I tend to like being involved in local political races more than statewide or national races. That’s mostly because I think the politicians have more of an opportunity to develop a relationship with their constituents — and are therefore held more accountable. If you’re city council representative is doing a bad job, in theory it’s not all that difficult to find a quality candidate, put a campaign together and get elected. It’s much more difficult to make those types of drastic changes on a national level — where money, special interests and just the grand scale can be overwhelming.
Last night, we learned last night that democracy does in fact work on a national level. I couldn’t comprehend what drove voters in 2004 to re-elect George W. Bush. But, maybe their votes were just as much a rejection of John Kerry as they were an embrace of an incompetant president. But, when push comes to shove, and the situation is dire, Americans showed last night that they can be motivated to force change. We are willing to pay attention to politics — presidential, Congressional and otherwise. Voters showed a willingness to go outside their comfort zone. By annointing Barack Obama as president-elect, Americans rejected the fear and hate embedded in the Republican party. People across all demographics, races, and religious beliefs united to make their collective voice heard over the voices of the powerful few.
There were lots of factors involved in this historic occassion (one candidate who ran a near-perfect campaign, the other candidate who made blunder after blunder … one candidate who embraced technology to communicate with voters “on their terms” … one candidate who relied on outdated methods to persuade voters, etc.). However we arrived at this point, this election restored my faith in the American electorate — our willingness to reject ultra-conservative, out-of-the-mainstream views … and our ability to “hire” the best candidate for the job.