Election blogging, 2008 (Post-mortem)

The election decided, America and the world should now look forward—but not before one last reflection about Tuesday night. November 4th, 2008 was an epic moment in U.S. history. It revolutionized the issue of race, as international news outlets seem keen to repeat nonstop. It also ushered in a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress—the first in over three decades. But let’s step back a little. November 4th was about more than politics. It was about a reconception of America’s very identity.

We have learned from one man, in a mere 21 months, what eight years and an entire political establishment could not teach us. We have learned that the sum of a nation’s peoples can be better than its parts. We have learned that government ultimately begins—and ends—with us. And we have learned that, when asked, Americans will stand together in honor of something bigger than themselves. In short, Senator president-elect Obama has tapped into the essence of American idealism. We can be united. We can defeat prejudice. We can be who the Founders really wanted us to be. We can. Yes, we can.

To close out this reflection, some photographs and commentary of my election night in London:

Source: http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/ photos-ak-snc1/ v373/25/61/1092240198/ n1092240198_30255477_9803.jpg

It was pretty crowded at the Waterfront. There must have been at least 250 people crammed into a bar little bigger than a McDonald’s. Finding an open seat was difficult enough, let alone actually snagging one for yourself. With none of the windows open despite a constant breeze blowing in from the Thames, the atmosphere was more than a bit stifling. But it was completely worth it, knowing how much this election meant to so many people. To many of our surprise, a lot of Britons showed up to watch the BBC’s coverage. The energy in the room skyrocketed (if that was even possible) when the first results came pouring in. People booed upon hearing that Kentucky had gone for McCain; they cheered when Obama secured Vermont.

Source: http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/ v373/25/61/1092240198/ n1092240198_30255480_463.jpg

London’s free tabloid newspapers spared no expense when it came to their front-page font sizes. Everywhere the morning after (Obama’s victory occurred just after 0400 GMT), the papers were filled cover-to-cover with election news. They’re fairly well-read among the British in any case, given that they’re available on every street corner, but it looked to me as though readership saw a significant spike that day. Even 41 hours after McCain conceeded, I’m still seeing the newspapers on the Underground, in trains, on buses, and on the streets. People can’t get enough of this win. But I don’t blame them. I can’t, either.

McCain gets it right on Pakistan

Check out this clip of the first presidential debate. Senator Obama makes some stinging remarks about Senator McCain’s “bomb Iran” joke, and it’s certainly entertaining. But I want to look closer and examine the policy differences we’re seeing between the two candidates.

Consider what Obama’s proposing: a continuation of the unilateral military strikes into Pakistan that, so far, have gotten mixed results at best and, at worst, have damaged the U.S.’s relationship with Islamabad as well as the region’s citizens. I actually think McCain hits the nail on the head, here. Without Pakistani cooperation, the new Bush strategy of pursuing cross-border attacks will be doomed.

That said, I have to disagree with McCain’s approach to foreign policy broadly articulated. It’s a heavy-handed, strongman strategy that relies on, as Obama suggested in debate regarding his opponent’s budget policy, “a hatchet where you need a scalpel.”