When the year started, I just wanted a Democrat -- any Democrat --
to get elected president. I would have taken any one of ours
against anyone from the other team. In the run-up to the California
primary, I seriously considered voting for Hillary Clinton or
John Edwards before I voted for Barack Obama.
It was a long haul waiting for him to get elected. (I didn't just
wait, however; I sent money and family members to the campaign.)
One of the polls here on the Daily Kos just before the election asked
readers how they were coping. I, along with a plurality, chose
"Worry, worry, worry." These are some of the things I worried about:
What if we nominate Hillary and people don't vote for her because
of her own -- or her husband's -- "baggage"?
What if we nominate Hillary and people don't vote for her because
of her gender?
What if we nominate Edwards and his $400 haircut or his glibness
does him in? (I didn't know about his other problem.)
What if we nominate Obama and he isn't considered experienced
enough?
What if we nominate Obama and people don't vote for him because of
his race?
What if Obama can't win in homogeneous states like Iowa? I.e.,
what if whites don't vote for him?
What if Hillary voters don't vote for him? I.e., what if women don't
vote for him?
What if Hispanics don't vote for him?
What if Jews don't vote for him?
What if Rev. Wright is a problem in the primaries?
What if Hillary stays in the race until the convention and makes a
fight there?
What if Michigan and Florida don't vote for us in the general election
because of the disputes over their delegates at the convention?
What if Obama's European trip seems presumptuous and un-American
and turns people off?
What if he chooses Hillary as his running mate and people don't vote
for her because of her own -- or her husband's -- "baggage"?
What if he doesn't choose Hillary as his running mate?
What if the convention remains as unconfrontational (i.e., boring)
as it was Monday night? (Don't get me wrong: I really like Michelle
Obama but the pundits had me worried.)
What if Biden is too long-winded and bores everyone during his
convention speech?
What if Obama doesn't impress people with his convention speech?
(All right, this one is a bit far-fetched.)
What if McCain chooses someone really unusual and steals Obama's
thunder on the Friday after the convention?
What if Sarah Palin wins all the Hillary voters?
What if Sarah Palin really is the party challenging, pork rejecting,
maverick hockey mom she claims to be?
What if the Republicans make lots of effective speeches at their
convention?
What if "community organizer" becomes a joke?
What if Obama doesn't hit back hard enough when the Republicans
attack?
What if he hits back too hard and seems to be an "angry black man"?
What if McCain reacts in a more "presidential" way to the financial
crisis than Obama does? What if his "suspending the campaign"
impresses people?
What if Obama doesn't do well in the debates? (Again far-fetched,
but I am biased and don't always understand how the press and public
choose a winner.)
What if Palin does better than Biden in the debates? I.e., people
believe her talking points and don't care that they are scripted?
What if this talk of William Ayers and terrorism worries people?
What if people think Obama himself is a Muslim and/or terrorist?
What if Rev. Wright is a problem in the general election?
What if talk of taxes and socialism sways people?
What if Joe the Plumber really is the hard-working, non-publicity-seeking,
trying-to-get-ahead plumber that he claims to be?
What if Sarah Palin's appearance on "Saturday Night Live" earns them
votes?
What if John McCain's appearance does?
What if Biden's statement about Obama being "tested" worries
people?
What if the Republicans have an "October surprise"?
What if Osama Bin Laden has an "October surprise"?
What if the Republicans' "72-hour ground game" is better than ours?
What if young voters don't turn out?
What if there are screw-ups at the polls in Florida and Ohio?
What if Obama wins the popular vote, but McCain wins the electoral
vote? I.e., do they know something about Pennsylvania that's not
reflected in the public polls?
Of course, none of these things was a problem. In the end, we
had the better candidate, the better ideas, the better campaign,
the better campaign workers, and the better political environment.
As the Obama Administration takes office, let's be brave and
and help make some "change we can believe in."