. In the end, this election should be about issues. I believe McCain had a far more sound approach to Iraq, but the success of the Surge has made the issue more or less a moot point in the campaign. Obama, on the other hand, promises to bring a new face to foreign diplomacy that has been much anticipated by the rest of the world ever since the Clinton presidency.

Obama's tax policy is hotly contested, but my vote on this issue arises from an intuition that that Bush tax breaks worked in the wrong direction. Tax breaks in the top tier proved not to effectuate the desired trickle-down effect, but rather lead to unhealthy market speculation.

I don't think of the Obama tax plan as wealth redistribution as much as a framework for keeping money where it will most probably be spent on consumption of necessities, while taxing at higher rates those income groups that delegate a greater portion of their wealth to luxury spending. This may inhibit the diversification of the economy, but it reinforces those markets on which our general welfare is most dependent. Besides, the middle and lower classes are precisely the groups that need to be targeted now to help curb defaults on home mortgages. Bush's "Ownership Society" would never be effectuated by giving those who already own everything more disposable income by which they can own even more. Higher margins of savings and disposable income are best maintained in the middle and lower class where "Joe the Plumbers" (I'm sick of the phrase too) can buy into the markets and make capital investments of their own.

Which brings us to the matter of the capital gains tax. I agree with conservatives that now is the worst time to raise the capital gains tax as Obama proposes to do; however, Obama also has a less-popularized proposal to completely eliminate the capital gains tax on small business. This should result in a shift of financing and investment toward small business and entrepreneurship. That means that when Joe the Plumber starts his plumbing business (or has a change of heart and decides to start his own biomedical research or IT consulting company), he'll find more willing investors. In my mind this allows more flexibility to break from the established big business economic frameworks by spurring productivity-enhancing innovation and entrepreneurship.

I'm constrained from breaking down the campaign issue by issue, but based on my analysis, which points at times to McCain and at times to Obama, a thorough examination of the totality of issues points convincingly toward Obama.

Iraq First: then we can fix our own mess

I've said before that I'd vote for Gen. Petraeus in this election over either candidate. What problems will our next president face: a faltering economy, Washington-as-usual, two far-away wars, a country sharply divided. Take a look at Petraeus's resume. Having taken his job in the midst of a disfunctional economy, a corrupt and deadlocked government, an all-out war outside his office window, and a country ravished by sectarian violence, the general has done remarkably well on all three fronts in spite of the immense challenges handed over to him by the former command and the Bush administration. Diplomat, economist, philosopher, military master-mind, and all-around productivity machine, I can think of no better candidate for Chief of State and Commander in Chief -- but the last place I want him (for the time being) is in Washington.

While I'd love to have Petraeus as president someday, it seems to me preposterous to pull him out of precisely the place where he's most needed: Iraq.

But in a sense, isn't that what Obama wanted to do?

While our country may look like it is in dire straits, Iraq (pop. 28 million) has it far, far worse. Sure, there are countries all over the world -- Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan to name a few -- where conditions rival those in Iraq, but none where the blame points so accusingly toward the US as in Iraq (granted, you could make an argument for Haiti).

I'm sorry to say it: it was not just the Bush administration that invaded Iraq -- it was all of America, and we've incurred substantial moral liability as a result. While I sincerely hope that the current president has a nightly "out damn spot" episode, our nation has no right to just wash our hands of Iraq and absolve ourselves of the sins of our leaders. The least we must do is restore Iraq to where it was and put it on a path to future prosperity. Anything less would be a disservice to humanity and to the 28 million citizens of Iraq, most of whom are peace-loving and law-abiding human beings.

The Obama campaign is simply wrong to treat the war in Iraq as less important because it was less legitimately conceived. His argument focuses entirely on what was already done as a justification as what we should do now -- that somehow by turning the war machine in reverse, it will undo all that has already been done. McCain, at least I think, takes the past as an exogenous variable, and seeks to optimize the outcome in Iraq with what he's given, as he showed by supporting the Surge. This is the more rational approach. I know Democrats (Republicans too) are unhappy with the "original sin" of invading Iraq, but the logic goes that by pulling the feet out from under the war, we'll somehow get back at Republicans and the president -- maybe we'll even get to say "I told you so" if Iraq goes down with the Republican party. Its kind of perverse, but thats all the sense I can make of it.

Luckily for Democrats, and largely thanks to the good General-saint, Democrats may get their cake and eat it too. The argument for immediate withdraw that looked ludicrous at the beginning of this campaign suddenly appears at least feasible thanks to the unanticipated success of the Surge. While we won't be able to vote for Petraeus, his role in this election is far from isolated. For myself and those who think about Iraq as I do, the general paved the way for making Obama an acceptable candidate.

I was wholly unprepared to throw the fate of 28 million people to the mercy of the democratic whims of a dissatisfied American populous by voting for Obama -- I don't know that he would have done it, but he at least had to say it to get elected. On the domestic front, our nation will remain more or less prosperous no matter who is elected. A bad choice on Iraq, however, especially when sectarian violence still raged, could have meant the demise of an entire country. In the beginning, that was enough to make this election a one-issue vote for me.

Things are very different in Iraq now, and a rapid pull-out appears to be a much less disasterous option than it did before. For myself, and I think most Americans, the issues in this election have shifted from Iraq to the economy as we become more comfortable with progress in Iraq and less comfortable with our own domestic problems.

Thank General Petraeus (and ironically John McCain to some extent) for permitting me to vote Country First in this election - which might well mean Obama - and not solely Iraq First as I would have been morally compelled to do before.


Further Reading:
He Came, He Cut Deals, He (May) Conquer
Gerson: Casualty of the Surge
Diehl: McCain's Running Mate

Irony