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Point of View »Susan Estrich: Yes, He Did

Susan Estrich: Yes, He Did

By Susan Estrich | Posted on 11/06/2008

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Obama's message of hope helped us transcend his race.

Four years ago, he was a state senator from Illinois. Four years ago, the idea of electing a black man as president of the United States was a fantasy.

Susan Estrich
Susan Estrich
This belongs to you, President-elect Barack Obama told his supporters. And it did, in the way any presidential victory does, in the combination of the sweat and tears, the contributions and calls, the ads and speeches and targeting and tactics of hundreds and then thousands of people. Obama had a great team and a great campaign.

It was because of them, and because of the army of volunteers and contributors, because of the economy and the collapse on Wall Street and the failings of the Bush presidency and the absurdity of putting Tina Fey a heartbeat away from the presidency of America’s oldest candidate. It was because of all those things that Obama is our next president.

But it is also, perhaps more than anything else, because of him.

He did it.

He imagined it and pursued it and stuck with it. He found his voice and took his case to the country. He had a message of hope and optimism that may not have transcended race, but helped millions of Americans to transcend his.

I saw him give that speech in Boston four years ago, the one that started this journey. He was big then, but he is bigger now. He had a voice then, but it has power now. He seemed young then, and he is older now.

I have heard many political speeches in my life. I know all about the rhetorical flourishes, the use of stories and anecdotes, the “I remember the lady in Cleveland who told me ...”

But there was something magical about Obama’s story of the 106-year-old woman casting her vote for America’s first black president. It wasn’t her story, but ours, ours as a country, the story that binds us together and that Obama now embodies.

This was not the night I dreamt of. I dreamt of a night when a woman would stand where Obama stood and little girls around the world would know that the world had changed. That was not meant to be.

But little girls and little boys today know that the world has changed. It did. It happened.

It was not a blowout. The polls were off in some places where it turned out to be tighter than expected. Did people lie? Did they lie because of race? Maybe. But it doesn’t matter, not much, not anymore. We are past that.

It was not a blowout, but it also wasn’t close. The haters can’t whine about vote fraud, can’t complain that it wasn’t fair, that it was stolen. Obama won. Race will forever be understood differently in this country because of that. We have entered the future.

The Rev. Martin Luther King had a dream. The Obamas are going to Washington. God bless America.

Best-selling author Susan Estrich is the Robert Kingsley Professor of Law and Political Science at the USC Law Center and was campaign manager for 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis. Click here to contact her.

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» This truly is a great country wrote on 11/05/08 @ 09:40 PM

Well before Obama is up for re-election in 2012 it will mark the longest job he’s ever held.

» sbp wrote on 11/05/08 @ 11:56 PM

In my high school class in the 80s I was told that all presidents have been “white, anglo-saxon protestant” (minus jfk). This was repeated over and over, ingrained in our heads so we knew this limitation. And look at what we did. We should be proud of voting for Obama in the primaries despite the rest of the state going for Hillary Clinton, we believed from the beginning.

And re: “before Obama is up for re-election in 2012 it will mark the longest job he’s ever held”. Palin didn’t know Africa is a continent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWZHTJsR4Bc&e;Democracy has spoken, no more crazy religious nutball leaders who don’t make sense.

» AShaw wrote on 11/06/08 @ 03:28 PM

That’s wonderful.

While everyone is so giddy about our first black president and blind to everything he stands for, those of you who have been wise enough to be saving for retirement will be interested in this “change” that is heading your way (bankrupting social security wasn’t enough for our greedy government, in addition to raising taxes now they want your 401K’s so we can go back to a welfare state):

Dems Target Private Retirement Accounts
Democratic leaders in the U.S. House discuss confiscating 401(k)s, IRAs

http://www.carolinajournal.com/articles/…

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB12191030..

» AShaw wrote on 11/06/08 @ 03:32 PM

Sorry - links got truncated - here they are in full:

http://www.carolinajournal.com/articles/display_story.html?id=5081

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121910303529751345.html?mod=most_emailed_day

» Africa Schmafrica wrote on 11/06/08 @ 07:33 PM

And Obama thinks there are 57 states. No doubt that’s how he justified raising all that cash illegally from foreign donors.

» sbnative wrote on 11/06/08 @ 08:07 PM

Arnold is getting hell for raising taxes… perhaps the Obamanation will take notice? And what about all those tax cuts we hear Obama isn’t going to be able to pull off after all in 2009? OOPS? More empty promises? Or the same old say what you have to say to get into office. McCain had WAY more class than that.

Hang on to your 401Ks!!!

» Wow wrote on 11/07/08 @ 06:51 AM

Some of the comments below show the true colors of the GOP. The election is over. It would be great if we could all just be positive for awhile and give Obama a chance. One thing that has destroyed this country over the past 8 years is the us versus them approach. The economy is in a very rough spot and the policies of the past 8 years got us there. I am sure Obama will have to adjust as the environment changes and he listens to his advisors. Of course, if that approach was used in the past we may not be where we are today.

McCain ran a poor race. He is a good man and made a great speech the other night. Maybe the other commentors should listen to him and think about ways you can contribute to America in a positive manner?


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