As virtually everyone has already recognized, today’s a historic day, one that everyone will remember and many of whom never thought they’d ever live to see.  I think it’s a great achievement that our nation elected Barack Obama as our next President.  It clearly represents a desire to change our leadership and how we conduct ourselves both here and abroad, buoyed by a message of hope and consensus.  That being said, I thought John McCain was very gracious in defeat.  His concession speech was excellent and showed his human side, something which I thought was missing from his campaign.  I frankly do not understand why politicians do not show their human side more often. 

It’s obviously a historic, emotional and ultimately triumphant day for African-Americans.   For possibly the first time in their lives, they truly feel they belong on equal footing and can now believe anything is possible.  In that respect, one could make the case that the Civil War didn’t really end until today.  What amazes me most, though, is how unified and optimistic this country suddenly appears.  I have been glued to the tube the last 2 days, primarily watching CNN, and I think what I am going to remember the most was watching all those crowds who were so euphoric when the results were announced.  I assumed there would be tears and outright jubilation, and there was.  But it wasn’t just African-Americans who felt that way.  Those crowds I saw on TV were as diverse as this nation is, with citizens of all ages, ethnicities, and religious faiths all sharing in the joy of the momentous occasion that they were witnessing together.  It was truly an awesome thing to see.  No matter who you voted for, that is something everyone can proud of. 

There’s no question that once he assumes office Barack Obama faces tremendous challenges ahead and may have a tough time meeting the high expectations that his supporters have of him and his future administration.  The honeymoon is going to be short, there is a ton of work to do and there’s still plenty of skepticism as to how much he can accomplish.  However, as many people have already pointed out, today seems like the start of something new and extraordinary for this country, and I sincerely hope that’s true.

As a musician, I’m a little reluctant to talk about my political views.  Amongst friends, I have no problem discussing politics, but the last thing I would want to do is to alienate any of my fans, either current or future ones.  Our political climate is as divisive as ever, and political conversation can trigger very intense feelings, especially after what this country has been through over the last 8 years.  Plus, music fans seem to prefer that the artists they listen to stick to what they do best - i.e., play good music - rather than advocate their political opinions.  The public reaction to the Dixie Chicks earlier this decade comes to mind, but there are plenty of other examples.  On the eve of Election Day, however, like many voters I firmly believe tomorrow is the most important election of my lifetime thus far, one that may define our country’s standing in the world  for years to come, and as such I wanted to blog about where I stand. 

I’ve been an Obama supporter since he threw his hat in the ring and that’s who I will be voting for tomorrow.  Simply stated, I think he gives us the best chance of turning this country around after a very rough 8 years, a time during which our international standing has plummeted, our domestic prosperity hangs in the balance, and our citizenry is as polarized as ever.   I believe Barack Obama will restore our goodwill abroad and our economy back home.  I also believe he will safeguard our environment and our individual freedoms much more than our current President.  I understand there’s some skepticism about Obama given his lack of experience or that he might be too liberal for some people’s tastes, and there is nothing wrong with a healthy dose of skepticism toward any candidate, for you never really know how things will go until after the fact.  But during a time in which our faith in nearly everything that has made this country great has been rocked to the core, where virtually everyone, Republican or Democrat, is fed up with where we are and where we might be headed, we need to turn the page and start fresh with a new kind of leader.  One who prefers not to lead by the politics of fear and hate; and one who can bring consensus and restore people’s optimism.  Barack Obama provides that possibility.  John McCain doesn’t.  The John McCain of 2000 may have been able to, when he was a true maverick, and that’s too bad because the John McCain of 2008 seems to be no different than our current President, no matter what he says.  He has really looked out of touch.  Moreover, his choice of Sarah Palin as his VP was reckless and dangerous.  She is charismatic to be sure and her views are in sync with the GOP base, but not with anyone else, and her distorted views of the powers of a VP and lack of understanding of the Constitution in general are even more frightening (if not the somewhat logical extension of the expansive policies of the Bush administration), so much so that even many long-time conservatives are supporting Obama.  In sum, I believe choosing McCain/Palin is choosing more of the same, and that is the last thing we need right now. 

Of course, it would also send a great message and show how far we’ve come if we could elect the first African-American president in our nation’s history.  Conversely, if race happens to play any significant part in a McCain victory, then it’s quite possible that race relations within this country would be set so far back that I would wonder if we could ever recover from it.

So that’s it.  I could elaborate my views much further, but I think you get the picture.  Besides, at this late hour there is so much election fatigue there’s really not much more to say than hasn’t been already said.  If you are a McCain supporter, I hope you don’t take my opinions personally.  Again, I understand politics are a tough thing to agree on sometimes.  Nevertheless, I very much hope tomorrow night Obama emerges as the victor, and I’ll admit I’d be very disappointed (and nervous) if he doesn’t. 

Last week, after Sen. McCain startled the nation with his selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as his VP choice, she looked like a star in the making, one that could woo Clinton supporters to McCain’s side.  After her speech at the RNC, her star shined even brighter, even with the shocking news of her 17 year-old teenage daughter’s pregnancy, but more so in the minds of the GOP base.  She is no doubt a great public speaker (much better than McCain) and she has seemingly already won the hearts of Republicans, but she is as conservative as conservative can be with respect to the bulk of her political views.  She is a staunch pro-lifer and opposes sex-education in schools (something, btw, that her daughter might have benefitted).  She apparently believes in creationism.  She does not believe global warning is man-made.  She wants to prolong the Iraq war.  She also favors drilling for oil in Alaska.  It is that last view that I find the most shocking given her ties to the state.  Why on earth anyone would favor drilling in some of the most pristine lands in this nation is beyond my comprehension.  She also, by her own admission, has next-to-no knowledge of foreign affairs.

In short, while her nomination has galvanized the Republican base and made this contest much more interesting, it is doubtful she will be able to lure those desirable Independents and undecided voters, especially Clintonians, most of whom would be aghast by most of Palin’s platforms.  Moreover, as a side effect, her nomination may have also galvanized the Democratic base, one that was in need of galvanizing given all the in-fighting over the summer, which took some of the sheen off Obama’s aura.  Ultimately, this may end up being the best thing for Obama’s campaign.

Say what you will about John McCain, but at first glance he made an excellent choice in selecting newbie Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.  I watched her speech after McCain introduced her and she seemed very at ease.  She was articulate, confident, energetic, down to earth, and, of course, youthful.  She’s also very conservative, which makes this pick a big win for conservatives who were freaking out that McCain would choose his buddy Joe Lieberman as VP.  Plus, on the personal side leads a very active and diverse lifestyle.  Yeah, she’s inexperienced - with only 2 years as governor to her credit - but better to be inexperienced as a VP than as a presidential candidate, which is Obama’s main weakness. 

In short, McCain’s bold move is exactly what he needed to re-energize his campaign, and simultaneously steal the thunder from Obama after the DNC.  His move is also in stark contrast to Obama’s pick of Biden, which is more of an “old school”/insider pick (albeit better than selecting Hillary Clinton).  In defense of Obama, though, I don’t think he would have benefitted as much from picking an out-of-the-box VP candidate like Palin as McCain.  Both candidates, actually, have seemingly made VP choices that complement their own strengths and weaknesses.

There’s obviously a lot of talk now that Palin will siphon away former Hillary supporters who are not fans of Obama.  Given Palin’s very conservative views - including her devout religious views and anti-abortion stance - I doubt that most women who are Democrats will suddenly flock to the GOP come November.  However, she will at least cause them to think twice and not automatically unite with other Dems in supporting Obama, and she is sure to cause more than a few disgruntled Hillary supporters to vote for McCain.  This means that Obama really must turn it up a notch to woo back those supporters, or else this election might be closer than anyone could have imagined a few months ago.  At worst, it might even mean another four years for the GOP.

Obama made the right move by not picking Hillary Clinton to be his running mate.  Although he surely disappointed Hillary supporters by not choosing her, not to mention spurring the GOP to criticize his failure to do so, Hillary is still way too polarizing of a figure.  Choosing her as his VP would not have unified the Democrats, nor would it have guaranteed anything in November.  As the VP candidate, Hillary would have drawn more attention to herself than to supporting Obama.  While the GOP wants you to believe that Obama made a mistake by failing to select her as VP, if Obama chose her the GOP would have been much more vicious in their attacks – as they have always been when it comes to the Clintons – than they will be in attacking Joe Biden.  It is also more than plausible to assume that Hillary would have still suffered from sour grapes that she herself was not nominated as the Democratic candidate, thereby hindering her ability to effectively campaign as Obama’s #2.

More importantly, Obama’s non-selection of Hillary as VP is a symbolic turning of the page.  Obama’s entire campaign is based on change (ironically similar to Bill Clinton’s first campaign in 1992, as President Clinton himself acknowledged during last night’s speech at the DNC).  Choosing Hillary as VP would have cut against that premise, and it would have arguably been “more of the same,” to paraphrase Joe Biden (although he was talking about Sen. McCain at the time).  This country has grown tired of both the Clinton and Bush dynasties, and desperately needs to move on.  Obama’s choice of Biden as VP preserves his ability to continue championing that need for change.