The end of the election is good in all ways.

Undismayed relishes the return of the rule of law, for one.

But even more importantly, it's a strong signal that this country just possibly might not limp along angry, declining, and pathetic if not actually fail. It is possible to think that things might actually improve and even be good.


Longtime readers of Undismayed know that we had some questions about choosing Obama among all other possible contenders, but we came around, and time has proven that he is a man of fine character and he has earned his respect over the past several months. His election is a huge win for the country at large in all of the ways that all commentators are talking about, of course, so I won't exercise them here.

We were helped around by the obvious sign that the Republican party needed to experience (at least one) crushing and total loss. I see this as the long awaited revenge for the incompetence that has brought us the failure to prevent the September 11 attacks and every fucking thing since. That total Republican crushing alone is reason to rejoice in Obama's win.

Also completely joy-making is anything that can be done to eliminate Sarah Palin from public life, to extirpate her brand of faux populism, to restrain the authoritarian mindset she appeals to, and to wipe that shit gobbling stupidity off of our collective shoes. This is just the first stage in the relentless campaign to keep her and all of the other neo-fascists out of the public domain, and to pummel them into senselessness if they dare to venture forth to take power. Leave Alaska and other marginal places for these motherfuckers and teach them to stay out of the rest of the country. Do you think if Palin/McCain won that they would have given a speech like Obama signaling that they were sensitive to the needs of their opponents?

Finally, at long last, we are rid of baby boomer leaders. That generation, obsessed over the divides of decades ago, have contributed almost nothing but bullshit to our political culture. The divides brought by the reactionary wing of the Republican party had too many easy targets among the self-righteous and power worshipping Clintonies. it's nice to see them all shown to be vacuous and useless in the face of a politician from the Colonel's generation. Finally we can stop arguing about fucking Vietnam as the flashpoint and maybe focus on the crisis we are actually in. The fact that Johnny Mac's attempt to run on his record and his attempt to ressurect boogieman Ayers failed is a clear sign that the country is finally moving beyond it.

That Obama emerged at this moment is critical--not just educated, but smart, savvy, technologically aware, and comfortable not bowing down before the goddamned religious nuts who are trying to make this fine secular country into Taliban Afghanistan.

Obama has plenty of flaws and much to learn, but he has the capacity to learn at least and my guess is that he will lead as deftly as he campaigned. And if he doesn't, well, we'll happy to rant about it...