agents of change?

As the election cycle nears ever closer to that fateful day in november, politicos and patriots across the nation are reeling with excitement over their candidate picks for the 2008 presidential race. Lawyers, Senators, farmers, bankers and CEOs are all discussing who will be the best for America and who will likely succeed in taking over the White House in January. The race has boiled down (though not without some getting severely burned - Hillary) to two candidates, Senators John S. McCain and Barack H. Obama. Not dissimilar in their quest for the 1600 Pennsylvania return address label, the pair are ultimately polar opposites from their personalities to their visions for the future. America will have to choose and choose wisely, as one of these two competitors will hold the highest office in the land for the next four years.

Mr. Obama has unapologetically cast himself as an agent of change during the course of his campaign, touting himself as the hope for the future and envisioning a new direction for America. Though he has never expounded on the specifics of his rhetoric, the public seems to have accepted his self proclaimed aura, giving him the pulpit he needs to propel his political agenda. Unfortunately for the hungry American public, vagueness is starving them from gaining any substantive insight into the life and intentions of the Senator from Illinois. Thoughtful questions seem to be continuously deflected, citing bigotry as reason not to answer. Interestingly the press gives this behavior a pass, seeming quite unshaken by the bold move to leave questions unanswered. If no explanations are offered and inquiries are ignored, how will citizens know the candidate?

Just days ago, Obama supporters teeming with excitement awaited a message revealing the identity of his running mate. When the news finally came through in the early hours of a non-business day, one could hear a pin drop as America held its breath--only to be categorically unimpressed with the results. Another Senator, aged and hailing from an insignificant state (as far as electoral votes are concerned) was announced as the partner in the agents of change campaign. Not only was this race already chock full of Senators (career politicians), but it was already full enough of elderly statesmen to put it kindly. So nothing new, nothing different, no element of change was introduced to the insatiable American public. Rather, a disheartening message rang loud and clear about the young Senator Obama: “I might be young and inexperienced, but this Washington lifer will balance me out!”

This strategy worked for George W. Bush in 2000, but then again he did have gubernatorial experience and a laundry list of statewide accomplishments under his belt when he promoted Cheney as his helping hand in foreign diplomacy. Still, the move worked and America twice elected the enigmatic Bush, awarding him both the highest and the lowest approval ratings in history. Bush was not the first candidate to employ such a method. John F. Kennedy chose the elder LBJ as his running mate, giving the Kennedy camp years of state and national congressional experience. He chose wisely, easily picking up younger voters himself while gently courting the skeptical older generations. JFK, with little experience, managed to easily take the White House in what was one of the most memorable political victories in US history.

Generally, the Obama campaign has been anticlimactic. Even his win over Hillary did not garner the expected thunderous roar of excitement from anxious Americans. Newspeople are showing signs of Obama fatigue, tired of talking up an increasingly unoriginal campaign. If Senator Obama expects to woo American voters into the euphoria of his vision he must take a risk and give the public that pinnacle moment in which they realize they have been changed--transformed by the message of hope. He must elicit a climax, bringing people to the point where they need him, believing in their hearts that he is their man, their savior. Clearly the platform of change and hope catapulted Obama to unimaginable political heights, but now the honeymoon is over. Unforgiving American politics will not yield to the unconfident or the stubborn and now Obama must prove that he is neither, risking everything to be different--to be the bringer of change and hope in the future.