Spring Break
OP-ED: Still always looking on the bright side of life
by Justin Backal-Balik
Op-Ed | 5/20/08
Posted online at 6:31 AM EST on 5/20/08
Now that Obama is moving toward wrapping up the primary campaign, the long-forecast doom about a deeply divided party is giving way to a Republican nightmare. Republicans have now lost three congressional seats in heavily conservative areas to Democrats in recent special elections. Moreover, in the most recent race in Mississippi, attack ads were run linking the Democratic candidate to Obama, using images of Wright. The attack failed, and the candidate won by 8 percent. If the Republicans can't win in a place where Bush got 62 percent of the vote, where can they? They didn't even try to spin their most recent loss.
I just finished watching John Edwards praise Clinton but then offer a moving endorsement of Obama. Clinton herself has spent recent interviews defending Obama from John McCain's attacks and saying she will campaign hard for the eventual nominee. My fear of a protracted convention battle and a divided party has given way to excitement and cautious optimism.
I remember thinking during the 2004 election that John Kerry was not being true to himself. He presented an honest break from Bush on domestic policy but kept on talking about killing terrorists and being tough on security-so much so that on the defining issue of the election, he was only imitating his opponent.
This year, I can't wait to have a candidate-Obama-who offers a clear contrast to Bush clone John McCain, a candidate who was always against the war, who doesn't take lobbyist money and who will put the middle and lower classes back at the forefront of the economy.
When I started Brandeis for Barack more than a year ago, I wasn't sure how far Obama would get. My parents were encouraging but pessimistic about his chances. However, as Obama might say, I didn't want to settle for what people told me I had to accept. And, after eight long years of failed leadership, it appears the Democratic Party doesn't want to settle either.
I am hopeful that the rest of the country shares this sentiment. I am ready to roll up my sleeves and get back to work in the fall. And it's already started, with John McCain trying to scare Americans into believing that Hamas will celebrate the election of Obama. But as Obama's campaign has taught me, when the going gets tough, and they start telling us we can't, we will respond by shouting from all the across the country on Nov. 4, 2008, "YES WE CAN!"
The writer is president of Brandeis for Barack.
I just finished watching John Edwards praise Clinton but then offer a moving endorsement of Obama. Clinton herself has spent recent interviews defending Obama from John McCain's attacks and saying she will campaign hard for the eventual nominee. My fear of a protracted convention battle and a divided party has given way to excitement and cautious optimism.
I remember thinking during the 2004 election that John Kerry was not being true to himself. He presented an honest break from Bush on domestic policy but kept on talking about killing terrorists and being tough on security-so much so that on the defining issue of the election, he was only imitating his opponent.
This year, I can't wait to have a candidate-Obama-who offers a clear contrast to Bush clone John McCain, a candidate who was always against the war, who doesn't take lobbyist money and who will put the middle and lower classes back at the forefront of the economy.
When I started Brandeis for Barack more than a year ago, I wasn't sure how far Obama would get. My parents were encouraging but pessimistic about his chances. However, as Obama might say, I didn't want to settle for what people told me I had to accept. And, after eight long years of failed leadership, it appears the Democratic Party doesn't want to settle either.
I am hopeful that the rest of the country shares this sentiment. I am ready to roll up my sleeves and get back to work in the fall. And it's already started, with John McCain trying to scare Americans into believing that Hamas will celebrate the election of Obama. But as Obama's campaign has taught me, when the going gets tough, and they start telling us we can't, we will respond by shouting from all the across the country on Nov. 4, 2008, "YES WE CAN!"
The writer is president of Brandeis for Barack.
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