I thought McCain had a very eloquent concession speech and did a great job of bringing closure to the campaign while encouraging his supporters to support the new president:
I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited...
I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.
And Obama did his fair share, trying to unite the country. Both speeches moved me to tears.
The one reservation I have is that our government-elect is now made up of the majority Democrats. As a moderate, I like to see balance, and I'm nervous that the pendulum is going to swing the other way without temperance or hesitation. This isn't just for four years - this new government will make several Supreme Court Justice decisions, whose rulings will affect us for decades to come. I just hope that Obama and the Congress keep some moderation in their decision-making and remember that while the Democrats have won in the elections, the make-up of the country is much more evenly split.
So here's to a new president, a new chapter in our nation's history. May our leaders be guided by faith and temperance and may the next four years bring success and happiness to America.
3 comments:
On election day, my 22 year old son received two phone calls, both of which were saved in voicemail at my residence (he's a college student). The first was a canned message from the McCain organization, telling him that, as a young voter, he would jeopardize the future of the country if he voted for a "terrorist." It was extremely disturbing. The second call was from a man named Tom, calling from his home in Athens, GA, where my son goes to school. He was calling on behalf of the Obama campaign, just reminding him to vote, letting him know where his polling place was located, offering him a ride, and leaving his phone number, so my son could call if he needed anything.
I, too, thought McCain's concession speech was well-delivered, with a wonderful tone. However, it rang a little hollow for me, after listening to the earlier phone message. I know, I know... it wasn't McCain himself who called my son! And, I believe that he is basically a good man, who got caught in a machine. But, the fact that he allowed those calls to be made, in his name, diminished my respect for him, and fed my own cynicism about the speech he made.
The message your son received from the McCain campaign is disturbing. I don't think it's ever acceptable to use fear as a message or as an incentive to vote for a candidate. Ideally, people should be elected on their merits - on how well they instill confidence in people, on how good their ideas and vision are, and on how relatable they are as a person. I think Obama did that extremely well during his campaign and I admire him for that. I always have been turned off by the smear tactics and mud-slinging that politicians use and was impressed that neither of these campaigns did that...at first. Towards the end, McCain definitely soured his tune.
I agree that I think both of the men are good men, but the strategy of the campaign can color our reactions. During his concession speech, I think McCain's true personality and character came out, and we saw that maybe he was someone who got caught in a machine. Maybe this is a lesson to future politicians to run on their own merit and that voters are sick and tired of the negative campaigns.
I for one believe that McCain had terrible advisors and made a mistake in listening to them. I also received the negative phone calls, and honestly they got annoying after a while. The tactic was very counter-productive and cost him any shot at the election, which he likely would have lost anyway.
Post a Comment