What Happens After November?

Quote of the day:
‘If you’re in a bad situation, don’t worry; it’ll change. If you’re in a good situation, don’t worry; it’ll change.”
--John A. Simone Sr.

It’s looking like the Democratic presidential candidate will be determined shortly. Reports are universal and pervasive that Obama will have this thing wrapped up soon.

His campaign has really hit a resonant chord. Many of his supporters may not have realized how resigned they had become to the international embarrassment that George W. Bush has become. The nation had begun to feel that these years would never end.

And now they’re not only ending, but there is a candidate who eloquently speaks words of hope, inspiration and the possibility of real change. We so thirst for this message after seven years of inarticulateness and questionable competence, combined with a significant decline in respect for Americans abroad.

We have repeated to ourselves over and over that people in other countries don’t dislike us, they just dislike our government right now. They was true for a while, but was called into serious question when we reelected Bush in 2004. Now many of our friends question our sanity at best and our friendship at worst.

Of course whoever is president will seek to repair relationships and rebuild trust internationally. The question is not whether to do this or not. The choice is not strengthen diplomacy or not. That will happen whoever is elected--even Ralph Nader.

The fact is that the Bush administration has gotten serious about diplomacy over the last 12 months. Instead of seeing it as a form of weakness or capitulation, they finally realized that if we’re going to carry Teddy Roosevelt’s big stick, we must also speak softly.

The questions before us over the next couple of years are: Can real change happen? If so, how exactly, with 99.9% of the Washington cast of characters (elected officials and bureaucrats) still in place?

Most important, if we really want change, what exactly are we going to do about it beyond simply voting?