Progressive Democrats Sonoma County

Posted on 18 November 2008, by Anna

Marin can help bring change

Norman Solomon
Marin IJ
November 18, 2004

ENTHUSIASM for President-elect Barack Obama is sky high in Marin County. Three out of four voters cast ballots for him, and smiles have been unusually profuse since Election Day.

But his administration will need more than automatic support if it’s going to reach key goals of progressive agendas.

To fulfill its potential to change the country’s direction, the Obama presidency will require strong pressure from the grassroots to counter the usual leverage from entrenched interests. The corporate forces that enabled the disastrous reign of George W. Bush – including boosters of military intervention abroad and “trickle-down” economics at home – are as resolute as ever.

Since the election, many pundits and politicians have advised the president-elect to govern from the center – a term that often serves as a euphemism for the status quo.

We voted for change, but it won’t be easy.

In 1933, when Franklin D. Roosevelt moved into the White House, left-leaning activists urged him to take bold steps in progressive directions. He replied: “Make me do it.”

FDR wasn’t being flip or recalcitrant. He knew that social movements must gather strength from below in order to outmuscle those he called “economic royalists.” The president is unlikely to go out on a limb unless there’s a political cushion on the ground.

Many who live in Marin are inclined to help provide such a political cushion – so the Obama administration can launch major new programs for economic fairness, health care, education and the environment. This county is teeming with highly knowledgeable activists, researchers and policy specialists eager for our country to move swiftly toward a green economy based on social equity.
The Obama era could bring great accomplishments, reminiscent of the New Deal. We need federal projects to create well-paid green jobs for the long haul. We need strong safety-net guarantees, particularly for children and the elderly. And we need a tight regulatory apparatus – in sharp contrast to the “free market” free-for-all that has led us to the current economic disaster.

Posted on 18 November 2008, by Anna

Election Protection In Ohio (And America) Isn't Over

By Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
Progress Ohio

As the sun sets on Bush 2, it is clear that a very thin line of electoral protection preserved Barack Obama’s victory in Ohio—-and the nation.

And it’s no accident the vote count battle for a Columbus-area Congressional seat still rages.

The GOP’s 2008 electoral strategy again emphasized massive voter disenfranchisement and rigging the electronic vote count. The twin tactics very nearly gave Ohio to McCain/Palin, and threatened to set precedents capable of winning them the national election.

Prior to the 2004 vote, Republican Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell stripped some 308,000 Ohio citizens from the registration rolls in heavily Democratic districts. This mass disenfranchisement alone may have accounted for the 118,000-plus official margin that gave George W. Bush a second term in the White House.

After the 2004 vote, Blackwell disenfranchised another 170,000 voters in heavily Democratic Franklin County (Columbus).

But in 2006, Democrat Jennifer Brunner was elected to replace Blackwell. Ironically, the King-Lincoln-Bronzeville federal civil rights lawsuit filed against Blackwell over 2004 election irregularities has carried over, making Brunner the defendant (we are plaintiff and defendant in that suit). As a result, negotiations between Brunner and election protection attorneys have been on-going since she took office.

In the lead-up to the 2008 elections, the GOP tried yet another massive voter purge. Through the “caging” technique of sending unsolicited “do not forward” junk mail, GOP operatives obtained by returned mail the names of some 600,000 registered Ohio voters. Some were serving in Iraq. Also, the GOP once again fought to purge voters for “inactivity” as they sought to eliminate voters who hadn’t voted in four-years as opposed to eight, even if they voted in state and local eletions..

Posted on 15 November 2008, by Anna

Update on Call to Action for Public Observation of Vote Count - RSVP!

Thank you to all of the Sonoma County PDA’ers who have already contacted us to volunteer to assist in the Observation of the Vote Count being undertaken by the Sonoma Co. Democratic Party. The Official Canvass of the Vote is part of the Nov. 4 Election Process and will conclude with the Certification of the Vote by the ROV, no later than Dec. 2nd. In the spirit and practice of participatory democracy, the County Democratic Party has observers on hand for every stage of the process. Alice Chan is coordinating this observation effort. Here is a note from Alice to those who have volunteered to date.

Please read — Alice has some specific requests and needs volunteers for specific shifts. If you can help, please contact Alice, as noted below.

_____________________________

Hello, Election Integrity volunteers. I need a rapid-response team of people who will be able to say “yes I can help” with possibly only 2 or 3 hours’ notice during this week of Nov 17-20. If you are able to help in this way, please read the message below and then let me know as soon as possible, by return email, your day(s) of availability, and a quick contact for you (cell phone or land line that you will be near.) Some of you have already been scheduled for Monday – please forgive this extra message. If you are actually able to sign up for a shift Monday or Tuesday, please let me know that, too.

Thank you all so much for your efforts so far; thank you for your patience with the process of scheduling the observations; and most of all, thank you for your commitment to election integrity in Sonoma County!

We are now in the final crucial week of the vote-counting in Sonoma County, and I need to schedule “observers” on a day-to-day basis over the next four days. We’ll need three three-hour shifts per day, with up to 5 people scheduled for each shift. That means we need up to 15 people per day. No one should volunteer for more than one shift per day.

Posted on 15 November 2008, by Anna

New Series with Norman Solomon - West Marin Community Radio

Tune in to “Norman Solomon on Politics,” every Wednesday at 5 p.m. on KWMR Radio, 90.5 FM.

The West Marin Community Radio signal reaches all of West Marin and a large part of Sonoma County. Listen online HERE

Posted on 15 November 2008, by Anna

JOIN THE PROP 8 PROTEST THIS SATURDAY

And Come to a Support Group Afterwards

We’ll start at Courthouse Square at 10:00am and march to the steps of City Hall (B St. and Santa Rosa Avenue) at 10:30.

You may be feeling sorrow and anger at the passage of Prop 8. Many people have been calling and emailing asking what they can do at this point. Here is what there is to do.

The goal is to have one million protesters at City Halls throughout the country on Saturday, the 15th, at 10:30 a.m. Pacific time.

Here is an email announcement now circulating you may have seen:

National Protest this Saturday – to Protest the Passage of Prop 8

During the past week, tens of thousands of LGBTQQ people, and their supporters have taken to the streets of California to show their outrage with the passage of Proposition 8. Prop 8 provides for a Constitutional Amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage rights. Similar amendments and propositions have been passed in AZ and FL.

The passage of these propositions has angered and mobilized the LGBTQQ community. On Saturday, November 15th, 2008 this community will again take to the streets in what could be the largest organized Protest Movement since the Civil Rights Movement. To date, more than 250,000 individuals have pledged to take part in the nationwide event, in which they will descend upon City Halls, State Capitols and the Nation’s Capitol to make their voices heard throughout the nation.

The message is simple: Equal Rights for All. Protests are scheduled to take place across the nation at the same time: 1:30 pm Eastern, 12:30 pm Central, 11:30 am Mountain and 10:30 am Pacific on Saturday, November 15th, 2008.

Sonoma County’s LGBTQQ community, their Friends and Supporters will join in this protest.

They will gather at Court House Square on Saturday Nov. 15 at 10:00 am and at 10:30 am begin marching through Santa Rosa’s downtown. In addition to protesting the passage of Prop 8 they will also be thanking the citizens of Sonoma County for voting No on 8.

Posted on 14 November 2008, by Anna

Grassroots Leadership Conference in DC

_____________________

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Mark your calendars and reserve your flight!

Dear PDA,

Join us in Washington DC, January 17-18 for our next grassroots leadership conference—two days of PDA specific organizing. On Saturday, we’ll have two workshops followed by our Inauguration Celebration, featuring music and speakers.

On Sunday, we’ll plan our 2009 inside-outside strategy, with lots of time for questions and discussion.

Space is very limited, act now — room reservations expire December 19, 2008.

Click here for the details and to reserve your spot, and check the site frequently for more details.

See you in D.C.,

Tim Carpenter and Laura Bonham, for the PDA national team

Progressive Democrats of America is a grassroots PAC that works both inside the Democratic Party and outside in movements for peace and justice. Our goal: Elect a permanent, progressive majority in 2008.

PDA’s advisory board includes seven members of Congress and activist leaders such as Tom Hayden, Medea Benjamin, Thom Hartmann and Rev. Lennox Yearwood.

Posted on 14 November 2008, by Anna

Progressive Caucus Meeting Reminder

PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS MEMBERS,

Don’t forget our meeting this weekend in Anaheim. It is a time to celebrate, and a time to look forward toward a progressive future!

Please plan to join us Saturday morning at 8 AM. Below is the tentative agenda, and of course, it will be lively as usual!

NEXT CAUCUS MEETING: November 15, 2008 AT THE CDP EBOARD MEETING

Sheraton Park Hotel
At The Anaheim Resort
1855 S. Harbor Boulevard
Anaheim, CA 92802

714-750-1811
1-866-837-4197

PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS AGENDA – Anaheim November 15, 2008 8:00 AM
1. Welcome
2. Officer Reports a. Mal Burnstein b. Mayme Hubert c. Brad Parker d. Ahjamu Makalani e. Dana Dean f. Dottie LeMieux
3. Rules resolution – Elections/Platform; AD appointments outside of the AD
4. Demography/Legislation lobbying project
5. Central Committees DSCC elections
6. Resolution of Commendation for Howard Dean
7. Announcement – AD races in January – Strategy
8. By Law change discussion and vote
9. Hilary Crosby v. Eric Bradley debate for CDP Controller (tentative)

Please review the proposed By-Law changes here .

Please go here to find a complete agenda for the upcoming convention.

And don’t forget to attend the forum regarding abolition of the Death Penalty on Friday night at 8:15, moderated by Howard Welenski.

Posted on 14 November 2008, by Anna

Film Screening with Norman Solomon

WAR MADE EASY
How Presidents & Pundits Keep
Spinning us to Death

Featuring ~ Norman Solomon
Narrated by Sean Penn

Wednesday, November 26 ~ 7 pm
French Garden Restaurant
8050 Bodega Ave.
Sebastopol, CA

Norman Solomon will be at the event
for a discussion after the film.

No Admission Charge

Posted on 14 November 2008, by Anna

Freedom's Song

PDSonoma GuestBlog
Gale Mead

Hey, everyone….

I’ve just posted a video I put together of emotional images from
election night and other moments during the Presidential campaign, combined with images that remind us that we still have work to do, to create a more just world. My song “Freedom’s Song” provides the soundtrack. Please check it out, and share the link with your friends….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmDFa50YXCM

Thanks always for your support!

Gale
http://www.galemead.com

Posted on 14 November 2008, by Anna

Was Prop 8 Actually Defeated? - Take Action

Exit Poll Shows DEFEAT of Same-Sex Marriage Ban!
Volunteers Needed NOW to Monitor Post-Election Procedures
See end of article for info re: volunteer training
via telephone conference call

___________________________

Well, well, well. First we find out, happily, that We the People may not be so fiercely racist after all, as Election ’08 has debunked the (feeble) theory of “the Bradley effect.”

And now it turns out that Americans—at least those in gay-friendly California— may not really be as hostile to gay marriage as the outcome of that state’s election has apparently suggested.

As we think about the possibility that Prop 8 was not really passed by California’s voters, let’s note something that the press, and others, won’t discuss: i.e., that the entire apparatus of computerized voting in this country—the e-voting machines
and op-scans and central tabulators, etc.—is largely owned by members of the Christianist far right.

Diebold and ES&S were both begun by Bob and Todd Urosevich, two ardent Oklahoma theocrats, while Triad, which makes the central vote tabulators used in Ohio in 2004, is owned by the Rapp family. SmartTech, the company that helped Bush/Cheney steal that state, is owned by evangelical Jeff Averbeck; and his associate Mike Connell, owner of GovTech Solutions, which also helped to steal Ohio, among other races, was motivated to such work by his desire “to save the babies,” according to Stephen Spoonamore.

Why are there so many Christianists among the owners of those companies? Because the rigging of elections is the only way that that fringe movement ever could impose its theocratic program on the rest of us. As Paul Weyrich used to say out loud, the Christianists despise democracy. After all, that system, if allowed
to stand, would put the sinful secular majority in charge—and that can’t be allowed.

Posted on 13 November 2008, by Anna

Influential Talk-Show Host Shifts Position: Cheney To The Hague

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/37642

Posted on 11 November 2008, by Anna

Volunteers Needed for Observation of the Vote Count

Dear Sonoma County PDA,

The Sonoma County Democratic Party is calling for volunteers to observe the mandatory 1% manual tally currently being conducted as part of the Official Canvass of the November 4 Election, at the Sonoma Co. Registrar of Voters Office in Santa Rosa.

If you are able to help out with a shift or two, please Contact Us. We will put you in touch with the volunteer scheduler for this effort. Any time that you are able to contribute, even one 2-3 hour shift will be helpful.

Alice Chan will be coordinating this monitoring effort for the County Democratic Party. Once you have been scheduled for a shift, you will receive any instructions needed from Alice.

This effort will continue until all the votes are counted and the election is certified, which must happen within 28 days of the Nov. 4 election.

We heartily WELCOME this action of the local Democratic Party for election protection and public observation of the vote counting process.

If you are able to participate in this Election Protection action, Click Here to Contact Us and we will put you in touch with the volunteer scheduler right away.

Toward transparent and verifiable elections,
~ Anna
for the Sonoma County Election Defense Committee

Posted on 9 November 2008, by Anna

Rose Aguilar, Guest Speaker - Join us November 12, 6:30 pm!

Sonoma County PDA,

We hope you can join us for this month’s meeting with special guest speaker, Rose Aguilar ….

Progressive Democrats Sonoma County
Monthly General Meeting
Wednesday, November 12
6:30 pm
French Garden Restaurant
8050 Bodega Ave.
Sebastopol, CA
95472

Agenda to include national PDA Update including current action items, and local election recap, your input requested. PDA issue oriented announcements welcomed. The Program for the evening will be devoted to our Guest Speaker, Rose Aguilar. Guests and new members as always, Welcome!

_________________________________________

RED HIGHWAYS: A LIBERAL’S JOURNEY INTO THE HEARTLAND
BY
SAN FRANCISCO RADIO HOST ROSE AGUILAR

A San Francisco radio host grown tired of media stereotypes, Rose Aguilar held an auction to raise money, bought a van, and set out on a six-month road trip through the red-state South and West to find out what voters really care about. Equal parts travelogue, political reportage, and personal discovery, Red Highways challenges conventional wisdom, gives a voice to people we rarely hear from, and calls for a more thoughtful and productive dialogue between Red and Blue America.

“Red Highways is riveting — I could not put it down. Alive with the voices of real people, it is both heartening and heart wrenching, both enraging and inspiring, full of insights and information. If you want to understand our country, and care about its future, read this book!”
-Riane Eisler, author of The Real Wealth of Nations and The Chalice and The Blade

Posted on 9 November 2008, by Anna

Report on post-election PDA Conference Call

http://pdamerica.org/articles/news/2008-11-08-15-12-39-news.php

Posted on 7 November 2008, by Anna

Action Item - Speak Up for a Progressive Cabinet

If you are concerned with how the Obama Administration is shaping up and don’t want to see a Cabinet filled with recycled Clinton people, speak up!

Action Item:

Go to the new Obama ‘transition’ website and post ideas, suggestions, recommendations for progressive Cabinet appointments.
Encourage others to do the same.
Here is the new website: http://www.change.gov/

Scroll down to the bottom, find ‘American Moment’ and click on ‘Share Your Vison’ and post your suggestions.

The Backbone Campaign, http://backbonecampaign.org/

has some great resources to spur your ideas, under its Progressive Cabinet project, http://backbonecampaign.org/page.cfm?id=123

Or just send in your own favorites and why.

Posted on 6 November 2008, by Anna

A Mandate for Spreading the Wealth

By Norman Solomon
November 6, 2008

Two days before he lost the election, John McCain summarized what had become the central message of his campaign: “Redistribute the wealth, spread the wealth around—we can’t do that.”

Oh yes we can.

The 2008 presidential election became something of a referendum on “spreading the wealth.”

“My attitude is that if the economy’s good for folks from the bottom up, it’s gonna be good for everybody,” Barack Obama said on Oct. 12, in a conversation with an Ohio resident named Joe. The candidate quickly added: “I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”

McCain eagerly attacked the concept, most dramatically three days later during the last debate. While instantly creating the “Joe the Plumber” everyman myth, McCain sharpened the distinctions between the two tickets while the nation watched and listened. He charged: “The whole premise behind Senator Obama’s plans are class warfare—let’s spread the wealth around.”

Obama has routinely reframed the issue in terms of fairness. “Exxon Mobil, which made $12 billion, record profits, over the last several quarters,” he replied during the final debate, “they can afford to pay a little more so that ordinary families who are hurting out there—they’re trying to figure out how they’re going to afford food, how they’re going to save for their kids’ college education, they need a break.”

This fall, the candidates and their surrogates endlessly repeated such arguments. As much as anything else, the presidential campaign turned into a dispute over the wisdom of “spreading the wealth.” Most voters were comfortable enough with the concept to send its leading advocate to the Oval Office.

In the process, the top of the GOP ticket recycled attacks on the principles of the New Deal. Like Franklin Roosevelt when he first ran for president in 1932, Barack Obama put forward economic prescriptions that were hardly radical. Yet, in the next few years, Obama’s administration could accomplish great things—reminiscent of the New Deal, with its safety-net guarantees and its (redistributive) progressive income tax and its support for labor rights and its mammoth commitment to public works programs that created jobs. Today, we need green jobs that cure our economy and heal our environment.

Posted on 6 November 2008, by Anna

PD Wonders What the Grassroots Thinks About Obama Win

County Liberals’ Day in the Sun
The Press Democrat
Nov. 6, 2008

http://tinyurl.com/5q4cz2

Posted on 6 November 2008, by Anna

Party Like It's 1932

Presidential politics and the North Bay mandate

By Norman Solomon
North Bay Bohemian
November 5, 2008

The 2008 presidential campaign turned into quite an ordeal. Even the most tangential observer was apt to get sucked into a vortex of media spin. But despite all the superficial aspects of the nonstop spectacle, the election became genuinely emotional for many people. It represented a huge fork in the national road.

As much as anything else, the election became a referendum on “spreading the wealth.” In the last weeks, John McCain and Sarah Palin kept denouncing the idea that government should reduce the huge economic gaps between the rich and everyone else. The duo’s logic would eliminate any vestige of a graduated income tax.

From the top of the GOP ticket, the battle cry was a recycled attack on the principles of the New Deal. McCain’s oratory peaked as regressive defiance. Two days before the election, he had the message down: “Redistribute the wealth, spread the wealth around—we can’t do that, my friends!”

By the time fall arrived, the contrasts between McCain and Obama were in sharp focus, and the stormy conflicts between Obama and Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primaries last winter and spring were apt to seem minor or at least fleeting in retrospect. Close to home, on policy issues, disagreement had been hard to find. As a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, elected at a caucus of Obama supporters in Santa Rosa in mid-spring, I found scant political differences among the Obama and Clinton delegates from the Sixth Congressional District.

Initially, I’d been a bit wary of the Obama campaign’s sloganeering about “hope,” but I felt some real resonance for optimism at the convention in late summer. Delegates often seemed to embody a progressive direction for Democrats overall. And when sometimes I would wince at the center-hugging, corporate-oriented rhetoric coming from the podium, I’d tell myself, “Party like it’s 1932.”

Posted on 6 November 2008, by Anna

The Hope of Obama

“However, the Democratic Party rank and file is far more engaged and — according to recent polls — significantly more liberal politically than it was 16 years ago. Indeed, the Progressive Democrats of America is now at least as influential within the party as the Democratic Leadership Council.”

The Hope of Obama
by Stephen Zunes
Alternet
November 6, 2008

Barack Obama’s resounding victory has brought even this cynical observer of Democratic Party politics to dare to hope, believing that — as a child of the Eisenhower era — I will soon be witnessing the most progressive presidential administration of my lifetime.

This hope, which I fully realize may prove to be naive, rests upon Obama’s personal history as a community organizer, his base of support in the party’s left wing, and the remarkable shift in internal Democratic Party politics in recent years. ..........

READ THE REST HERE

Posted on 5 November 2008, by Anna

PDA Conference Call - Thursday, November 6 - 6:00 PM PACIFIC

Reminder in last e-mail from PDA, this post election note to PDA’ers from Tim Carpenter:

Please join us this Thursday for a conference call to debrief on the election results and discuss our next steps:

Time: 9:00 p.m. EST
Phone : 712-432-1680
Access code: 693278#

Thank you for the effort you put forth—give yourself a big pat on the back!

In relief and solidarity,

Tim Carpenter

P.S. The agenda will include more details on our upcoming conference at UDC in Washington D.C. Make plans to join us Saturday, January 17-18, 2009 for PDA specific sessions, and if you can stay longer, a lobby day on January 19, and inauguration festivities on January 20, 2009. We have reserved a limited number of rooms and will have some low-cost housing options as well.

Posted on 5 November 2008, by Anna

The Transformational Moment

From the PDA website
November 5, 2008

PDA is overjoyed to offer its congratulations to Barack Obama upon his sweeping electoral victory. We look forward to a new administration, a strengthened Democratic majority—and a country renewed by the work we’ll do together for both the Democratic platform and progressive ideals. We’ll be happy to breathe again, too.

Now we have work to do, to assure the Obama administration listens to his “better angels” and adheres to his progressive record — and PDA will need your help in this effort.

“Our long national nightmare is over”—so declared Gerald Ford upon taking over the presidency after Richard Nixon’s resignation (Nixon choosing that disgrace over imminent impeachment—there’s a lesson there.)

Would that our current crisis be awakened from as easily.

But we ring in change and dare to hope.

At least we know, for the first time in eight years, the person on whom so much planetary security depends has a solid intellect. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell called Obama, “a transformational figure.” We may need no less than that to address the challenges ahead. If tremendous damage has been done to America’s reputation, tremendous healing may come from having as president a man who extolled the need to engage even with one’s enemies, whose extraordinary, world-wide upbringing embodies the maxim “think globally, act locally,” and will present a new face to a planet that has become wary of the nation which not long ago was its ideal.

PDA can have a huge role in what is to come. At this year’s annual PDA conference, we were particularly struck to hear John Nichols, Washington correspondent for The Nation, describe Franklin Roosevelt’s less-than-progressive roots, and the degree to which FDR was swayed by the great Fiorello La Guardia and other progressives. This should give us plenty of hope about what is possible in moving an entire administration. To play our part, we need your financial support.

Posted on 5 November 2008, by Anna

The Day

Thanks to Chris Borland for sending …

“I hope you enjoy this condensed version of an article I just read about the amazing thing that happened in America on The Day, 11/4/2008”

(for the complete article, click here)
_________________

VIENNA, Austria – She was a stranger, and she kissed me. Just for being an American.

It happened on the bus on my way to work Wednesday morning, a few hours after compatriots clamoring for change swept Barack Obama to his historic victory. I was on the phone, and the 20-something Austrian woman seated in front of me overheard me speaking English.

Without a word, she turned, pecked me on the cheek and stepped off at the next stop.

Nothing was said, but the message was clear: Today, we are all Americans.

For longtime U.S. expatriates like me — someone far more accustomed to being targeted over unpopular policies, for having my very Americanness publicly assailed — it feels like an extraordinary turnabout.

Like a long journey over a very bumpy road has abruptly come to an end.

And it’s not just me.

An American colleague in Egypt says several people came up to her on the streets of Cairo and said: “America, hooray!” Others, including strangers, expressed congratulations with a smile and a hand over their hearts.

Another colleague, in Amman, says Jordanians stopped her on the street and that several women described how they wept with joy.

When you’re an American abroad, you can quickly become a whipping post. Regardless of your political affiliation, if you happen to be living and working overseas at a time when the United States has antagonized much of the world, you get a lot of grief.

You can find yourself pressed to be some kind of apologist for Washington. And you can wind up feeling ashamed and alone.

Posted on 5 November 2008, by Anna

Pinch Me ...a message from Michael Moore

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

Friends,

Who among us is not at a loss for words? Tears pour out. Tears of joy. Tears of relief. A stunning, whopping landslide of hope in a time of deep despair.

In a nation that was founded on genocide and then built on the backs of slaves, it was an unexpected moment, shocking in its simplicity: Barack Obama, a good man, a black man, said he would bring change to Washington, and the majority of the country liked that idea. The racists were present throughout the campaign and in the voting booth. But they are no longer the majority, and we will see their flame of hate fizzle out in our lifetime.

There was another important “first” last night. Never before in our history has an avowed anti-war candidate been elected president during a time of war. I hope President-elect Obama remembers that as he considers expanding the war in Afghanistan. The faith we now have will be lost if he forgets the main issue on which he beat his fellow Dems in the primaries and then a great war hero in the general election: The people of America are tired of war. Sick and tired. And their voice was loud and clear yesterday.

It’s been an inexcusable 44 years since a Democrat running for president has received even just 51% of the vote. That’s because most Americans haven’t really liked the Democrats. They see them as rarely having the guts to get the job done or stand up for the working people they say they support. Well, here’s their chance. It has been handed to them, via the voting public, in the form of a man who is not a party hack, not a set-for-life Beltway bureaucrat. Will he now become one of them, or will he force them to be more like him? We pray for the latter.

But today we celebrate this triumph of decency over personal attack, of peace over war, of intelligence over a belief that Adam and Eve rode around on dinosaurs just 6,000 years ago. What will it be like to have a smart president? Science, banished for eight years, will return. Imagine supporting our country’s greatest minds as they seek to cure illness, discover new forms of energy, and work to save the planet. I know, pinch me.

Posted on 4 November 2008, by Anna