Friday, September 7, 2012

EUPHORIA... AND CAUTION

It was pleasing to see that enthusiasm for Democratic ideals was far from exhausted at the convention last night.  I thought the President gave an excellent speech, remarkably detailed and absent the fantasy that characterized many of the speeches the previous week in Tampa.  The whole Democratic convention was extraordinarily well-planned and well-paced, focusing on substance and real world solutions rather than on rhetoric and airy promises.  The rhetoric was, shall we say, reality-based.  The growing sense of euphoria in the convention hall was understandable.

But Michael Moore is right in sounding an important note of caution in his article in the current Huffington Post.  I don't go along with everything he says, and I'm inclined to allow for more of there centrist positions Obama has had to take than does Moore.  But he's right about the white vote, about the continuing plague of racism, about the cynical Republican attacks on the right to vote and the money that has enabled those attacks and, in some cases, ensured their success.

I hope that the net result of the Democratic convention is to inspire many not only to renew their suspended faith in Obama and his policies, but also to do the work that's needed to ensure his re-election.  And, as Moore points out, it's going to take an awful lot of work.

No comments: