At Large
Celebrating Obama
By Rina Jimenez-David
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:45:00 11/07/2008
Filed Under: US elections, Personalities
MEXICO—During our meeting with the leaders of Gire, an NGO that “defends and advances reproductive rights” in this country, I noticed that one of the women we talked with, Helena, was wearing a T-shirt with “Obama” emblazoned on it. After our discussion, I asked her if she was wearing the shirt because she was going to celebrate Obama’s projected victory in the US election later that day.
“Well,” she said, “I didn’t use to be very interested in the US election, but a friend pointed out that since I now work out of Washington, D.C. (she recently joined an international NGO working on budget and transparency issues), I would be paying taxes to the US government. So I decided I should follow the election of the new leadership of that country. I could not vote, but some of my money would be going to the US government, so I had a stake in the new administration. That is why (and at this she bared her T-shirt to full view), I am throwing a party tonight to celebrate Obama’s victory.”
When I warned her that it was still too early to tell, she smiled and waved away the demurrer. “Oh, he’s going to win. Drop by my place and we’ll party!”
We weren’t able to make it to Helena’s party, but most of us in the Philippine delegation on a study tour to better understand the evolution of Mexican reproductive health policy, did our share of tracking the returns and result of Tuesday’s American election. Perhaps we all felt, like Helena, that we had a stake in the outcome, even if none of us were Americans.
And this is something we shared with people around the world. There was a CNN story on how people in different parts of the globe were closely following the elections, including a feature on Kenya where citizens in Obama’s father’s hometown were petitioning to have the municipal airport refurbished “to accommodate a possible visit of Air Force One.”
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The cable TV system in the Hotel Maria Cristina has only a few English channels, and by some serendipity, the only 24-hour news channels airing in our rooms were CNN and Fox. As the returns piled in and it seemed obvious that Obama was going to clinch both the popular and electoral college vote, the faces of the Fox anchors and panelists, it seemed to me, got longer and longer, their expressions ever more doleful.
In contrast to Fox’s almost grudging coverage of the Obama victory, CNN was pulling out all stops. It unveiled many of what one anchor called “toys,” including inter-active political maps; a “virtual” capitol that showed in graphic terms what the results of races for the Senate and the House would mean for the “balance of power”; and even interviews with various personalities who appeared before the TV audience in a hologram, very “Star Wars”!
Between updates and reports on returns, there were analyses galore from two panels, composing what the network boasted was “the best political team on TV.” It was heartening to see an effort at bi-partisanship, with personalities identified with both Democrats and Republicans sitting on the panels. Even more impressive was the wealth of political experience they brought to the table, since some of them had served in the White House and advised both candidates and presidents.
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Around 11 p.m. on Tuesday here, Wolf Blitzer finally declared on CNN that “Barack Obama is now the president-elect.”
A few minutes later, Sen. John McCain appeared onstage in a hotel in Arizona with his wife and with the Palin couple to deliver his concession speech, an extraordinarily gracious and generous piece that earned my respect and admiration.
But obviously, what everyone was waiting for was Obama himself, whose words that night would mark not just the core policies of his administration, but also the spirit of his country, facing serious problems. The CNN panelists warned that Obama should focus not just on the meaning of his electoral victory, but also on the future of the country and apply balm to the wounds inflicted by a searing campaign.
And he did not disappoint. I had remarked some weeks ago that in the final leg of the campaign, Obama seemed to be operating on “low-bat,” his speeches lacking fire and passion. But even on that historic night, Obama, to quote an observer, was able to “still the crowd.” Before hundreds of thousands who had waited for hours getting ready to parrtteeyy, he chose to deliver his milestone speech in a measured, thoughtful manner. His words not only calmed the victorious, but also managed to embrace even those Americans who did not vote for him or support him. He also went out of his way to mention traditionally excluded groups of Americans along with the rest of the nation: “black or white, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians, gay or straight, the disabled and those who are not.”
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“Yes we can” was the mantra Obama offered his countryfolk, basing his optimism on the life story of Ann Nixon Cooper, 106, who told it while she waited in line to vote. Her life, and the changes she witnessed, Obama said, only show that we cannot predict the future, for changes that were unthinkable just a generation before happen all of a sudden, part of the natural evolution of a society as it copes with the times and with reality.
Indeed, the spectacle of an African-American delivering an inspirational speech on the night he became America’s next president carried meaning even for those of us who are not Americans.
Obama has remarked of his life journey that it could happen only in America. But that’s not really true. It can happen anywhere, and to anyone. All that’s needed is a willingness to embrace change, to break out of the shackles of conventional wisdom and social inertia, and believe in the future and the goodness of humanity.
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