As this polarizing election came to an end, I found myself satisfied with both candidates. In the Spring of 2008, both the Republican and Democratic Parties were given drastic choices. The Republican Party had to choose between a fundamentalist/conservative — Mike Huckabee), a master politician — Mitt Romney) and a political maverick that offended much of the party’s base — John McCain. On the other side of the board, the Democrat Party had to choose between the already crowned and proclaimed candidate, the leader of the establishment — Hillary Clinton, and the fresh face, Jimmy Carter for 2008 — Barack Obama. I am proud of the United States for choosing John McCain and Barack Obama as the presidential candidates. Both politicians, despite what negative advertisements proclaim, have worked with both parties to accomplish political goals. I believe that either candidate would have worked in a more bipartisan manner than the previous president. I was also impressed with the ability of both candidates to inspire strength and unity. In my viewpoint, the key role of a president is to provide hope and inspiration to the average American, to assure each person that there is still reason to be proud to be an American. Either candidate could have done this. Barack Obama has a unique talent for this, with impeccable oratory skills, especially when it comes to the economic crisis. John McCain also has this ability, though much more persuasive when speaking about foreign affairs. The political climate in this election has shifted more to the center than it has been in many years. John McCain has been a breath of fresh air for the Republican Party, which has been dominated by right-wing politicians for the past eight years. The Democrats have continued the same trend with Obama, who has extremely powerful grassroots support, from the most extreme of left-wingers to central-right independents. The Democrat Party did an extremely good job of labeling McCain as a continuation of the Bush administration and its policies. I disagree. Many of the beliefs of both Bush and McCain are ideas of all politicians. This vote was ultimately a referendum on the status of the economy. It is an established principle in politics that the opposition party during an economic crisis will make substantial gains, but both parties are to blame. This election cycle was a stunning victory for the Democrat Party, despite the fact that both Presidential candidates were extremely strong. Whatever the case, the United States of America would stand to benefit from either candidate; John McCain’s moderate stance is one that the Republican Party must adapt in order to survive in the future, and Barack Obama has managed to motivate almost every group of people in America to care more about politics. Thus, I would have been happy with either president. Stephen Levy is a three-year Senior from San Ramon, Cali. slevy@andover.edu
