What's next for the next President?

Author: Alex Garlick

The election of Barack Obama was an historic day for our country, one that made me proud to be an American. While the United States has been the flagship of liberal democracy for over two centuries, its leader has exclusively been a white male, and to break from that mold alone would surely please the founding fathers. So to Mr. Obama, excuse me, Mr. President-elect, I say congratulations on your achievement; I admire your courage for putting yourself and your family through the gauntlet that is presidential politics. But I also say, the challenge is just beginning.

Obama's election pulled back the ugly veil of racism that once smothered our nation, but it is not gone for good. His campaign has tried to be post-racial, but the historic nature of this accomplishment will bring race to the forefront of the political discourse. However, I hope this country will rise above race as Barack himself has tried to do.

Recent history does not portend an easy start for the Obama administration. The last time a Bush turned the White House over to the Democrats, the first couple years were a political disaster. In 1992, Bill Clinton's first major policy initiative was health care, championed by his wife, and it failed miserably. In 1994, he lost congress to the GOP and Newt Gingrich's "Contract for America," and in 1995 he shut the government down in a budget crisis. George W. Bush's first year was tragic, as the country suffered the largest security lapse, and worst terrorist attack, in our nation's history.

I also wish the Democrats in Congress the best. They've been complaining about Republican control of the White House for years, and now they've got their shot at undivided government. But they should remember the old adage, "Be careful what you wish for." The founding fathers designed our government to operate with a series of checks and balances, some of which are effectively removed with a single party in power. When the GOP faced a similar power structure this decade, it botched it.

Also, the Democrats' first two years in control of Congress have been pretty sad. They campaigned strongly on ending the War in Iraq in 2006, but upon taking office, did not end the war, even though there were numerous constitutional instruments they could have used. It's much easier to point fingers at the figures in power than it is to take responsibility, just as it is easier to campaign than it is to govern. We will see how President Obama, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid handle this opportunity.

The end of this campaign signals the official twilight of John McCain's political career. As General George MacArthur said, "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away." I expect the same from McCain. He gave his party an impassioned campaign, even making gains in the final days, but it was just not meant to be. This country would have been much better off had Mr. McCain had the Republican nomination in 2000 or 2004, he just ran in the wrong year.

The decline of McCain also incites an impending fissure in the Republican party, epitomized by his running mate Sarah Palin. While the old maverick from Arizona is on his way out, the new maverick from Alaska is on the rise. She is socially conservative on all the right issues to attract certain members of the party, and plenty ambitious. But she stands in the face of the intellectual conservative, once championed by the late William F. Buckley. To an impartial observer, she seems to attract voters at the lowest common denominator, a strategy that becomes moot in an hour of dire need, such as our current economic crisis, or the 2004 election waged amidst debate over the War in Iraq. The Republican party should hope she either grows as a politician or stays out of the lower forty-eight. The GOP is on its knees, as it hasn't been since Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980; it must reevaluate its values - "drill, baby, drill" gets old fast - and establish a coherent message in order to restore divided government.

Personally, the emotion I take away from this week is vindication. As a wide-eyed high school graduate, I spent my Feb semester on John Kerry's campaign. Election Day 2004 was one the craziest, most disappointing days of my life. I remember standing in a Denver ballroom, watching Fox News (it had to be them) call Ohio for Bush. I had been studying the polls for months; I knew it was over for Kerry. All the air was sucked out of the massive room. The next morning, I awoke in some hotel room wearing my suit, both of my shoes, and only one sock. I could not help but worry; I asked myself, "What will happen if we stay in Iraq? What will happen if Bush gets to pick multiple Supreme Court justices? What will happen if we don't give everyone health care? What happened to my sock?" In the past four years, I expected little of the government, and it delivered even less.

But the day after Tuesday's historic election, instead of waking up with trepidation and worry, I arose with hope and excitement for our country's future. While it may be rocky at the start, once again, we have the leader we deserve. So instead of wandering around with just one sock, I want to ask, in the words of fictional President Jed Bartlet of the West Wing, "What's next?"