Scalzi on Obama and the Democratic Party

[unixronin]

John Scalzi points out a few truths about yesterday's election:

1. It was Obama who won, not necessarily the Democrats.

2. The United States did not become a deep blue paradise overnight.

3. Obama will not give you everything you want, when you want it.

4. Your next president is going to disappoint you.

5. Last night’s election didn’t change the country; it offered a chance for the country to change.

Comments

[dafydd.livejournal.com]

Had any other candidate won, only the wording would be different. The sentiments would still be true. *shrug*

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

That's sort of the point.

[drdemure.livejournal.com]

Totally granted. But you'll have to forgive me if I'm still happy. At least now we have a chance.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Well, I hope he lives up to his promises.

[theonetruejim.livejournal.com]

I don't think it was Obama who won so much as it was McCain who lost.

And I for one hope Obama doesn't deliver on some of his promises - socialism (excuse me - "sharing the wealth") comes to mind.

Others of his promises, though - making the US an inclusive society, standing up for liberty rather than special interests, and giving us all the common purpose to rediscover how great this nation and the people who form it truly are - those, I'd like to see him pull off.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I don't think it was Obama who won so much as it was McCain who lost.

A valid point of view. McCain's campaign seemed to me to be marked by a lack of message; though he had help (in losing) from the media, in whose eyes it seemed he and Sarah Palin could do no right while Barack Obama and Joe Biden could do no wrong. They went after Sarah Palin with a ferocity I've never seen leveled at a Presidential or Vice-Presidential candidate before. How DARE the Republicans use a play from the Democratic playbook?!? The Republicans are only allowed to run old white men! It's in the RULES!

Others of his promises, though - making the US an inclusive society, standing up for liberty rather than special interests, and giving us all the common purpose to rediscover how great this nation and the people who form it truly are - those, I'd like to see him pull off.

I can get behind that.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

>I don't think it was Obama who won so much as it was McCain who lost.

To rework a phrase from a past election, the Democrats could have won with a mangy blind dog hobbling on three legs.

That's how much damage the Bush administration had wrought. Obama's built-in handicaps (black, inexperienced, bad associations) made the race closer than it could have been.

[fruitylips.livejournal.com]

Anyone who thinks that being black was a handicap for Obama prolly thinks 'socialist' is a code word for it, too.

What Obama wasn't, however, was The Black Candidate. He was a candidate who was black. If he'd been white with that experience level and those associations, he'd never have gotten out of the IL legislature in the first place.

We'll see where this goes. I always thought he should've severed out his term and then gone and run for Gov of IL, but that clearly wasn't needed.

[cipherpunk.livejournal.com]

I have been listening to Warren Zevon’s “Disorder in the House” (off his excellent album The Wind) lately. It seems to describe my sentiments quite precisely.

Say the word and I'll arrange for an mp3 to fall off a turnip truck somewhere.

I just got my paycheck —
I’m gonna paint the whole town gray
Whether with a night in Paris
Or a Fresno matinee
It’s the Home of the Brave
And the Land of the Free
Where the less you know
The better off you’ll be.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Would "I don't have a copy of that CD yet" satisfy the "word" parameter? :)

[wyrdling.livejournal.com]

i try not to be disappointed by politicians, by not getting my hopes up too far.
that's one reason this one's kind of scary. he has a preternatural sort of charisma...

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was - and remain - rather concerned by the Obama cult-of-personality.