Michael Moore: What Will It Be Like To Have A Smart President? ("Wow. Seriously, Wow")

[Hissyspit]

http://www.alternet.org/election08/106154/michael_moore%3A_what_will_it_be_like_to_have_a_smart_president_/

Michael Moore: What Will It Be Like to Have a Smart President?

By Michael Moore, MichaelMoore.com. Posted November 6, 2008.

Today we celebrate the triumph of intelligence over a belief that Adam and Eve rode around on dinosaurs just 6,000 years ago.

Who among us is not at a loss for words? Tears pour out. Tears of joy. Tears of relief. A stunning, whopping landslide of hope in a time of deep despair.

In a nation that was founded on genocide and then built on the backs of slaves, it was an unexpected moment, shocking in its simplicity: Barack Obama, a good man, a black man, said he would bring change to Washington, and the majority of the country liked that idea. The racists were present throughout the campaign and in the voting booth. But they are no longer the majority, and we will see their flame of hate fizzle out in our lifetime.

There was another important "first" last night. Never before in our history has an avowed anti-war candidate been elected president during a time of war. I hope President-elect Obama remembers that as he considers expanding the war in Afghanistan. The faith we now have will be lost if he forgets the main issue on which he beat his fellow Dems in the primaries and then a great war hero in the general election: The people of America are tired of war. Sick and tired. And their voice was loud and clear yesterday.

It's been an inexcusable 44 years since a Democrat running for president has received even just 51 percent of the vote. That's because most Americans haven't really liked the Democrats. They see them as rarely having the guts to get the job done or stand up for the working people they say they support. Well, here's their chance. It has been handed to them, via the voting public, in the form of a man who is not a party hack, not a set-for-life Beltway bureaucrat. Will he now become one of them, or will he force them to be more like him? We pray for the latter.

- snip -

An African American has been elected President of the United States! Anything is possible! We can wrestle our economy out of the hands of the reckless rich and return it to the people. Anything is possible! Every citizen can be guaranteed health care. Anything is possible! We can stop melting the polar ice caps. Anything is possible! Those who have committed war crimes will be brought to justice. Anything is possible.

We really don't have much time. There is big work to do. But this is the week for all of us to revel in this great moment. Be humble about it. Do not treat the Republicans in your life the way they have treated you the past eight years. Show them the grace and goodness that Barack Obama exuded throughout the campaign. Though called every name in the book, he refused to lower himself to the gutter and sling the mud back. Can we follow his example? I know, it will be hard.

I want to thank everyone who gave of their time and resources to make this victory happen. It's been a long road, and huge damage has been done to this great country, not to mention to many of you who have lost your jobs, gone bankrupt from medical bills, or suffered through a loved one being shipped off to Iraq. We will now work to repair this damage, and it won't be easy.

But what a way to start! Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th President of the United States. Wow. Seriously, wow.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MichaelMoore.com
[email protected]

[Swamp Rat]

1. Amen!

[pnwmom]

2. The reason it has been rare for a Democrat to win 51% of the vote is because

of people like Michael Moore, who supported Nader in 2000. When people on the left split their vote between the Democratic party and other progressive parties, it reduces the chance of a Democrat attaining a majority.

This is the problem Al Franken is facing right now in Minnesota. There were plenty of liberal voters, but some of them voted for the minor party candidates -- and because of that, the Republican is likely to win a plurality of the votes.

[TahitiNut]

3. No ... it's because of the 50+ million who voted for Bush&Co.

It's because WE didn't do enough to teach, cajole, discuss, argue, confront, and engage the people who, through ignorance and fear, supported a "strong man" autocratic farce of a politician. This country is the only "democracy" I know of where it's considered impolite to discuss politics. Liberals have been "polite" for over 30 years while the purveyors of hate, fear, and ignorance have filled the void. Speak up. Speak out. A failure to discuss politics is a failure of democracy. "Go along to get along" is a path to the forced labor camp.

This weird obsession with attacking the "Naderites" and other leftists is like attacking cancer in the body politic by trimming toenails. It's ridiculous.

[pnwmom]

4. You don't like it, but it's true. In Franken's race, 4000 votes went to minor parties,

which caused the election to swing to Coleman.

And Nader took 95,000 votes in Florida 2000, when the race was decided by less than 500.