A Reason For Optimism

by Keith Cooper

From Broader View Weekly, January 30, 2009

A cynic by nature, I watched the recent transition from George W. Bush’s administration to Barack H. Obama’s without allowing myself to be even cautiously optimistic about the level of change I could expect to see from the new president. As that transition culminated with Obama’s oath shortly after noon on Tuesday, January 20, I could no longer resist the temptation to celebrate.

While race seemed to be a recurring theme of the media coverage of Inauguration Day, for me there was much more of importance, than the fruition of Dr. King’s dream. For me, the time for judging Barack Obama by his associations, by his color, or by his name ended at midnight on that fateful day. Hereafter, history will judge our new president on the performance of his duties during troubling times. The challenges he faces today will test his mettle and try his commitment.

The speech Obama gave after taking his oath will be deconstructed by pundits, criticized by rivals and praised by allies. It was important that his words inspire trust and communicate honestly with the American people at a time when so many are filled with despair. I feel he was successful to that end, but I must qualify my analysis before I give it.

In preparation for this week’s column I had several thoughts about how to approach my critique. One influence I looked to was a recent comment by my fellow columnist that indicated that Obama’s election had been seen as historical, despite the fact that he had done nothing presidential. I also thought back to a conversation I had with my brother on the eve of the 2004 election. He argued that regardless of who won the election, the president would be only one man functioning with limited power in a system of checks and balances that restrict the greatness of his accomplishments and the extent of the harm he inflicts.

If the powers of the executive are so strictly limited, I would pose, then the president is a mere figurehead. If that be the case, then the most presidential thing Obama can do is appear publicly presidential. One could argue then, that Obama began being presidential as early as the keynote of the 2004 Democratic National Convention. His command of the English language and his exploitation of the spoken word has inspired his supporters and humbled his critics throughout his long journey to the White House. I had been prepared to make that case and write that essay.

Then came January 20. With the exhaustive media attention to the significance of the inauguration of the first African-American President of the United States, it was difficult not to be swept away from the real issues. In fact, in his speech Obama could have dwelt entirely on the storied ascent of the black man through America’s history from the birth of the nation; through civil war and emancipation; through the civil rights movement; through to struggles with inequality today. Few would judge him harshly had he chosen to make that speech.

Instead Obama chose to limit his mention of race to an appropriate few references, only one with a personal connection to himself. He chose to focus on the challenges that face not just him but the nation and the world. Instead of inviting America’s citizen to follow him to the promised land he would help usher us into, he chose to invite us to stand up and accept the price and promise of citizenship.

In an “ask not” type of speech that harkened back to JFK, Obama communicated a common ownership of the tasks ahead and a common ownership of the rewards brought by overcoming them. This shift of focus from the authority of the executive to the power of the people is a dramatic contrast to the previous administration, and a sign to me that change was more than a shallow slogan.

During the address were constant reminders that problems we face are real and that meeting them is a daunting task. But he cautioned those who would set the sights low that the “ground has shifted beneath them – that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.” The sense is that the traditional approaches we have been chained to are no longer relevant and are, in fact, detrimental to progress.

Obama’s commentary on diplomacy and foreign policy also marked a dramatic change. With his subtle condemnation of torture and other tactics that trade our foundational values in favor of security, few could deny that a new era had begun.

He referred back to those values as he wrapped up his call for action:

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility – a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world…

It is undeniable that it is a new era. Not because this nation has elected its first African American president, but because this president is cut from a different cloth than recent presidents. This new era inspires in this cynic, hope and even optimism.