A New Era in American Politics: President Obama

I wanted to wait some time after the election before writing my final post. The culmination of this historic election was emotionally charged for everyone involved, myself included. I believe it is best to assess an event bearing the magnitude of last November 4th after everything sinks in.

Up until election day we were religiously following polls, listening to the predictions of pundits and making predictions of our own. Everyone seemed to think they knew what would happen; and in a way many were right. Senator Obama won the electoral college quite handily: 365 to 173. His victory, along with all the Democratic Senate and Congressional race victories, exemplifies the clear advantage the Democratic Party had in the 2008 election season.

On the other hand, what should spark some interest is Obama's failure to win closer to the 15 point advantage that the Democratic Party enjoyed over the Republican Party. He won the popular vote by closer to 7 points, which leaves room for the issues of inexperience and race as factors in Obama's less than completely resounding victory.

But not to sell his clear victory short, Obama proved that the Electoral Map is evolving and Democrats now have more than one way to win (through Ohio and Florida). Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004 were forced into relying on Florida and Ohio to carry them to victory along with the northeast and the west coasts. Neither previous Democratic nominee had plans for winning Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico. Obama in 2008 was not only able to make a move in the mountain west, but to steal away the solidly red states of Virginia and North Carolina from the GOP.

If I were to make a big assumption and say that Obama has the quietly effective Presidency he needs to have and wins reelection with roughly the same states backing him, we could see a considerable advantage for the Democratic Party with respect to the electoral college in future elections. Many red states are now purple; we will see if they stay that way.

It will also be interesting to see if the Democrats use their new President and near filibuster-proof power in Congress to take commanding control of the Political arena, or if they squander the power they now enjoy much like the current Bush administration did with 9/11 and ensuing events.

Stay tuned to Obama and his new administration. Remain a participant in American politics after the election by emailing and calling your Congressional Representatives, Senators and President. Don't think that your civic duty is over now that the election has ended; it has only just begun.

The Bush Administration: So Bad that it's Good?

George Bush continues to enjoy some of the worst approval ratings a President could ever experience. His administration's ability to squander the trust and approval of the public with warrant-less wiretapping, torture of prisoners, suspension of Habeas corpus, no-big contracts, unapproved wars and more is astounding. So astounding in fact, that it has spurred record numbers of citizens to register and exercise their civic duty to stop another Bush-like administration from ever coming to power. The Republicans did it in the primary when they voted for the candidate furthest from the good graces of the administration. Democrats are doing it like never before.

Democrats were upset with the 2000 election and believe they were cheated out of the Presidency. Because of the Iraq war and Bush's relatively low approval ratings in 2004, they assumed victory was inevitable and they did not turn out enough voters to beat Bush again. The Bush administration then proceeded to exacerbate their poor approval ratings with more big mistakes in the eyes of the public and may have finally awoken the disorganized, sleeping giant that is the Democratic Party.

Record numbers of voters have registered, are voting in advance, and most likely will vote on November 4th because they have seen what happens when they do nothing. 90% of Americans believe that our country is on the wrong track, signifying that many Republicans disapprove of their own party's direction. This is why John McCain, a more traditional republican candidate was nominated by the Republican party and why many republicans have switched over to the Democratic side.

Nearly all the experts (including those making odds in the gambling industry), feel that Barack Obama is the heavy favorite in this contest. We will find out tomorrow if their bets were well placed and the voters come out in the unprecedented droves many believe they will.