It's been busy of late.  I have a pile of seventy five-page papers that demand my attention.  My department just underwent an external review, which took some time as well.  And then there is the usual class preparation, writing anxiety, family stuff, etc.  Thus, blogging has been a bit off (even if those papers are not nearly all graded).

In any event, this evening [update: no, next week!] I have the pleasant task of going to dinner with a group of students here. They are holders of very prestigious scholarships and they have asked me to make some remarks about the imminent presidential election.  So, I am going to sketch out my comments here.

First, I think at this point it is a safe bet that Obama is going to win.  So, instead of getting down into the details of the campaigns, the strategies and speeches (which I follow fairly closely), I want to step back and think for a moment about the meaning of an Obama presidency.

I notice how critics of Obama sneer at those of us who support him, saying that we are making him into a messiah.  That is not at all my perspective.  He is a politician.  He will do some things that I will admire, he will do some things that I dislike.  He will pragmatically compromise.  The policy changes he brings will not be as extensive as his most ardent supporters suppose.  And his shortcomings will not collapse the republic (indeed, if we can survive eight years of W. we can survive just about anything!).  Yet, for all of that, there is a way in which an Obama presidency will be transformational.

Obama has been very careful and smart in the ways that he talks, and does not talk, about race.  He does not play it up; he brings it up only when others introduce it into the discussion.  His victory speech after the Iowa caucus, a key turning point in his campaign, was remarkable in this manner, in the unity message it presented.   But, however shrewd his political strategy, race matters.  The fact of a black man as president is of historical significance, and we must recognize it as such. 

I am not that old.  51.  Born in 1957.  But I have a clear memory, from when I was about 5 or 6 years old, of visiting relatives in Virginia.  We were at a restaurant and my sister, four years older than me, burst out crying.  She had seen a sign that read: "Whites Only."  She knew what it meant and it frustrated and saddened her to the point of tears.  I remember her face, her cries.  I didn't understand what was going on myself, but I came to understand.  Her reaction became a tangible sign post for my gradual awareness of segregation and racism in America.  It wasn't that long ago.

Of course, since then there has been a colossal struggle to redress the historical wrongs inflicted on African Americans.  We can talk about progress but we can also talk about continuing problems.  An Obama presidency, however, suggests a transformation of sorts.  To the extent that the president is the face of the nation, that face will now be black.  The years of restriction and repression, the obstacles of prejudice and bias, the pain and sorrow of so many dreams deferred, will now be transcended.  He will be a powerful symbol of possibility for all Americans – not only African Americans but those of Hispanic and Asian and other heritages.  He will stand as a sign of opportunity for all.  He will not solve all of our problems, but he will allow us to see ourselves in a new light, a new color.  And that is a beautiful thing.

I also agree with those who point out that Obama as president will improve the way the world looks at the US.  Racial prejudice has long been used by critics of America to point out the hypocrisy of our democratic ideals and promises.  While racism will not disappear with the election of one man, Obama's presence will powerfully work against that critique.  The multiculturalism that he symbolizes will display for the world a revived sense of American justice and opportunity. And that is all for the good.

I am not a wild-eyed idealist.  I fully expect disappointments and mistakes from an Obama administration.  But the historical moment is remarkable.  His election will be an achievement in itself.  And there is a possibility for a coming-together that might produce a more participatory and just society.  The hearts of many, many of us, to remember another transformational president, may well be touched by "the better angels of our nature."

Yes we can!

UPDATE: Nicholas Kristof has some similar reflections in today's (Thursday's) NYT.