Thoughts about change

The talking heads are talking again and they’re saying Obama is no different from any other politician who ever came to Washington touting “change” but doesn't bring any. They cite as evidence his pick of so many old Washington hands for his staff and Cabinet posts. How else do they propose he effect change? He needs people who know how to get things done in Washington. He will counsel with them, and work with them, and through them he will lead the country in a new direction. HE IS THE CHANGE. Through him will change occur.

Bush’s presidency has been like a festering sore. Yes, we want to get rid of it, but if we keep picking at it, it will never heal. Obama is your mother saying, “Stop picking at the scab, and let it heal.” To the talking heads, I say, “Let the Office of President heal, give Barack Obama a chance.” Got that?

OK, and now NPR voices are complaining that Obama is not choosing NPR for his weekly radio address. “If radio was good enough for FDR, it is good enough for Obama,” they say. Good grief. This is not 1932! Obama is using his transition website, change.gov, for his weekly video message and is posting the same message on YouTube.com. Hello, NPR. Communications technology has changed and Obama is simply tapping state of the art tools to stay in touch with the American people. If YouTube is good enough for you and me, why not a President Obama?

Barack Obama has already changed many things. He permanently changed the way presidential campaigns raise money when he raised $500 million dollars from 6.5 million donors. No one has ever done that. Others will try in the future, and that will be fine. The Obama model will likely be the future “public financing” of campaigns that stimulates voter participation throughout the entire process. He has also demonstrated that a 50-state strategy not only works politically but is also more in keeping with our founding democratic principles, that is, solicitation of the broadest measure of public support by presidential candidates from all states. In its purest form, this strategy is a uniting force, and its success something to celebrate. The other party would do well to attempt to emulate it in the future.