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Ready, Set, Obama The Nation. since 1865 Inside 2 Letters Ready, Set, Obama Editorials & Comment 3 Ready, Set, Obama 4 We, the People On November 4, the voters gave a resounding, nearly MELISSA HARRIS-LACEWELL 5 Noted deafening answer to the needling question of pundits who 6 The Big Sweep have spent the past two years asking, Is America ready for a JOHN NICHOLS 7 Marital Discord black President? his unique promise of racial reconcilia- RICHARD KIM Yes, it is. tion—from a man whose very existence, 8 Antitheft Devices Of course, it is possible to overstate whose very blood, testifies to its possi- ANDREW GUMBEL the significance of this moment for the bility—worked. 9 Courage in Ohio condition of black Americans. People came together, even CONNIE SCHULTZ But it is not possible to overstate EDITORIAL in Republican strongholds like 9 Studs its sweetness—and the pure, un- Indiana and Virginia, narrowly VICTOR NAVASKY adulterated joy that has come from tast- but clearly rejecting the McCain/Palin ing it. The satisfaction is all the greater message about Obama’s purported terror- Columns because three states of the former Con- ist connections and his alleged detach- 6 Deadline Poet federacy—its erstwhile capital, Virginia, ment from the “pro-America” parts of Race in America, November 5, 2008 Florida and, it appears, North Carolina— the country. John McCain was gracious CALVIN TRILLIN will give their electoral votes to a black in defeat, but nonetheless it is worth rel- 10 Beat the Devil man. The word “union” seems stronger ishing the failure of his campaign’s basest Thank You Mr. Greenspan, Mr. Bush ALEXANDER COCKBURN and more apt than ever. tactics, a veritable garage sale of musty Of the some 40 million white Ameri- culture-war tropes: resentment of “elit- 11 Subject to Debate Sayonara, Sarah cans who voted for Barack Obama, many ists” and fears about race (Nixon); hostil- KATHA POLLITT no doubt set aside their racial prejudices ity toward issues and a heavy reliance on for the sake of their economic future; personality (Reagan); and blatant, almost Articles many others, however, actively chose to caricatured appeals to reactionary popu- 13 How to End the Recession renounce them, and the youngest cohort lism and social conservatives (George W. A shot of public investment is needed— of voters, who voted for Obama in over- Bush). That these maneuvers now appear if it’s green, the payoff will be greatest. whelming numbers, showed they are to have backfired heralds a new beginning ROBERT POLLIN accustomed to and enthusiastic about a in American politics. The culture war 18 It’s the Solution, Not the Problem genuinely multiracial society in a way no may not be over, but conservatives must Faith-based claims about the dangers previous generation has been. Talk of face the fact that over the long term they of big government don’t stand up. JEFF MADRICK Obama as a “postracial” candidate was cannot win it. always misplaced, but his election does It is also worth taking a moment to sa- Books & the Arts bring us closer to the dream articulated by vor the fact that voters rebuffed McCain’s 25 TRAVISANO, HAMILTON, EDS.: Words in Air: so many black leaders, all the way back to attempt to stoke their fears by calling The Complete Correspondence Between Frederick Douglass, of a society that has Obama a “socialist” because he believes Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell moved beyond race not because racism is in “spreading the wealth.” The last few JAMES LONGENBACH ignored but because there is greater op- decisive weeks of the election real ly did 29 GILDEA: Children of the Revolution: portunity and equality. pit two opposing economic ideologies The French, 1799–1914 This election certainly doesn’t mean against each other: the Reaganite cate- RUTH SCURR racism is dead. Obama was an extraordi- chism of cuts to social programs, tax cuts 32 RILKE: The Notebooks of Malte Laurids nary candidate with enormous political for the wealthy and deregulation against Brigge BENJAMIN LYTAL talents running in a climate warm to a center-left vision of social investment, Democrats, against the candidate of a access to healthcare, re-regulation and 35 FILMS: A Christmas Tale • Synecdoche, New York party whose incumbent president boasts that dreaded word, redistribution. Ideas STUART KLAWANS an approval rating of less than 20 percent, have consequences, as conservatives like the lowest ever recorded of any American to say, and the consequences of Reagan- COVER DESIGN BY JOSÉ CHICAS & GENE CASE/ AVENGING ANGELS; ILLUSTRATIONS BY GENE CASE president. Those were Obama’s built-in ism have finally proved to be so blatantly & STEPHEN KLING/AVENGING ANGELS AND KAREN advantages. His blackness (and his “funny disastrous that we have the rare opportu- CALDICOTT name”) was something he had to over- nity to build popular support for a pro- VOLUME 287, NUMBER 17, NOVEMBER 24, 2008 come, and he did so brilliantly. In the end, gressive governing agenda. That six in PRINTED NOVEMBER 5 4 The Nation. November 24, 2008 ten voters told exit pollsters the economy was their number-one The Nation. concern, most of whom voted for Obama, should be read as the EDITOR & PUBLISHER: Katrina vanden Heuvel repudiation of the free-market agenda that it is. PRESIDENT: Teresa Stack As the conversation turns to the question of a “mandate,” MANAGING EDITOR: Roane Carey LITERARY EDITOR: John Palattella nearly everyone concedes that Obama has one, but there’s al- EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Betsy Reed SENIOR EDITOR: Richard Lingeman ready disagreement about what it consists of. He won with a ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Richard Kim very broad coalition behind him—from the civil rights estab- WEB EDITOR: Joan Connell COPY CHIEF: Judith Long lishment to the Beltway establishment; from antiwar activists ASSISTANT LITERARY EDITOR: Miriam Markowitz COPY EDITOR: Mark Sorkin to Colin Powell. The pressure to govern from the center, to ASSISTANT COPY EDITOR: Dave Baker COPY ASSOCIATE: Lisa Vandepaer try not to alienate the establishment, will be massive. But as in ASSISTANT WEB EDITOR: Adam Howard 1933, when FDR took office, the people yearn for bold lead- ASSISTANT TO THE EDITOR: Peggy Suttle INTERNS: Sarah H. Arnold, Julie Bramowitz, Marissa Colón-Margolies, Emma ership—and the crisis we are in requires it. Dumain (Washington), Robert S. Eshelman, Reeve Hamilton, Drew Haxby, Erica Landau, Lucas Mann, Cole Robertson FDR, we must remember, did not run as a radical reformer WASHINGTON: EDITOR: Christopher Hayes; CORRESPONDENT: John Nichols but was compelled to take dramatic action because of the great NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: William Greider traumas and powerful movements around him. The Great COLUMNISTS: Eric Alterman, Alexander Cockburn, Naomi Klein, Katha Pollitt, Depression, combined with pressure from the popular social Patricia J. Williams, Gary Younge movements working outside the administration (including the DEPARTMENTS: Architecture, Jane Holtz Kay; Art, Arthur C. Danto; Corporations, Robert Sherrill; Defense, Michael T. Klare; Environment, Mark Hertsgaard; Films, empowered unions of that time), pushed him to carry out bolder Stuart Klawans; Legal Affairs, David Cole; Net Movement, Ari Melber; Peace and Disarmament, Jonathan Schell; Poetry, Peter Gizzi; Sex, JoAnn Wypijewski; Sports, reforms. There’s a powerful lesson in this history for our time. Dave Zirin; United Nations, Barbara Crossette; Deadline Poet, Calvin Trillin The small “d” democratic movement that helped elect CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Kai Bird, Robert L. Borosage, Stephen F. Cohen, Marc Cooper, Mike Davis, Slavenka Drakulic´, Robert Dreyfuss, Susan Faludi, Barack Obama—the millions of volunteers and organizers, Thomas Ferguson, Doug Henwood, Max Holland, John Leonard, Michael Moore, and 2 million-plus small donors—will play a key role in forg- Christian Parenti, Richard Pollak, Joel Rogers, Karen Rothmyer, Robert Scheer, Herman Schwartz, Bruce Shapiro, Ted Solotaroff, Edward Sorel, Gore Vidal, Jon ing a progressive agenda under his administration. We will Wiener, Amy Wilentz, Art Winslow need this broad and energized grassroots base to overcome CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Ari Berman, Lakshmi Chaudhry, William Deresiewicz, Liza Featherstone, Bob Moser, Eyal Press, Scott Sherman the timid incrementalists, the forces of money and power, that BUREAUS: London, Maria Margaronis and D.D. Guttenplan; Southern Africa, are obstacles to change. With solid majorities in both houses Mark Gevisser of Congress, the Democrats are poised to provide the Obama EDITORIAL BOARD: Deepak Bhargava, Norman Birnbaum, Barbara Ehrenreich, Richard Falk, Frances FitzGerald, Eric Foner, Philip Green, Lani Guinier, Tom Hayden, administration with crucial backup. Historically, though, we Tony Kushner, Elinor Langer, Deborah W. Meier, Toni Morrison, Walter Mosley, Victor Navasky, Pedro Antonio Noguera, Richard Parker, Michael Pertschuk, Elizabeth know the Democratic Party’s finest moments have come when Pochoda, Marcus G. Raskin, Kristina Rizga, Andrea Batista Schlesinger, David Weir, Roger Wilkins it was spurred into action by movements on the outside. ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, SPECIAL PROJECTS/WEBSITE: Peter Rothberg This is where The Nation, along with other independent and ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, DEVELOPMENT/ASSOCIATES: Peggy Randall progressive forces, can come into play. Unmortgaged to any VICE PRESIDENT, ADVERTISING: Ellen Bollinger ADVERTISING MANAGER, SMALL DISPLAY, EVENTS, CLASSIFIED: Leigh Novog economic interest or political power, we will continue to make WEB SALES MANAGER: Nancy Wildermuth VICE PRESIDENT,
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