It’s finally here. The day we’ve all dreamt about. Barack Obama is the next president! I’m so proud to be living in the States right now. I’m so genuinely happy to be part of this event. It’s something I and many others will remember for the rest of our lives. My belief in the general sanity of the American people has been restored.
One thing that has become clear is that Obama’s presidency will probably take away from the overwhelming success of political comedy. Shows like SNL, The Daily Show, and Colbert Report will no longer have an endless supply of ammo with which to entertain us. Sometimes their jobs were just too easy. No editorial or literary genius was required — Tina Fey could simply quote Palin’s words line by line and it would make a great skit.
If you stop and think about the ramifications of Obama becoming president, you will quickly be overwhelmed. Putting aside all the positive changes his own policies will bring about — the side effects are going to be powerful in their own right. The general reaction to Obama’s victory across the globe has been overwhelmingly positive. It is very heartening, and to a large extent, a relief. Finally the reputation of the United States will get some healing. The world may finally avert its course toward global hatred of America.
Along with the dominoe effect of global perception comes the internal effect of national perception. Students, lawyers, writers and people from all industries suddenly want to go to Washington. They want to be part of this government. They want to contribute. This sort of spirit has not been seen since the days of JFK. It is something that should be converted into direct action — and as a friend of mine pointed out, the onus lies on Obama to direct people by providing specific calls to action. Obama has an army of people willing to do anything to fix this country. It is so wonderful to know that he is just the man to lead them.
We all watched this election very closely. All the articles, interviews, debates, and the speeches took our attention for many months now. Today, I learned that Edward Norton has been documenting the Obama campaign trail for years. He has kept his production company’s work a secret, to avoid fueling the “Obama is a celebrity” bullshit angle. I personally am a fan of Norton’s work, and I am really looking forward to this film. It should be an excellent relation of one of the most inspiring stories of our time.