At Long Last...

The campaigns have been hounding us, journalists and pundits have been inquiring and speculating, and literally millions of voters have been waiting for word of just who Running On will endorse in the Presidential campaign. Due to an agreement with MoveOn.org to hold off the announcement until their membership vote had taken place so as not to influence the outcome, the decision has remained secret. But with MoveOn having made their announcement, RO can now make ours. And our endorsement goes to...

Senator Barack Obama!

Clearly, this endorsement will change the political landscape, and lift Senator Obama's candidacy to a whole new level. The ripple effects will be felt for weeks, months, and likely years to come...

OK, perhaps the RO staff are engaging in a bit of exagerration and hyperbole here. But the excitement surrounding the Obama campaign is palpable. I have not been at his back from the outset, and the reasons for my initial reticence are poor: Would the American electorate support a black man? Would his relative youth and "inexperience" be hurdles?

With respect to the former, I realized that I was falling into the typical Democrat trap of trying to figure out what people would or wouldn't do rather than trying to pursuade others to embrace new ideas and new directions. The more supporters Senator Obama recruits, the more legitimate a vote in his favor will become. I believe his Iowa caucus victory was more important than many realize in setting a precedent.

As for the second question, all I had to do was think about Donald Rumsfeld and that fact that he was probably the single most experienced Defense Secretary our nation has seen, and yet he had been a principle architect of the greatest foreign policy blunder in our history. Experience matters, to be sure, but it can be highly overrated, or at least it needs to be weighed against other key factors as well. Furthermore, experience needs to be evaluated relative to the stage in one's career. Few have had the depth and diversity of experience as Senator Obama at a similar age.

What appeals most to me is not his mind-blowingly moving speaking ability, although that certainly plays a role. Nor is it his call for a "new" politics that is less fractured and bipartisan. In fact, in my view the right has had the wheel of the ship for nearly eight years now and have done such as monumentally bad job on just about all issues that they should voluntarily step aside, sit quietly and let someone else begin working to fix their mistakes. That is, if they had a shred of decency. They had their shot, they blew it, and I'm angry enough that I don't really want to work with them. (Fortunately, Senator Obama is more composed and rational than me, and will be able to look past the train wreck and work with those that caused it.)

What really appeals to me is his call to arms for the citizenry to get active, get involved, and help shape the country we want, rather than sitting back idly waiting for others to make promises and do the job for us. I don't think I realized this when I took the job, but one of the greatest appeals of working for a non-profit is not only effecting change on the issues I care about, but also the act itself of taking an active stand to change the world, rather than simply complaining about what others do or don't do make those changes. Everyday the staff at my organization and countless others across the country working on a range of issues are taking our local, national and global destinies into our hands.

After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, President Bush's advice to Americans for how to strengthen our country and make the world a better place was to "go shopping". When asked what sacrifices Americans were making or needed to make, he responded that "I think they're waiting in airport lines longer than they've ever had before (sic)." At no stage did he call for greater public service or any changes in those ways we live that exacerbate our tense relationship with the Middle East (public transportation, anyone?). Senator John McCain has called Bush out on this (not here, but it's a good piece by McCain anyway), and I have no doubt we would have heard very different things from our leadership had Senator McCain been in the White House. It was a wasted opportunity to galvanize a new ethos of serive in our nation.

Yet, ironically, the end of the Bush presidency offers another opportunity to spark this revolution. The level of dissatisfaction and, frankly, outright disgust has people ready to take the bull by the horns and re-shape our country. And Barack Obama is the one candidate who, while telling us what he will do for us, is also asking for us to do something for ourselves. And that is inspiring.