The point-counterpoint format works best when Styled to a Tee’s editors, Robert and Rico, are in violent opposition. This Wednesday morning, however, they’re largely in agreement that the outcome of Tuesday’s presidential election is both historic and worth remarking upon.
Robert:Well, I really do think Tuesday marked a memorable day, a truly historic moment for our nation, one we can all be proud of. And I’m not talking about that 80 you shot in the Poconos, Rico.
Rico:I wasn’t expecting acknowledgment of that feat, so thank you, but we’re here to try to tackle what this election will mean to our nation and I’m more pessimistic than you might imagine. Here are the facts. In order for Barack Obama to get elected he had to have made some promises to key supporters along the way: Bill Richardson, Ted Kennedy and even the Clintons come immediately to mind. The question is how does he pay off those debts of gratitude, placate his constituency and help steer us out of the current economic malaise? That’s a tall order for any man.
Robert:Wow, Rico, what a sober dose ofrealpolitik. I’m not used to that on a website that, let’s face it, doesn’t usually delve into issues of fiscal solvency, international diplomacy and domestic political party infighting. Here’s one reason I’m enjoying this already. There are a number of things that mark Barack Obama as a "modern" man and, now, a modern President-elect. I’m told that he overwhelmingly prevailed among, for instance, voters who have no land line and communicate by cell phone only. There was his aggressive use of the Internet, though the solicitations for $5 started to remind me of why I turn off public radio during pledge month. Then there was the simplicity of his message: Hope and Change. More has been done with a lot less momentum, so this morning I’m optimistic. At the risk of mawkishness, I’ll interject a familial note. When my wife wasn’t drinking champagne last night, she was crying with joy that our kids might be living in a better world.
Rico:I’m not going to wax philosophical, but the world through the confusing prism of time does necessarily get better even when it seems like we’re going backwards. I’m sure it doesn’t come as breaking news that the single biggest determinant of Obama’s win is the backlash from the last eight years under George Bush. For better or worse that’s how history explains societal and especially civil rights improvements. All that having been said, this can be considered a paradigm shift. There is a different social reality than there was yesterday. Better yet, socio-economic change may be on the way. But what Barack’s victory unassailably confirms is that even with race as a factor it’s possible for the best human being to win an election in the United States. Soon we will find out if the same is true with gender. Which reminds me that one of the most important switches in the electorate voting for Obama was single women, a portion of the electorate where he was polling at 60 percent.
Robert:So what does an Obama presidency mean for golf and the golfing public? I suspect that’s a secondary or tertiary consideration to what an Obama presidency means for the economy, general prosperity and disposable income.
Rico:I must confess I buried what many would consider the true lead of this story, and please excuse this short preface. Having just moved last week and being without cable and Internet until today, I was forced to listen to election results on radio. It reminded me of the "good ol’ days." And before it was announced on the station I was listening to I heard a large roar ring across my new neighborhood. I immediately sensed it could mean only one thing…Obama had prevailed. And I, too, had a physical reaction to the news. It was like a surge of adrenaline coursing through my body. I can only attribute that feeling to my pride as an African American that Obama’s victory did in fact change the landscape of hopes and possibilities and the resultant recognition of people who came before and whose shoulders he inevitably stood on: John Brown, Nat Turner, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Dred Scott, Booker T. Washington, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Shirley Chisholm, Nelson Mandela, Jesse Jackson and even Bill Clinton, and many others I’ve undoubtedly left out. It was thrilling to realize I was indeed living through another momentous change in history.
Robert:Well said. I think that should be the last word from our golf site for the day.
