Diatribune

Before writing this article, I took a look at fifty years of conventions prior to this one. The advent of television has given the American people a chance to know almost every imaginable facet of the person who would be their Commander in Chief. The nature of the nominating convention has changed drastically in fifty years time. The hard paternalism of the past, which disregarded the will of the people, believing that party insiders knew best, has been set aside.

Indeed, if that were still the case, Barack Obama would likely have never become the presumptive nominee of his party. Hillary Clinton would have become the de facto head of the ticket we all assumed would be the case as recently as a year ago. For all the talk of how the political process disregards popular sentiment, in the not-so-recent past one can see plain evidence to the contrary.

This doesn't mean, however, that subsequent reforms are unnecessary. Indeed, much of this election cycle which has been widely denoted as change-driven has been devoted to denouncing the status quo. Admittedly, the promises made by Obama have been rather light on substance. Team Obama would do well to firm up and delineate precisely what changes will be made. Change is not a comforting notion in the minds of many Americans and though in sour economic times such as these it is fashionable to clamor for it on one hand, the other side of the coin is the fear that these reforms, if adopted, will be either too sweeping or weakly ineffectual. This is the first item on my wish list of tactics the Obama campaign would be wise to adopt.

Due to the fact that the race has not broken conclusively for Obama at any point thus far, some sympathetic pundits have taken it upon themselves to provide the candidate a conclusive slam dunk. The air of desperation in this rash action is quite potent and while I understand the compulsion, I reject it wholesale. In an effort to strike the master stroke upon which Obama would coast to victory by a safe margin, we must take care not to emulate their example. I do agree that we need a Democratic president when so much around us is broken and out-of-sync, but talking down to the masses would backfire profoundly.

Chastising the electorate and waggling a finger in an effort to provoke guilt and shame simply will not work. People don't like being told how to vote and they certainly don't like being decried as racist. Hillary Clinton's margin of victory in New Hampshire and especially West Virginia are evidence of this phenomenon. Invoking the specter of racism in the minds of the electorate is the quickest way road to ruin I can possibly fathom. While it is true that the Illinois senator's skin color will repel some, it's a vast oversimplification to characterize that sole issues as indicative of all his problems with prospective voters.

The party itself is fighting against years of demonizing rhetoric which has painted Democrats in grossly unflattering terms. The worst thing about these caricatures is that the candidates we have sent to high elective office have often reinforced these stinging critiques. The past forty years have seen this country coming to terms with the turbulent 1960's and its inevitable backlash. Sadly, even eight years of failed policy are not sufficient in and of themselves to tip the pendulum back in the other direction.

Here in red state America, even though traditional GOP voters are less than enthralled with John McCain, most will pull the lever for him anyway come November. What is needed is a quantum leap in ideology that will go well beyond just one charismatic, inspiring orator. Obama is a good first step, but leaders are only as effective as the people who follow them. Fatalism, particularly in regard to politics is the new religion and has continued to win converts with every passing year. People are desperate for results and fed up with platitudes and empty promises. Government's challenge these days is to provide results, not justification for its inaction.

Instead of being directed to Barack Obama's website when I query information about his policy, I wish to see a blueprint of how the average citizen can affect change in methods besides getting out the vote. Obama's campaign has been successful up to this point due to its tightly controlled, highly disciplined approach, and I have no doubt it could, if it so chose, provide detailed, point-by-point road map of how individual Americans can take matters into their own hands and improve conditions in the daily lives of themselves and other. Inspiration is the first step. Let's now follow it to its logical conclusion.
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"The wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One of us has got to go"- Oscar Wilde, on his deathbed.