Democratic view after the election

Paul Garcia / Staff Writer / The USD Vista

As the polls came in, we saw the country’s desire to move in a new direction. People called the Barack Obama campaign crazy for starting grass roots organization in regions they said would never go to a Democrat. However, Obama was able to contend and even win in states that have gone Republican for most of the last century, such as the state of Virginia. The election results are a testament to one of the best-planned and well executed campaigns ever run. It is also a testament to one of the least likely candidates ever to get elected.

Most impressive in the victory is that Obama’s campaign never divulged into the divisive Karl Rove style politics that were so effective in getting George W. Bush elected twice. Americans now realize that these same politics were instrumental in the ensuing polarization the past eight years brought.

These past years created the need for “change,” not Obama. The dismal levels of trust in the American government and approval in the Bush administration are largely responsible for the countries clearly becoming more democratic.

But we should not forget the need and ability for Obama in these trying times. Obama has literally re-written the book on grassroots campaigning. He has simultaneously expanded and re-drawn the electorate so that red and blue states can no longer be taken for granted. It was this message of unity that Obama first uttered in 2004, at the Democratic National Convention, when he was propelled to the forefront of Democratic leaders. Obama relayed this same message in his victory speech, reminding us, “We are not red states and blue states. We are and always will be the United States of America.”

To deal with the many problems the United States now faces, we need to work together. We need a candidate that can bring people together, and despite our ideological differences, we need to take this country in a new and better direction. And Obama will be that president.