One Giant Leap

The Iowa caucuses last night brought a big boost to the campaigns of Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee.

For the Republicans, this suggests that the cynicism and outright meanness of the leading candidates (Romney, Giuliani, Thompson) is not playing well, at least in calm little whitebread Iowa. McCain had a decent showing, proving that he's back on the upswing and not nearly as dead as most pundits would have had you believe months ago. Considering the lack of depth in Huckabee's funds and organization, this might be as far as his phenomena goes. It'll be interesting to see.

On the Democratic side, these results would seem to indicate that Obama's message of change and unity appeals to people. If you saw his victory speech, you might understand why. Dude's an inspiration. Even though his hoarseness and his cadence suggested something of a preacher, this speech will still give you goosebumps, especially coming as it does after such a momentous occasion.

From the American Prospect:

"Obama's finest speeches do not excite. They do not inform. They don't even really inspire. They elevate. They enmesh you in a grander moment, as if history has stopped flowing passively by, and, just for an instant, contracted around you, made you aware of its presence, and your role in it. He is not the Word made flesh, but the triumph of word over flesh, over color, over despair. The other great leaders I've heard guide us towards a better politics, but Obama is, at his best, able to call us back to our highest selves, to the place where America exists as a glittering ideal, and where we, its honored inhabitants, seem capable of achieving it, and thus of sharing in its meaning and transcendence."

Even David Brooks is affected. As he says, "Barack Obama has won the Iowa caucuses. You’d have to have a heart of stone not to feel moved by this. An African-American man wins a closely fought campaign in a pivotal state. He beats two strong opponents, including the mighty Clinton machine. He does it in a system that favors rural voters. He does it by getting young voters to come out to the caucuses.

"This is a huge moment... Whatever their political affiliations, Americans are going to feel good about the Obama victory, which is a story of youth, possibility and unity through diversity — the primordial themes of the American experience.

"And Americans are not going to want to see this stopped. When an African-American man is leading a juggernaut to the White House, do you want to be the one to stand up and say No?"

Something's happening. It's early, too early to put a name on it or to hope too hard, but the ground is definitely shifting under our feet. We've trudged along in the political darkness for too long, and if you don't think politics affects you or your daily life, think hard about what the past 8 years have been like. Change has to come, and it's got to be big. We're due.