Questions and tentative answers

From my special correspondant in Atlanta, Georgia two pictures I would like to share with you:

You'll have noticed the confederate flag's unexpected apparition in the O. How to explain this paradox? Let's ask them :

Do pardon my French, I'm sure they'd say. But this seem to show a momentous change happening in America, at least symbolically. More pictures and stories from Atlanta in a later post. 

Now that the headlines are perhaps starting to settle down and turn to other issues than the American presidential election, it is perhaps time to take a step back, try and understand what has happened, what Obama's election means and how it was acheived.

1. The first Black President. 

 The media everywhere, and perhaps even more so in France and European countries have been prompt to hail Obama's victory as one for all African-Americans and people of colour.  We've all read expressions as "racial barriers are breaking down". How true is this? 

It's difficult to say, but what I do think needs reminding is that: 

-   Obama never ran as the/a Black candidate, making his bid very different from that of Jesse Jackson in 1988 and thus attracting some tough remarks from the latter. His was a "post-racial" campaign. When he called attention to his skin colour it was always in the context of heralding the possibilities of America, in which a man born of a woman from Kansas and a man from Kenya would become a presidential candidate. He doesn't not have the same background or experience of African-Americans whose collective identity was forged by the memory of slavery and segregation. Obama is from a different background and a different generation.  

 Actually what does Obama's victory mean for Black America? 

 

-  The theme of "change" was broad enough to serve as a vehicle to each person's aspirations : so the Democrat's victory is different things to different people. Obviously for African-Americans and for many others the main "change" was the possibility to vote for a Black president for the first time. But the rhetoric of "change" certainly meant many other things. 

In his speech Obama clearly emphasized that his election was not enough of a "change"; there was a lot more to be done to rebuild America, its self confidence and its international standing. 

2. The historic nature of the election. 

The word (beware of the difference between historic and historical) has been on every lip and at the tip of every pen or keypad for the last couple of weeks. It's always difficult to assess, as it is happening, how historic an election will prove to be. 

At the very least, 2008 will be a historic election because people saw it as a unique moment in history and millions of Americans were eager to participate in it and "make history". I think that this is probably the most striking feature of the election, regardless of its real historic nature (which I do not doubt, don't get me wrong), its perceived historic nature is even more interesting. People truly believed they were making the American dream come true, revealing the true nature of American values. This will probably go down in history books as a great moment of self-definition and of nation-building. 

Obama's wonderful talents as a speaker have also emphasized the theme of "history in the making". In his victory he uses the example of a Black woman from Selma, Alabama to paint the backdrop of his victory:

 

He goes through the important events of the last 106 years (the age of this voter) : slavery wasn't very far away, women couldn't vote, the Depression was followed by the New Deal, World War II was fought to defend democracy, the civil rights movement was also based on the extension of American values to all, regardless of skin colour. He mentions the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955-6 sparked off by Rosa Parks, the Birmingham fight against segregation and the brutal use of force by the police chief "Bull" O'Connor, the preacher from Atlanta, Dr. Martin Luther King, whose rhetoric flows in Obama's speech : especially at the end when he echoes the last words of the pastor : that maybe not in one year or in one term but that "as a nation we will get there". 

Many are inclined to see this election as the last step of the civil rights movement, as Obama himself suggests here. And his election certainly meant a lot to some people in Selma, as cleverly and touchingly presented in this video from the NYTimes.

The scale of the involvement of the grass-roots is unheard of; so perhaps even more significant than Obama's victory is how he won. 

3. The how and the why. 

The senator from Illinois won thanks to : 

- an amazing locally based network of active supporters.  These figures really blew my mind : 2/3 of the people who voted for Obama had been contacted by someone from his campaign ( phone or face to face, excluding robo-calls). For McCain the figure is 1/4.  The outreach effort was huge. The voter registration drive was also unprecedented : 19% of Black voters were voting for the first time (and 8% of whites). Two important consituencies for Obama : women, the young and Blacks ( International Herald Tribune). 

- new-technology and the internet, used to raise mind-boggling amounts of cash. 

- a well organized campaign that never strayed from its plan. The team was focussed, disciplined and used his opponent's mistakes to his advantage : many now see McCain's "the fundementals of the economy are strong" remark in the midst of the financial meltdown as the tipping point in the campaign (mid-September). 

-  and last but not least (!) the candidate himself, a remarkable speaker, thinker and campaigner, with a much needed message of change, union and hope. 

I should add to the factors explaining the Democratic win that John McCain was dogged by :

-  a fledging economy

-  president Bush's poor record 

-  the Republican brand, which was toxic. 

-  a poorly organized campaign team

-  his VP choice : for the last two days I've been hearing alarming comments leaked by McCain advisers on her attitude and ignorance (it's appalling stuff and I'd hope that it's not true for the sake of Republicans) 

4. Things seen and links

I've watched an interesting video on the perspective of Muslim students from NY on America,  the election, how Obama's campaign reacted to Muslim supporters and how they decided not to advertise their support for fear of stoking the rumours that Obama was a Muslim ( always used to discredit his candidacy by some vile opponents). 

For an emotional video overview of the last two years of campaigning : watch this, it will bring up memories.