2008 Election

Post-Convention Wrap Up: Our Responsibility to Help Barack Achieve His Vision

When I watched Obama’s keynote address at the 2004 convention from my then-apartment in Chicago, tears streaming down my face because someone had finally articulated what it should mean to be an American citizen, like everyone else I thought: “This guy should be President.” To be sitting four years later at his electrifying acceptance speech was to witness one of the most astounding accomplishments of all time.

Talk about audacious: To challenge a flawed system while dominating it, to oust one of the greatest Democratic establishment candidates ever, to introduce the democratizing concept of grassroots-netroots activism to the political process, to defeat racist stereotypes, to proclaim the arrival of the post-Boomer era, and to do it while staying (seemingly, at least) relatively committed to his core principles. To anyone who has been cynical about politics, this man has proved that a persistent citizen of ordinary means is capable of asserting himself in the power structure and that change (as much as I hate that vague word) is possible.

Plenty has been written deconstructing the policies he presented (loved the 10-year end of oil addiction), the atmosphere (once in a lifetime, cheesy fireworks), and the Clinton’s graciousness (they were team players). What I took from the week, and his speech in particular, was something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently: If we want to actualize the things we’re talking about, those of us who are invested in this candidacy and the set of ideas it represents must fully commit ourselves immediately to two things. GOTV (for you non-political junkies, this means “Get Out the Vote”) and Activism ’09.

We still have two months and a tough general election to get through, and our foremost responsibility, particularly as young professionals, is to prove that our engagement is not hype by showing up at the polls on Nov. 4. Everything I’ve seen to this point indicates that this will happen, but I am committed to redoubling my efforts to make sure that all my pals are registered and working their own circles.

Beyond that, though, we have to be preparing each other for what happens after we win. 2009 is going to suck. There’s nothing sexy happening, like it was this year. Eli Manning may throw another Hail Mary to win the Super Bowl, but otherwise we’ve got no hot elections, no Olympics, etc. We’re just going to have a shitty economy, a war to end, continued high gas prices, and a lot of HOPE with no resolution. The reason the campaign has been successful is because so many people have personally invested, donating time, money, phone calls, door-walking. If we just check his name on the ballot box and go back to life as it was before, the movement will fail. I’ve been thinking about dedicating the energy I’ve given to Barack to at least a couple of the core issues I care about most after the election, and I’m trying to encourage my friends to do the same.

To give is worth it. This last year and a half has connected me with so many inspiring individuals, even in the sea of superficial starf&*#ers in Los Angeles. To have kicked off this year in Iowa, with people still telling me we were crazy to think we could do this, and to be all together in Denver this week celebrating a hard-fought victory is one of the most rewarding feelings I’ve ever had. I’m so proud of everyone’s hard work.

Check out the Flickr gallery >> for photos or read the Twitter feed for the play-by-play of my convention experience. We’ll break things down in more detail on Wilshire & Washington Wednesday, along with thoughts from Ted’s trip to the RNC in Minneapolis. We’ll also hear from my new favorite blogger, The Nation’s Ari Melber, if he’s not jet setting around on BO’s plane.

AND, if you’ve got the stomach to process news from the RNC, I highly recommend reading Media Lizzy’s coverage. For a conservative, she’s not half bad.

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