I Want to Believe...I'm Willing to Believe...OK, I Believe.

by: David Sirota

Mon Nov 03, 2008 at 20:00


Like most of us, I'm experiencing a very weird cocktail of emotions: Excitement for a potential win tomorrow; fear of a potential loss; and preemptive disappointment that a win could mean an Obama presidency that doesn't seize the moment or that a loss could mean no moment at all.

I want to believe we're going to win tomorrow, and I want to believe that a win tomorrow will be the first step in true transformative change in this country - universal health care, new trade and energy policies, an end to the war in Iraq.

I really want to believe. In fact, I'm willing to believe, even though some polls show the race tightening, and even though some news organizations are already reporting that Obama is planning to staff his administration with some of the very same D.C. insiders who created many of these messes.

I'm willing to believe because I'm willing to believe America has changed from 2004 and is ready to vote for change. I'm willing to believe because  based on my one in-depth discussion with Obama, and based on his conduct in this campaign, I believe in Obama the person. And I'm willing to believe because this campaign is less about Obama than about us - and that in involving us, Obama mave have helped construct a pressure system that will force him to represent the progressive agenda in office.

I believe. I do. I may hate myself later for letting myself believe - whether "later" is tomorrow night with a McCain win, or sometime in 2009 if an Obama administration starts trimming its sails. I may worry right now that believing is stupid, something I should have learned never to do.

But fuck it - I'm all in. I believe.

David Sirota :: I Want to Believe...I'm Willing to Believe...OK, I Believe.

Tags: , (All Tags)
Print Friendly View Send As Email

I Want to Believe...I'm Willing to Believe...OK, I Believe. | 25 comments
All in (4.00 / 3)
It's like we're at the World Series of Poker, and we think we might have a pretty good hand.

Let's push our pile of chips forward and call it.

We're all in.

Now, where the hell's my drink?

pretty much (0.00 / 0)
yup. We're all all in.

We can get back to yelling at each other and stabbing each other in the back Wednesday.

I was riding my bicycle past Obama's house in Hyde Park yesterday, and a Polish TV station did a man-in-the-street (-on-a-bicycle?) interview and I basically sounded like some kind of strange enchanted creature.

It didn't help that, yeah, Polish TV is pretty much in the bag for Obama -- that darn post-Communist media! Afterwards, we all made fun of Bush for calling Poland "New Europe" and "you forgot Poland" and all of that. It was kind of cathartic.

[ Parent ]
I got an email from Sweden (4.00 / 1)
yesterday. Someone I hadn't talked to in over a year was writing to wish me (us) luck for the election. They specifically expressed hopes not only for America, but for the world.

The World is "in the bag" for Obama!

[ Parent ]
My sister lives in Germany and sent me an email asking about (4.00 / 1)
the election.  They are in full Obama-mania in that country, he is more popular than any politician they have.  The US election is covered 24/7 in the German media and uniformly they had an incredulous reaction to Palin, baffled that someone as unqualified as her could vault to the #2 spot in a party in a blink of an eye.  They even showed the Katie Couric - Palin  interviews incessantly, dubbed of course.  

Pretty much all of Europe and dare I say the rest of the world is so ready to see the Republican party lose big tomorrow.  An Obama win will mean an instant boost in international esteem and respect, which is an awesome start to this next phase as soon as the election is called for Obama.

[ Parent ]
Gee, thanks (0.00 / 0)
for reminding me that the rest of the world is witnessing Sarah Palin represent America. Ugh. Just when you think it can't get anymore embarrassing than it already is...
[ Parent ]
Yeah, "I can see Russia from my house" was the laugh line (4.00 / 1)
that went around the world.  Just a few more hours and the national nightmare will be over, buried in a cloud of dust.  
[ Parent ]
I love your optimism and confidence (0.00 / 0)
It helps cancel out those of us who are running around frantically and setting our hair on fire.
[ Parent ]
i feel like (4.00 / 1)
a Palin interview dubbed into German and overlaid on a techno beat could become the next YouTube sensation.
[ Parent ]
Sry, couldn't find any dubbed Palin interview, only this: (0.00 / 0)
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=...

This is a satirical sketch from a regional public TV channel. Klaus, the mouse, is a parody on a popular german kid show. But his audience are adults, and he gives hilarious explanations for somewhat complicated issues. Like, for instance, why McCain chose Sarah Palin as running mate. I guess you won't be able to understand the German text, so here's the explanation in short form: It's because she's everything McCain's base loves, a good looking, bible-thumbing, gun-toting abortion enemy with no dirty laundry in the closet. Well, ok, with some dirty laundry, but "Weißer Riese" (White Giant) McCain will take care of that (Wießer Riese being a popular detergent in Germany, liek Purex). That's all you need to know about Sarah Palin.

Hmm, well, of course in German it's much more funny than in my translation, I have to admit...  

[ Parent ]
As Trippi said, (0.00 / 0)
You gotta believe.
Yup (0.00 / 0)
The alternative is too unthinkable. Not least of all because if McSame wins, there's no way it's not from voter suppression and election fraud. And no one's even talked about what we're going to do if that goes down. While it's good to stay positive, I think I'd feel a little better if we had some contingency plans for people to express their outrage (mass peaceful sit-ins?) besides hoping Obama's legal team can save the country.

Hopefully we'll get lucky and won't have to worry about that.

[ Parent ]
Contingency plans for a stolen election (0.00 / 0)
I think I'd feel a little better if we had some contingency plans

Not here.  Homeland security may be listening in.

War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength; McCain/Palin 2008

[ Parent ]
It's like the Stevie Wonder song (0.00 / 0)
It's like a nice love song, then about four minutes in it turns into a rockin' porno soundtrack.

Speaking of which, Here's a preview of Tuesday night.

Conduct your own interview of Sarah Palin!

Great video link! Thanks! (0.00 / 0)
Not sure how superstition plays into tomorrow, but I'm all for people conducting whatever rituals they need to do to get the job done!
[ Parent ]
The Truth is Out There (0.00 / 0)
The Truth is Out There. And tomorrow we bring it home.

"A man got to have a code." Omar Little, The Wire
Why do we have to "believe"? (4.00 / 4)
I really don't understand why we have to "believe" in Obama like he is some sort of religious figure come down from the heavens to save our country. I think this belief stuff is actually quite dangerous in that it paints both the candidate and the political system with qualities that it doesn't merit. Would I rather have Obama as president than McCain? Of course. But, is Obama a true, transformational progressive? Absolutely not.

I know that people tend to get emotional at election time, especially after what we on the left have experienced for the past eight years, but I think it is necessary to remain cool and detached--as Obama himself usually is--and realize that we have a huge and lengthy battle on our hands to shape this country into a true progressive nation, and that electing Obama is just one step in that process. After all, let us not kid ourselves--part of the reason that Obama is going to win is because McCain has run an awful campaign, and because Bush royally fucked up the country, not because of some sudden realization on the part of the populace that they are FDR liberals.    

Why we have to believe (4.00 / 2)
You pose a nice question about why do we have to "believe" in Obama?  You obviously think we don't and I will like to present why we do.

The worst problem facing this country is a lack of optimism.  For 30 years, the Right - and corporate Left - have carefully injected just enough cynicism into the electorate so that people stopped believing in government, themselves, and their neighbors.  IMHO, the greatest reason for Obama's success has been that he was the first nation politician to dissect this need.  

Conservatives argued that government didn't work and they could fix.  Then once people elected them, they made it worse.    Repeat steps one and two and 28 years later here we are.  

Before ANY of our national problems are ever solved people have to believe that someone cares about them.  And Obama has done that.  Anyone who has managed to break through our rightfully erected wall of cynicism deserves credit.  Is Obama perfect, hell no.  Does he honestly want the best for all of us?  Yes.  That is good enough for me.  

Will we have to fight him tooth and nail over legislation?  Probably.  But I, at least, will be much happier knowing that I am in a dialog with a leader who truly cares.  And that is why I believe.

[ Parent ]
Sucker! (4.00 / 2)
Actually, I'm in too.

In a phone call today, a friend in Beirut said to me--the world is watching. In London they are planning parties--according to my wife's friends. This is it. The world is in too.

All in (0.00 / 0)
I'm all in too. And if it all goes to shit, I have a passport.
Great Post... (0.00 / 0)
I'm right there with you....

Lets win, take a week off and then start pushing for Progressive change.   As you say, Obama's whole campaign was about getting us involved... its now time to take what was effectively National Community organizing and use that to get health Care, net neutrality and other things.

my theory is that when people say "I want to believe," (4.00 / 2)
they're really saying, "Lie to me. Convince me that the world is as I most deeply wish it to be, and not as it truly is. Spin for me a hallucinatory fantasy so subtle and realistic I can sincerely and wholeheartedly clasp it to my heart as the gospel truth, and banish the nagging little voice, deep down, that whispers 'This is not real, this is just a dream, and you're going to wake up really soon'."

I don't believe in Obama. I don't have to. My vote for him will be based strictly on the knowledge that his opponent is an intemperate, incompetent warmonger with no concern at all for the lives of our citizens, and that Obama, whatever he may be, is not that.

If I must believe in something, if I must lie to myself, then I choose to believe in ideas, not in a fallible, erring human being. I choose to believe in the capacity of people to govern themselves rationally, as Thomas Jefferson did. I choose to believe that we can deal with our problems honestly, reasonably, and without fear. I choose to believe that government by the people, for the people, has not perished from the earth.

Those are things worth believing in, to me.

Hmm... (4.00 / 1)
It looks to me like you do believe that Obama is not actually McCain. Good for you.

Action requires conviction. It's time to act. Nobody here is a fool and it's time to finish what we have been working on for years--ending the GOP reign of terror. And if we succeed, we get to start all over again. So in the end it doesn't really matter if Obama isn't our savior. That's our job.

[ Parent ]
This things I believe! (4.00 / 1)
1) I believe that Obama is going to win tomorrow by a substantial margin (in the 53% popular range).  That's something I've believed since the spring.

2) I believe that schadenfreude is sweet, and tomorrow will be the best Halloween ever.

3) I believe that institutional power is fully capable of maintaining inertia, and that the only way to bring about the Change we want will be to challenge established power, ourselves, until it gets scared enough to toss us some goodies.

4) I believe that we need to change the nature of institutional power, not merely the wielders of it, and that no president, not even Obama, will do so unless he is forced to.

5) I believe progress can only come through fighting against established power institutionally, not through supporting the person or party that happens to be in power.

David, that picture looks like the poster for a remake of Zardoz starring Obama's head (0.00 / 0)

C'mon, David. (0.00 / 0)
You may be the only non-Bushbot still treating the possibility of a legitimate McCain victory as credible.  It's not.  Knock it off.
I Want to Believe...I'm Willing to Believe...OK, I Believe. | 25 comments
USER MENU

Open Left Campaigns

SEARCH

   

Advanced Search

QUICK HITS
STATE BLOGS

Home | RSS/XML Feed | Register | Contact

  © OpenLeft 2007-2010, Powered by SoapBlox

Powered by: SoapBlox