Barack Obama: The Yardstick

(I appologize if this has already been posted.  My diaries page is apparently freaking out right now.  If this is up multiple times, I'll gladly delete it.)

This will be a fairly short diary, I'm afraid. I'm currently at work, and I've got a lot to do (the world isn't going to save itself, after all), but I felt this was worth putting out there to be discussed today.

I came to a rather startling realization today, one that makes me smile even as I contemplate the possibilities of a defeat of the Obama campaign either in the primaries or general election.

Listening to Barack Obama talk about race relations and what it means to be a truly united America, it hit me.  This man, an undeniably good man, is doing more for the state of our nation simply by being a candidate than any elected official in my lifetime.  While his potential to be our chief executive is admittedly amazing, it's the way he's getting there, the campaign he's running, that will be his lasting legacy.

Looking back at this primary season (to say nothing of the General if he gets the nomination), it's obvious that Barack Obama will be the yardstick against which potential presidential candidates will be measured for years to come, possibly for the rest of my life.  The reasons for this are legion, and I'm sure you folks will be able to come up with dozens that I've missed.  This entire cycle has shown how wrong our previous assumptions about American politics truly were/are, and how much we as people can truly bring about change if we only step up and do it.

Let's start with the most obvious.  Here is a man with mixed racial heritage, who is also a second generation immigrant, that is in all honesty a front-runner for the White House.  This year has really been about tearing down the glass ceiling, with the candidacies of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama reshaping the way we think about the effect of systemic discrimination or prejudice as it effects American politics.  While a defeat in the general by either of these candidates would be a blow to the movement towards true equality, their existence as front-runners for the Democratic Nomination speaks volumes about how far we've come as a country, and will force all those who saw a black or female President as a pipe-dream to stand up and take notice.

The Obama Campaign's fundraising model and raw capabilities is something that is going to be studied and replicated for years to come.  Grassroots, activist-based funding for candidates isn't a fad, it's the future.  Even entrenched establishment candidates such as Hillary Clinton are seeing the power that an activated base really has when it comes to raising money.  Future candidates are going to be judged by their ability to imitate him and his campaign in this.  The days of corporate financing of candidates is over, or at least circling the drain.  If you can't create the excitement necessary for the grassroots to keep you in green, you shouldn't bother running.

He's not afraid to be honest.  Today, and on many occasions during this campaign, Barack Obama has spoken to the American Electorate as though it was composed of educated adults capable of forming their own opinions.  He doesn't fit into our soundbite-driven political culture, but he's not suffering for it.  On the contrary, the traditional media is having to find new ways of covering politics in order to stay relevant.  I've seen more fully televised stump speeches in this cycle than I have in any previous; the MSM is failing to define at least one candidate via 30 second snippets, so they've got to give us the full monty.  His talent and proclivity for speechcraft and willingness to express true honesty will haunt every presidential candidate for the next 2 decades at the least, as they are held to a similar standard. Maybe not by the media, but certainly by the informed electorate.

He may not be the nominee after it all shakes down.  He may not become the President if he is the nominee.  I fervently hope that I get to cast my vote with passion this cycle, that Obama is the nominee.  Even failing that, though, he's already left a mark on this country that will be here long after I am gone.

He has changed the way we look at the process, the candidates, our definition of political power and what it means to be American.  He is setting new standards for "people-powered" and "grassroots" candidacies, and showing that you can be a politician and a decent, humble person to boot.  

He has already changed the face of American politics for the better, and that is why I am thankful to him for being a part of this race, win or lose.

•  Have you ever read

  Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card?  Obama's execution of the 50-state strategy reminds me of Ender's revolutionizing of the game in the book.

  by llamaRCA on Tue Mar 18, 2008 at 01:23:33 PM PDT

  •  No, I haven't.

    I'll look into it, though.  ;)

    by Capt America on Tue Mar 18, 2008 at 01:46:51 PM PDT

    •  It's sci fi

      But what's important about the story (since you haven't read it) is that Ender comes in as the youngest team leader ever.  He realizes that he has shaken up the strategy to a point that his opponents can't beat him.  That his new strategy is the ONLY strategy to win.  And he can't figure out why the older players don't see the writing on the wall that the old strategies just don't cut it anymore.  Eventually the older players do catch on, but ... I won't say more in case you ever do read it.

      by llamaRCA on Tue Mar 18, 2008 at 01:53:19 PM PDT

•  Tip Jar, since this version seems to be permanent

  I apologize for the multiple diaries, I don't know what was up with the system, but it was causing me a lot of trouble.

  by Capt America on Tue Mar 18, 2008 at 01:46:05 PM PDT