Early thoughts on the election

Some preliminary thoughts on the election tonight - I'm still processing, and will write more later.

I have a lot of fun memories from this election. In Leesburg, VA, I waited in line for two hours to listen to Barack Obama speak eleven days from the election. After waiting for two hours in line, and still far from the security checkpoint, I remember muttering – “This line is ridiculous. That’s it—I’m voting for McCain.” I got laughs, not punches – it was great that we were committed to the candidate, but had a sense of humor.

He will bear a tremendous burden. The price he may pay for progress is to be hated, as hated as President Bush. It’s a daunting task – no leader, endowed with both the talent and the desire for public admiration, can take the decline and fall of his or her esteem with complete tranquility.

His speech was complimented for being sedate, almost somber. It drew from many great speeches – echoes from JFK’s first inaugural, and from MLK’s Mountaintop speech. But in terms of tone, I kept going back to Lincoln’s last public address.

On April 11, 1865, two days after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Lincoln spoke at the window over the main door of the White House to a crowd assembled on the front lawn. They were excited, and had come with lights and smiles, calling for the President.

Yet he gave no speech of celebration – he spoke of the difficulties that lay ahead for the Union, and emphasized the need for reaching out and building up the devastated South. He articulated his plans, and justified his argument in detail.

Obama was less detailed, more colloquial, and spoke as much to the heart as the head. But he made it clear that unity, not victory, would be his goal – we, not me, his modus operandi.

He’s going to need a hell of a lot of help. Take a page from Lincoln – don’t celebrate, get to work.