He did it! I held my confidence back during the campaign, even the latter stages when the polls were unanimously stacked against McCain - but I knew he’d do it.
It is true that McCain was a gracious man in his concession speech. I realised that I didn’t have a great deal against this unarguably brave man, who has led an extraordinary life (much more so than Bush could ever have claimed), and it’s such a shame that it was Bush and not McCain who was voted in twice. Perhaps the world would have been different had it been McCain in 2000. And perhaps Obama might not have got in if we’d come out of two terms of McCain rather than two terms of Bush. In the end, then, the Bush presidency was effective in that it allowed Obama to win. Well, Obama allowed himself to win, because he is a very strong candidate indeed. The reason? Obama is for everyone.
Obama is for everyone. How can I be so sure? Because he led a campaign that included all sectors of society in his policies; but most of all Obama’s rhetoric stays clear of euphemism. Republican and conservatives are renowned for their euphemistic language. It’s a way of saying what you don’t want to say without appearing to be prejudiced. Think of ‘Nation First’ (as if Obama was against his country). Where Republicans and conservatives avoid the question of the existence of gays, liberals are not afraid to speak out. (We, gays, as – you would hope – mostly liberals, are not afraid to support ourselves. So how does that explain Republican gays, whose party is naturally against them? Denial?)
“Black or white, gay or straight.” Yes, this is what Obama said. Gay or straight. He mentioned us in his speech, which went out to millions, if not billions, of people around the world. Gays are included in his presidency. We were mentioned. That is hugely significant. No euphemistic language. Right on the dollar: gay or straight. I was shocked. Does that say more about me than it does the world of politics, from which I can expect to be excluded, not even mentioned?
Today I am full of hope.
[ps. the WordPress spellcheck doesn't recognise 'Obama'. It's underlined in red. Hilarious. Thousands of WordPress bloggers have been writing about a man whose name is not recognised by its spellcheck! Isn't WordPress American? You can't make it up..]
