A change is coming.
In all likelihood, every Democrat’s dream is soon to be realized. It appears that Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States. Democrats are in position to exponentially increase their majority in both houses of Congress. In the next four years, it is likely that two new Supreme Court Justices will be appointed. Seemingly, all three branches of the federal government will soon be in the hands of liberals.
After eight years of failed executive leadership, six with a conservative congressional majority, the Republican brand is dead. What was once the party of small government and low taxes is now the party of endless scandal, an unpopular war and an economic crisis. The deck is stacked for a national political shift to the left, a societal shift unseen since Ronald Reagan’s conservative revolution.
At few times in recent history has the American situation been more dire. The federal debt as of Oct. 29, 2008 is $10,530,790,164,004. The sub-prime mortgage crisis has evolved into what could be the second Great Depression. The Iraq war, although considerably more stable, is in a delicate stage; in the coming years, American leadership will be responsible for the eventual draw-down of forces as well as the establishment of a sustained relationship with the Iraqi government.
The war in Afghanistan becomes increasingly violent, yet it is underfunded and undermanned. Millions of Americans still don’t believe in global warming, and the time for major environmental action on an international scale is at hand. The American health care and education systems are inefficient and out of date. World opinion of America is at its lowest and the country’s standing as premiere world superpower is tremulous.
For many, the choice for who should have the responsibility of resolving these issues is clear. Barack Obama, in word, spirit and appearance, represents the hopes of those who yearn for a better America. He has captured the hearts of his supporters, convinced them that he embodies “change we can believe in.” Many follow blindly, citing his life story and oratory skills as evidence enough of his leadership. With what will seemingly be a majority in both Congress and the Senate, Obama will have a clear path to reshape America and the world.
As a liberal, it is tempting to begin fantasizing about the prospect of an Obama presidency. Admittedly, as the McCain-Palin Campaign has degenerated into a shameless series of attacks, it has become a habit to ignore all questions of Obama’s credentials for the Oval Office, even those that are legitimate. As it becomes more apparent that Obama will likely win this election, though, my skepticism has returned.
What if?
What if Obama spends irresponsibly and fails to guide the American economy through its time of crisis? What if Obama pulls troops out of Iraq too quickly and the entire region collapses? What if Obama’s education or health care plans are blocked by Republicans? What if they fail of their own accord?
What if Obama’s idealism isolates those who love America the way it is today? What if he truly lacks the experience and thus, judgment to lead the United States? What if he widens the already chasmic divides of today’s America? What if his presidency fails to make things better? What if things get worse?
America needs progress. And although Democrats appear to be the solution to a Republican period of decline, the consequences of Democratic stagnation are great. If Obama and his Congress fail to achieve, America’s rate of decline will hasten, the conservative backlash will be swift, black politics will suffer a tremendous setback and an entire generation of youthful voters will lose their belief in the political process.
America is slowly breaking. Republicans have had their shot to fix it. They served only to create larger problems. Now is the time of the Democrat. Barack Obama, Congress and the Supreme Court will use liberal ideology to attempt to repair the systematic, and the Republican-caused, cracks in the America of today. But suppose they fail? Suppose America is beyond repair from either the right or left?
What then?