Post-election thoughts

11/6/08 Thursday
It is two days now since Barack Obama won in his bid for the presidency against John McCain, by a margin of 52% of the popular vote to McCain’s 47%, and an electoral college vote count of 364, currently, to McCain’s 163. While perhaps not a landslide, it is still a decisive victory – not just for Dems but for the American people.
One of the highlights of Obama’s predictably clear, eloquent and energized victory speech was his reference to Ann Nixon Cooper, the 106 year old woman from Georgia who cast her vote for the very first black president Tuesday night, after witnessing a century of amazing change in this country that has included two world wars, both women and African Americans earning the right to vote, desegregation and civil rights, and so much more. She became a symbol for the progress made, the struggles endured, and the belief that our best days are still before us.
Also encouraging was the victory of a comfortable majority of Dems for the Senate (55 or 56 out of 100 seats so far, although the final tally is still days or possibly even weeks away due to some very close races). The ideal would be 60 seats, to ensure a filibuster-proof Senate. Nonetheless, this bodes very well for Barack’s ability to get things done.
NOT so encouraging was the fact that Tennessee stayed as red as it gets (with the exception, maybe, of Nashville and Memphis), going for McCain by a wide margin, as well as Republican Senator Llamar Alexander over Democrat Bob Tuke. A disappointment for progressive Tennesseans like myself, no doubt – and a major concern regarding our ability to enact stronger environmental legislation, to protect natural resources as we grow. We take the good with the bad, I guess. We’ll just have to work harder. Quitting is never an option.