Columnist Jamala Rogers
Yes, it really happened. Change did come to America on November 4 with all the world watching. Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States.
His was a modest declaration to seek this country’s highest political office almost two years ago. In a crowded field of Democratic heavyweights, Obama’s candidacy was initially not taken seriously. He went on to build a ground organization that will become the gold standard in American politics. Obama will make presidential history in ways that are yet to be seen or fully understood.
Barack Obama said he was going to change the political map of the country, and many eyes rolled back. In Missouri, where the voting electoral has successfully picked the president since 1904 (except for 1956), the state may lose its coveted position as a bellwether. It wasn’t just the efforts of the urban centers like Jackson and St. Louis City and County counties that changed the political landscape, it was counties such as St. Genevieve, Buchanan and Iron counties, which voted for change and where the non-white population is miniscule.
Obama had the audacity to talk about hope, a human emotion that must be nurtured if we want to inspire a vision of tomorrow’s promise. The other candidates, both Dems and Republicans, discounted this important factor in their respective campaigns until they saw how it resonated with the people.
The momentous campaign also uncovered and aggravated old sores of racism, religious intolerance, class differences and a host of other bigotries. In Obama’s infamous speech, “A More Perfect Union,” given earlier this year, he challenged the nation to continue the discussion about race in a more open and honest way. There is much healing to do in the post-election months ahead.
The presidential campaigns underscored the need for campaign finance and election reform. The campaigns set new records for raising and spending monies; the cost for the race to the White House is estimated at $1.5 billion.
The unrelenting effort to suppress votes, particularly in battleground states, must be addressed decisively. It has occurred openly for three election cycles now and cannot be ignored. I believe Obama was robbed of his potential number of popular votes by the millions, but the mandate for change pushed through regardless.
I am not politically naïve. I know the limitations of the U.S. presidency. I know that President Obama will face challenges his predecessors could never understand. Obama’s challenges include a tail-spinning economy, two misguided wars, a tarnished world image of the U.S., undermining of his platform by the political parties and Wall Street. I know all of those who supported his candidacy have a steep hill to climb if we are to transform this country.
Still, the Obama candidacy and victory inspired me deeply, and I want to work towards making his next eight years part of the human rights struggle and legacy that brought Barack Obama to the fore.