GUEST COLUMN: William Lawrence ’12
Hundreds of Whitman students poured into the streets of Walla Walla on November 4th to celebrate the election of Barack Obama. CNN reported on a similar scene with George Washington University and Georgetown students outside the White House and friends of mine related similar stories from across the nation. Millions of American youth rejoiced that, for once, they actually made a difference for the future of our country. The election of Obama is a historic achievement as it proves Americans are ready to fundamentally reconstruct the way they think about the executive office.
Unfortunately, I fear the massive public adoration of the President-Elect carries a misplaced faith in his ability –– and willingness –– to enact the broad liberal changes many would like to see.
If the campaign marathon has revealed anything about our next president, it has shown his malleability. Throughout this election cycle, his views on many topics –– offshore drilling, campaign financing, and others –– have evolved to suit his campaign. In a way, this pattern fits with his message of bipartisanship and consensus-building. I expect Obama will continue to lean toward the center as president, both to foster
cooperation with Republicans in Congress and to retain moderates for his re-election campaign. President Obama will likely not enact radically liberal reforms in the next four years, although he has the votes in Congress to do so.
Unfortunately, many Obama-philes have inflated expectations for the President-Elect’s ability to turn things around. Joe Biden tried to dissolve false hopes recently when he told a crowd to “stick with” Obama when things aren’t going well. Senator Obama himself worried before the election about the astronomic expectations for his presidency.
Well, Obama won, and expectations expressed during the celebration can officially be classified as “unrealistic.” I don’t have room for all the hyperbolic exclamations overheard during the march on Main Street, but one in particular, which I heard uttered with no hint of irony, sums up the attitude:
“Obama is Jesus!” Such a comparison speaks wonders to Obama’s rhetoric and unifying ability, but it also sets a dangerous standard.
Coming out of this long campaign, I have one question: What happens when “Jesus” falters? How will the liberal youth, who mobilized so wonderfully in this campaign, respond when their ambitious agenda of social liberation is not fully pursued? How will minorities respond when they still find themselves poor and marginalized, even with one of their own in the White House? I fear a backlash may ensue among the youth and minorities of America. These groups may lose faith and decide that political participation does not matter when the Savior fails to deliver them to the Promised Land.
It is undisputed that America has taken a tremendous step forward. However, many of the gains made are quite tenuous, contingent on public faith in a single man. Barack Obama faces more pressure to succeed than any incoming president in memory; the possible ramifications of failure could largely undo many gains made in this election. Citizens, especially the newly empowered youth and minority populations, must keep realistic goals for the next four years. If the President-Elect continues to be held to Messianic expectations, he will surely fail to meet them, and 2008 may be remembered as the year that Americans experimented with true democracy, only to decide it wasn’t worth the disappointment.
