It has been almost four and half years since I first heard Barack Obama speak at the Democratic National Convention. It was then, and still to this day remains, one of the most poignant speeches I have ever heard. In a time when an unpopular war and a bitter presidential election was going on, Obama was able to look past the rancor and bitterness to speak a fundamental truth about what the key to our future was-a fundamental recognition that politics as usual just wouldn't cut it for very much longer.
Indeed, the key point from that speech that sold me on Obama that day was not a message of pride in being a Democrat or even that the ideals of Democrats were the right way forward. It was about what unites us all:
Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us -- the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of "anything goes." Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a liberal America and a conservative America -- there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America -- there’s the United States of America.
The pundits, the pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too. We worship an "awesome God" in the Blue States, and we don’t like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and yes, we’ve got some gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.
In the end -- In the end -- In the end, that’s what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or do we participate in a politics of hope?
Perhaps it was and is naive to buy into a concept such as hope, but after four years of Bush created cynicism, it was a much needed reminder that not every politician saw the world in such stark "us and them" perspectives.
As he announced his campaign in 2007, he again reiterated his opposition to 'small politics':
"It's not the magnitude of our problems that concerns me the most. It's the smallness of our politics," Obama said. "America's faced big problems before. But today, our leaders in Washington seem incapable of working together in a practical, common sense way. Politics has become so bitter and partisan, so gummed up by money and influence, that we can't tackle the big problems that demand solutions."
This theme continued to be one of the greatest drawing points to many Americans as this year's election continued on. You can say what you will about the times making the man, but Obama didn't change very much in tone, even when it would have been easy and understandable for him to do so. In fact, he became even more passionately comitted to ending divisive nature of politics. Four years after his keynote speech, his tone did not change very much:
The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America.
So I've got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.
America, our work will not be easy. The challenges we face require tough choices, and Democrats as well as Republicans will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past. For part of what has been lost these past eight years can't just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose - our sense of higher purpose. And that's what we have to restore.
We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America's promise - the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.
I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan Horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that's to be expected. Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.
You make a big election about small things.
And you know what - it's worked before. Because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When Washington doesn't work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it's best to stop hoping, and settle for what you already know.
And lest you think the message changed in victory, think again:
Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.
His words could not be any more clear-the time for stoking partisan and and petty grudges has ended. The time for unity and collaborative action has begun. And the key to all of this is the bigger picture and keeping our eyes on what truly matters-ending th war, a working healthcare system, a stong economy and restoring our nation to what it can and should be-a beacon of light for all nations.
That's why I and millions voted for Obama. Getting him elected was the first part; giving his ideals life is our next challenge.
Can we do it? Of course we can.