U.S. Presidential Election Writes a New Chapter in American History

U.S. Presidential Election Writes a New Chapter in American History. May. 21, 2008 07:29. sechepa@donga.com triplets@donga.com.

“No one can guarantee whether U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will be able to emerge as the final winner in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. However, when we look back at this ‘Obama sensation’ a couple of decades from now, 2008 will be remembered as a time that opened a new chapter in U.S. history, regardless of the results of his bid for the presidency,” said Shin Ki-uk, a sociology professor at Stanford University and president of the Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific.

In Tuesday’s primaries, Democratic frontrunner Obama clinched a majority of elected delegates in Oregon and Kentucky. Although he still fell short of the majority of delegates a candidate needs to secure the Democratic nomination, it is safe to say that he has crossed a landmark to win the hearts and minds of voters.

He is planning to deliver a speech from Iowa, where he is expected to declare his successful bid for Democratic Party’s nomination. The content of the speech hasn’t been made public yet, but it will likely use one of his most frequently used campaign phrases.

“History is calling for a new generation. We have been asked to answer the call and now is the time to respond. It is time for us to write a new chapter in American history.”

Indeed, U.S. history is replete with catalysts ushering in a new period of change once every several decades. Although the modern may fail to sense that shift of change at the moment, everyone agrees that they are at the brink of major change.

Numerous political and history annalists say that this year is highly likely for the 2008 U.S. presidential election to serve as an opportunity to enter a new chapter.

▽ Time for another jubilee in U.S. history

Edward J. Larson, a historian at the University of Georgia, explained the current changes underway in the United States by borrowing upon the concept of ‘jubilee” in his latest column. The term comes from the ancient Hebrew people who, once every 50 years, forgave debts and freed slaves. Released from past fears, Israelites started over with a new hope for the future.

Every 50 years, U.S. politics has also undertaken major changes, and this year could be another one, experts note. For example, the first movements of political jubilee came in 1800, when Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, overthrew the aristocratic Federalists and introduced the new concept of popular rule. During the 1850s, the election of Abraham Lincoln gave the United States a new birth of freedom with the Emancipation Proclamation; in 1896 the election of Theodore Roosevelt, and in the 1960s, the emergence of Martin Luther King Jr. and the election of JFK. All of them served as momentum for winds of change.

Professor Shin said, “Kennedy was only in his early 40s and grew up in a Catholic family (which is a minority group). His victory gave new hope and vigor to the U.S. Likewise, the ‘Obama frenzy’ is nothing short of a display of a thirst for change driven by a new generation blind to race, sex, and the minority.”

William A. Galston, who served as a political advisor for former President Bill Clinton and is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said, “The major strategy of Obama’s campaign is to open a new chapter in U.S. history. His calling for a resolute break from a politics of division over the past four decades and ushering in a new era worked to win the hearts of citizens seeking change.”

▽Three pillars comprising the new chapter

Analysts point out these three pillars are the driving engines for the new era.

First, it is the change from the bottom up. In particular, generational shifts have the most significant impact in this sense. In other words, generations who grew up in different cultures and historic backgrounds inevitably demand change.

“The characteristics of the young voters who have played a leading role in the ‘Obama Sensation’ are much more racially diversified compared to previous generations. They have become accustomed to such environments through common interaction or attending classes filled with mixed races, including Asian, Europeans and Latin Americans,” said Galston.

Another factor calling for change is the poor administration exerted by the existing leadership. Professor Larson said, the period prior to Thomas Jefferson’s era was oppressed by the Federalists, those of before Roosevelt saw rampant corruption and scandals, those prior to JFK and Martin Luther King Jr. were riddled with ideology-driven ‘McCarthyism’ and racial discrimination.

Obama’s massive popularity has something to do with the incompetence and irregularities of the incumbent administration’s leadership, along with the failure of the Iraq war, dogmatism, unilateral diplomacy, and economic downturns.

Finally, the disposition and quality of individual leaders also count. As for Obama, he was born between a black and a white and he grew up in various regions such as Hawaii and South Asia. At the same time, he appeals to his elite image as a person educated at prestigious U.S. schools and universities, which could charm the younger generations eager for change.