Now that Hillary Rodham Clinton has withdrawn from the race, there is all kinds of talk about whether or not she will be Obama's running mate, and discussions of how voters will view the battle between McCain and Obama. There is no doubt that this has been one of the most exciting primary elections in history because, we as a people have stared down some of the most frightening ghosts from our past.
Racism and sexism have been some of the ugliest parts of our shared history, and having a woman and an African-American come this close to the highest office in the land (and probably the most powerful position in the world) is astonishing. The Constitution written by the founding generation would not have allowed Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama to even vote, much less run so successfully for public office.
As someone who has devoted a good part of my life to trying to understand our history and its meaning, it was all too clear, to paraphrase Galileo, that these two candidates were standing on the shoulders of giants. The spirits of Abigail Adams, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Abraham Lincoln, Booker T. Washington, Susan B. Anthony, W.E.B. DuBois, Alice Paul, Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Bobby Kennedy and so many others are smiling down on our nation right now. So many Americans have been a part of the struggle to fulfill the belief, penned by Jefferson in 1776, that we are all created equal. Our nation was founded upon this ideal over 230 years ago, and for so long, we have struggled to live up to it. So much has happened so quickly in this presidential race that I don't think we have really absorbed the significance of the events that have come to pass in the last year and a half.
There has been a lot of commentary out there about where this campaign will go from here, but not nearly enough time taken to really meditate on how we have gotten here.
Of course, there have been some very thoughtful comments, discussions, and analyses of what we have seen come to pass - have you read or heard any? Have you had conversations or insights from friends, parents, or relatives? Perhaps some original thoughts of your own?
Please share them with us.
Right now I'm going to read
Seeing Bobby Kennedy in Barack Obama.
It is about time! Good luck to Michael Steele as he seeks to redeem the image of the Republican Party, the G.O.P., and yes, the "Party of Lincoln".
