48 Hours Later: Chuck Gannon on Obama and "Change"

On our big-sibling academic site, Libertas, Professor Chuck Gannon has written an outstanding article on Obama, America, and "change":

He will make mistakes; he will stumble; he will misspeak (and, far more frequently, be quoted out of context). But he has given us all hope again, and we can go on to finish the work that he will have only set in motion, whether he is to enjoy one term or two in the White House. He is not the most intelligent man, or the most moral man, or the wisest man: but he *is* the man who, being the right person at the right time, has midwifed a new hope into the world–-and for that alone, he is worth all the risks, all the uncertainties, and all the challenges that might lie before us. Lest adherents of real politick think this is anti-logocentric nonsense, I assure you otherwise: I simply observe that the quantifiable rules of economics and politics do hold sway 95 % of the time–but the other 5% see them swept aside and trumped by that most powerful of all forces: human hope and will.

When the Honeymoon is Over (Part 2)

Over a cup of tea, I finally hear Obama's victory speech. Is it my sleep-deprived imagination or does it sound an awful lot like John F. Kennedy's 1961 Inaugural? And is it out of order to remember that Kennedy's sweeping proclamation ("Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.") was not a message of international concilation, but a sharp warning to enemies and a commitment that America would lead its allies?

Live Blog: When the Honeymoon is Over (Part 1)

My soundbite from the British-American Business Council this morning: "Amidst talk of a President Obama as a symbol of American unity, I think it's important to remember that a significant minority of Americans are not only sceptical of but hostile to him. A lot of this arises from the polarisation of American politics in outlets like talk radio, certain television stations, and 'pundits'. I expect the sniping to begin within days."

Hours actually. I've just returned from media work and the Business Council to flip on CNN, where they ponder, "Barack Obama talks of a bridge across the aisle. But, as conservatives ponder their defeat, is such a bridge possible?"

Their Exhibit A? A talk show host, Doc Thompson, of WRVA in Richmond, Virginia. "It's not time to talk of a bridge. We have to talk ourselves down from the ledge....Barack Obama is awful, awful for conservatives, John McCain a little less so."

Meanwhile Fox News puts on an African-American pundit to establish that Obama will raises taxes and asks, "How far left will Barack Obama go?"

Footnote: That fella who hosts Fox and Friends adds, "I think we are going to see the rehabilitation of George Bush." Nice dynamic this: talk Dubya up while taking his successor down.

Worst Election 2008 "Story", Part 2: Obama Would Fail Security Clearance

Daniel Pipes is an author who has made a career out of seeing Communists, Marxists, anti-Semites, and Islamists sympathisers in our schools, government offices, and the media (not to mention under our beds). Here then his unveiling of the security threat posed by the likely 44th President of the United States:

"With Colin Powell now repeating the lie that Barack Obama has "always been a Christian," despite new information further confirming Obama's Muslim childhood (such as the Indonesian school registration listing him as Muslim), one watches with dismay as the Democratic candidate manages to hide the truth on this issue. Instead, then, let us review a related subject – Obama's connections and even indebtedness, throughout his career, to extremist Islam."

Fun Fact: Daniel Pipes was a board member of the US Institute of Peace from 2003 to 2005.

Worst Election 2008 Story: Obama Loses, Blacks Riot

I first noticed the story 10 days ago in the Daily Telegraph of London: "Police Fear Riots If Obama Loses US Election".

Needless to say, I hit an inner panic button --- who was I to say that the uprising might not spread to threaten a white guy in Birmingham, England? So I read on:

In Oakland, near San Francisco, police will have tactical squads, SWAT teams and officers trained in riot control on standby.

"We always try to prepare for the worst," said Oakland police department spokesman Jeff Thomason.

"This election is going to mark in history a change in the presidency: you're going to have a woman in the presidency or an African American as president. I think everybody around here is voting for Obama, so if he gets in the White House everybody's going to be happy.

"But we'll have our SWAT teams on standby and traffic teams here, so if something goes off we'll organise and take care of the problem."

That's it? A police department prepares for crowds on Election Night which --- newsflash --- it does whether or not the winning/losing candidate is black, a woman, an old white fella, or a Martian, and this turns into a tide of fear across the United States? But, wait, here comes the clinching evidence:

There have also been internet rumours about plans for protests or civil disobedience by supporters of Democratic candidate Barack Obama if he is beaten by Republican rival John McCain on November 4.

Ahh, Internet rumours. Well, that clinches the story --- no doubt the Telegraph can update by citing the reports of reliable sources such as Enduring America.

Then again, it was not just an isolated example of journalism in a "quality" British newspaper, right? Well, two days later, my wife returned from a trip to northwest England to report that her mother was panicking over this in the Daily Mail:

Barack Obama is already planning a £1.5million election victory party - while police prepare for the possibility of riots across America if the White House vote goes against him.

The same Oakland spokesman re-appeared, joined this time by the authority Bob Parks, "an internet columnist and black Republican candidate for state representative in Massachusetts": "If Obama is elected, like with sports championships, people may go out and riot. ‘If Barack Obama loses there will be another large group of people who will assume the election was stolen from him. This will be an opportunity for people who want to commit mischief."

Ahh, those mischievous "people", who of course are never identified by skin colour. They reappeared in the Irish Independent, which at least had the courtesy to add a balancing quote from a Detroit policeman, "that problems could flare whichever candidate won".

I take Canuckistan's point that the election of Obama could be a momentous symbol, one which societies outside the United States might wish to consider. I would be even more heartened if the newspapers in those countries, even as they are hailing a candidate of African-American descent, weren't making unsubtle allusions to the dangerous Darkies on the streets.