Posted inPolitics: National

So let us begin anew

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time; and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death… Yet sometimes grace bestows a tomorrow of soaring magic and hope, and so it will be with the inauguration of Barack Obama on Tuesday. Whether it began with his moving rhetoric or much of America's desire to simply be rid of George W. Bush, Obama has captivated this nation. The vast majority of people believe in him and, if polling is right, are willing to give him time to fix the disasters produced by the past eight years.

Just to have a president who can speak well and intelligently, who reads books and newspapers, who seems to have an interior life, calm center and an open mind, who's smart, who won't embarrass us in the world. A man who is willing to change his mind when the facts change. Just these things will mean much. America will no longer use torture as an instrument of national policy. Science will come center stage in guiding policy. Diplomacy will once again be worthy of a great power. This president's Christianity will be made manifest through humility and witness, not as a creepy "God talks to me in the Oval office" or as tactic of division and inciting the mob. This constitutional scholar will know about separation of church and state and separation of powers. His vice president will be a vice president. Just these things will be healing tectonic shifts from the scoundrel time we have endured. I, for one, will see the flag raised and hear the national anthem with tears of renewed pride rather than sorrow.

So you can stop reading here. Or come back after the inauguration and read further. Otherwise, we must brace ourselves for the extremely difficult work that will follow tomorrow.

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Posted inPhoenix Politics: National

Travels: Ohio and Arizona

A vague sadness hangs over the Ohio countryside, even though the trees hang on to their last vestiges of summer green. I flew into Cleveland’s airport last week. This was once one of America’s largest cities, and even though the airport remains a hub for Continental Airlines, the place has the feel of a small, regional terminal. The nice part is that people are nicer in a less crazed and crowded setting, but I keep asking myself, "this is Cleveland?"

Yes. I can see the changes as we drive out of town, on the way to my conference at Kent State University. Buildings that held large businesses a decade ago sit empty. The big Ford plant sits looking vulnerable. While I was there, Eaton, the city’s largest Fortune 500 headquarters, announced it was leaving downtown for the suburbs. This is a downtown that has revived itself well and is a transit hub. Yet the Eaton bigs seem oblivious to the future of higher gas prices, as well as shameful as stewards of their hometown. Everybody talks about how bad the economy is, with high unemployment and job insecurity. The change in the vibe of this state from a decade ago is so real and raw you can’t miss it. No wonder Ohioans threw out the Republicans — the party that wrecked America — in 2006. And yet, McCain has an edge if the polls are to be believed, and one wonders.

Still, Ohio is a state synonymous with white flight and de facto segregation. Apart from some successful downtowns and a few still-lovely upper-class neighborhoods, the big cities are heavily black, while their numerous suburbs are white. It’s a class thing, but it’s also a race thing. And it may well be that Ohioans won’t vote for a black man. How they think Republican John Sidney McCain III, continuing the policies of 25 years of "conservatism," will help them is beyond me. But these are emptional responses beyond the reach of rational persuasion.

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