Ethics

Obama Wins. Now What?

By Ed Brayton

Congratulations, Barack Obama. You just won one of the most important elections in American history. In the future, we will look back on this election as a watershed moment, I have no doubt of that. The fact that a bi-racial man could be elected president of the United States almost cannot be overstated. It is in many ways the culmination of decades of struggle for equality and civil rights, though not in all ways; that struggle continues in many respects, as it must.

But the historical importance of Barack Obama's ascent to the presidency will not make the job he faces any less daunting. He will face an economy in turmoil at home and difficult challenges abroad, not to mention the vital task of rebuilding the system of constitutional checks and balances that the Bush administration sacrificed on the altar of expediency. No matter who you voted for it must occur to you to wonder whether any human being could possibly be up to those tasks.

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on November 05, 2008 (boomark / email).