I moved to Georgia in 2005 and, when Obama was the Dems nominee for President, I volunteered to work on getting out the vote. It was fun. One day, my husband hurt himself badly enough working on our house to require a trip to the ER. I waited in the waiting room and struck up a conversation with a Black family. One of the young women suddenly asked me who I was voting for. I put on my get out the vote hat and said “Obama”. I asked who she was voting for. She said she never voted because they’d never let Black people vote here. I said that I was working for the campaign and would help all of them register to vote, find their polling place and get them there on election day. They all just laughed. You’re not used to the South yet. You’ll learn, she said. I gave her my name and phone number and asked all of them to reconsider. Never heard from any of them. Obama lost Georgia. I hope they all voted the next time around.
Years later when I was volunteering at the UGA Botanical Garden two women one Black, one white, came into the shop and started talking about the upcoming election. The Black lady said she’d gone to her polling place in Oconee County and was told that she could no longer vote because, at 90 your voting privileges expired. It wasn’t my conversation so I just observed but, here’s the wonderful part, the White lady was outraged. She said voting is a right that never expires. They left to go up to that polling place to “fix that” said the white woman.
I’ve been depressed since Hillary won the popular vote but not the electoral college and Donald Trump became president. He’s such a perfect example of true evil. That a convicted felon could actually be running to be president simply to stay out of jail blows my mind. And that it is a close election is kind of unbelievable.
I did watch just about all of the DNC convention. It was so inspiring and hopeful. Watching Gus Walz exuberantly yell “that’s my Dad” tears streaming down his face brought me to tears. And, when, Michelle Obama said “hope is making a comeback”, I was already feeling it. Will Kamala win? Will the joy last? I guess that’s up to how many people get up and out and get it done. I hope so for all of us who love this country and want better for everyone.
I wrote this on Barry Friedman's 'stack and I think it can apply here as well. "It's like someone said, enough with this horseshit, stop fucking around with this. This is a time for grown-ups in the room to take over. And hopefully, they have."
During the DNC CNN would have those pundits from the left and right bullshitting each other around a set. The common criticism is that "The Harris campaign has not offered any solutions," complaining that Kamala Harris did not offer a Bill Clinton technocrat 16 point policy blueprint.
You, however, are not a beltway blowhard. You recognized the most important offered solution to America's problems: Take us from a divided nation where the competing tribes will not acknowledge the other tribe has value to a "One Nation Under God" that is willing to respect those we disagree with but want congress to find ways to solve problems for everyone. I wish someone had read your article to Scott Jennings so he would understand how I felt about the future Harris offers.
One thing I'm fairly certain about this election is that Trump will not win the popular vote....again. He didn't win it vs Hillary or Biden' If fact it wasn't even close. However, that doesn't mean he couldn't pull an inside straight with the Electoral College like he in '16. That's my worry.
Who inspired me as a young college student? Jimmy Carter's 1976 campaign and Shirley Chisholm's speech at the DNC convention in '76.
Great column. I'm a 52 year old high school English teacher in Athens, and I begin my American Lit class every semester with listening to and analyzing Obama's 2015 speech at Selma for the anniversary of Bloody Sunday. It lays out his fundamental view of America in a brilliant way, with which I happen to wholly agree.
As a Gen X Democrat, I've felt for the last decade or so the Democrats have moved away from this, and I was very encouraged with the DNC this week where they appeared to be by and large moving past the cynicism of recent years and back to a more hopeful message.
The DNC was so inspiring and joyful and so was this piece. ❤️ I know this isn’t a political newsletter but I always appreciate reading your take, especially from the (new) swing state of Georgia.
Really interesting piece! But I did not read the Nate Jones piece as being as critical as you did. I think he was capturing something very real about how strange it is to revisit a lot of cultural pieces from the Obama era. I'm not sure it's necessarily a criticism to highlight how things like "Hamilton" and "Parks and Rec" have an implicit sense that progress is inevitable that now feels so foreign and quaint, just 10 years later -- I mean, P&R ends with Leslie Knope taking a Cabinet position in what is effectively the Trump White House, because it was apparently inconceivable to the writers that the President might be someone objectionable in the 3 year time-jump they wrote into the show!
As for Obama, even he himself has tempered the notes of optimism since he left office. "A Promised Land" has tons of caveats, and at times comes off as very cynical in the way he basically says he expressed an optimism he never really believed because it was electorally advantageous.
I’m not sure those are the right words, necessarily, but you don’t feel as if something about that perspective has aged poorly? It's not a knock on optimism, but I think a lot of the stuff described as “Obamacore” veered from, as you put it above, “the idea that things might actually get better” to an almost complacent sense that things WILL INEVITABLY get better that, given how the last 8 years have gone, feels quite silly now.
“Losing the hope that things can get better, and that desire to push to make them so, isn’t clever or wise. It’s just self-destructive.”
Amen.
Wonderful piece today.
I moved to Georgia in 2005 and, when Obama was the Dems nominee for President, I volunteered to work on getting out the vote. It was fun. One day, my husband hurt himself badly enough working on our house to require a trip to the ER. I waited in the waiting room and struck up a conversation with a Black family. One of the young women suddenly asked me who I was voting for. I put on my get out the vote hat and said “Obama”. I asked who she was voting for. She said she never voted because they’d never let Black people vote here. I said that I was working for the campaign and would help all of them register to vote, find their polling place and get them there on election day. They all just laughed. You’re not used to the South yet. You’ll learn, she said. I gave her my name and phone number and asked all of them to reconsider. Never heard from any of them. Obama lost Georgia. I hope they all voted the next time around.
Years later when I was volunteering at the UGA Botanical Garden two women one Black, one white, came into the shop and started talking about the upcoming election. The Black lady said she’d gone to her polling place in Oconee County and was told that she could no longer vote because, at 90 your voting privileges expired. It wasn’t my conversation so I just observed but, here’s the wonderful part, the White lady was outraged. She said voting is a right that never expires. They left to go up to that polling place to “fix that” said the white woman.
I’ve been depressed since Hillary won the popular vote but not the electoral college and Donald Trump became president. He’s such a perfect example of true evil. That a convicted felon could actually be running to be president simply to stay out of jail blows my mind. And that it is a close election is kind of unbelievable.
I did watch just about all of the DNC convention. It was so inspiring and hopeful. Watching Gus Walz exuberantly yell “that’s my Dad” tears streaming down his face brought me to tears. And, when, Michelle Obama said “hope is making a comeback”, I was already feeling it. Will Kamala win? Will the joy last? I guess that’s up to how many people get up and out and get it done. I hope so for all of us who love this country and want better for everyone.
But for right now, I’ll take joy and enjoy it!
I wrote this on Barry Friedman's 'stack and I think it can apply here as well. "It's like someone said, enough with this horseshit, stop fucking around with this. This is a time for grown-ups in the room to take over. And hopefully, they have."
During the DNC CNN would have those pundits from the left and right bullshitting each other around a set. The common criticism is that "The Harris campaign has not offered any solutions," complaining that Kamala Harris did not offer a Bill Clinton technocrat 16 point policy blueprint.
You, however, are not a beltway blowhard. You recognized the most important offered solution to America's problems: Take us from a divided nation where the competing tribes will not acknowledge the other tribe has value to a "One Nation Under God" that is willing to respect those we disagree with but want congress to find ways to solve problems for everyone. I wish someone had read your article to Scott Jennings so he would understand how I felt about the future Harris offers.
One thing I'm fairly certain about this election is that Trump will not win the popular vote....again. He didn't win it vs Hillary or Biden' If fact it wasn't even close. However, that doesn't mean he couldn't pull an inside straight with the Electoral College like he in '16. That's my worry.
Who inspired me as a young college student? Jimmy Carter's 1976 campaign and Shirley Chisholm's speech at the DNC convention in '76.
Amen
Great column. I'm a 52 year old high school English teacher in Athens, and I begin my American Lit class every semester with listening to and analyzing Obama's 2015 speech at Selma for the anniversary of Bloody Sunday. It lays out his fundamental view of America in a brilliant way, with which I happen to wholly agree.
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/03/07/remarks-president-50th-anniversary-selma-montgomery-marches
As a Gen X Democrat, I've felt for the last decade or so the Democrats have moved away from this, and I was very encouraged with the DNC this week where they appeared to be by and large moving past the cynicism of recent years and back to a more hopeful message.
I just watched this. Thank you so, so much for it.
Yeah, I had read about four or five paragraphs of that Nate Jones piece and had to stop. Mocking optimism and hope will never speak to me.
Fantastic newsletter, Will! Would you ever run for elected office? You’d have my vote.
Ha. I got enough problems as is! (And thanks!)
The DNC was so inspiring and joyful and so was this piece. ❤️ I know this isn’t a political newsletter but I always appreciate reading your take, especially from the (new) swing state of Georgia.
I try not to make it too political! But it's, you know, a pretty big election!
Wow! I'd never seen that Obama convention speech from 3004. Thanks Will!
Really interesting piece! But I did not read the Nate Jones piece as being as critical as you did. I think he was capturing something very real about how strange it is to revisit a lot of cultural pieces from the Obama era. I'm not sure it's necessarily a criticism to highlight how things like "Hamilton" and "Parks and Rec" have an implicit sense that progress is inevitable that now feels so foreign and quaint, just 10 years later -- I mean, P&R ends with Leslie Knope taking a Cabinet position in what is effectively the Trump White House, because it was apparently inconceivable to the writers that the President might be someone objectionable in the 3 year time-jump they wrote into the show!
As for Obama, even he himself has tempered the notes of optimism since he left office. "A Promised Land" has tons of caveats, and at times comes off as very cynical in the way he basically says he expressed an optimism he never really believed because it was electorally advantageous.
I guess I just don't think it feels so foreign and quaint? I wonder if this is the primary difference here.
I’m not sure those are the right words, necessarily, but you don’t feel as if something about that perspective has aged poorly? It's not a knock on optimism, but I think a lot of the stuff described as “Obamacore” veered from, as you put it above, “the idea that things might actually get better” to an almost complacent sense that things WILL INEVITABLY get better that, given how the last 8 years have gone, feels quite silly now.