美國總統干卿底事，不過因為他的歷史意義與個人特質，我實在不能不注意 President Elect Obama。最近重新看了白宮風雲 (West Wing)，更覺得實在太巧合，忍不住來說兩句。
從美國民主黨黨內初選開始我就很注意這次民主黨的兩位候選人，分別代表兩個重要的非主流族群：有色人種與女性。得說明我用＂非主流＂並不含任何意識型態，純粹是美國總統這個充滿白色男性色彩的職位一直以來不曾有這兩個族群這麼接近過。沒想到民主黨最後的兩位 front runner 到最後真的就是這兩位，更沒想到最後是黑人候選人出線。
Obama 當選後，所有關於他的文章或報導還是不斷幫他呈現出相同的特質：實事求是，不打高空，貫徹對的價值，講究實際執行面，舉措與決定的焦點都在關心對社會民眾的益處多過於政治效應。至少到目前為止大家都願意相信他所相信的，也願意相向他將會是言行一致的總統。所有的媒體到目前為主都還是很捧他的場，對於他的發言及各式決定，特別是人事上的決定都表示支持，也一再提醒大家現在的局面有多艱難，不斷地提醒大家 Obama 所面對的情勢比起實施新政的小羅斯福只有更嚴峻，更需要大家共同了解並合作來度過難關。算是幫 Obama 打預防針吧，他在媒體圈的人緣好可見一般。
時代雜誌選他作為 Person of 2008 也不是沒有道理，總不能選丟鞋的記者大人或被丟的總統吧？（不過小布希大概是被羞辱的最厲害的美國總統，也算是歷史上的一個重要標記人物了。）在專訪的引言中，時代雜誌對於 Obama OPE (Office of the President-Elect) 簡陋的辦公家具及裝潢多所著墨，也將它視為 Obama 個人特質使然。老實說這個時候我還蠻羨慕美國人的，能在這樣的制度下選出這樣得民心的領導人。
白宮風雲 (West Wing) 是我非常喜愛的影集，愛到全套七季都買回家看，看著一個虛構的民主黨總統用他的諾貝爾經濟學家的頭腦統治美國八年。這次 Obama 當選後我碰巧再看一次最後一季的部份 ，印證了我所驚訝的巧合。虛構的總統繼任者，是一位年輕（五十歲不到？！）的拉丁裔眾議員（少數族裔？！），沒有顯赫的政治資歷（兩任聯邦參議員還沒做完？！），一開始沒有人看好（有誰一開始不押 Senator Clinton 的？！），面對負面或種族議題異常冷靜不隨之起舞，甚至為了堅持對的寧願放棄拉丁族群的支持（Obama 也因為黑人牧師要求他對種族議題表態換了教會？！），不對對手的錯誤落井下石，只希望持續將焦點放在議題上，而且是偉大的演說家（有聽過 Obama 演說或面對媒體記者回應的人應該印象不得不深刻吧！）。
只能說，太巧合了，也只能說，人類的創造力的體現會不知不覺對自身或群體的需求發聲，然後這個世界總有一天會對需求做回應，科幻小說也罷，描寫白宮政治的影集也好；不論是一個天才科學家，或一位偉大的政治家。這就是群體的呼喚得到了回應。
美國在國際社會一向自居老大哥，也確實過去只有美國有這樣的力量來參與各式各樣的國際事務或調停紛爭。但是在 911 之後，武力卻取代了外交成為美國展現實力或權力的首選，也讓國際社會陷入分裂猜忌的困境。這一次美國人用民主制度作了一個更好的示範，這樣的示範應該比武力更能將自由民主公平正義的觀念傳達到世界上，這也是美國向世界展現作為民主國家模範及展現民主典範的機會。
不過對 President Elect Obama 來說，一切都還只是開始而已，除了經濟情勢悲觀，還要面對國際社會的權力分布以及國際上美國領導地位因為過去八年的強取豪奪倒行逆施已不同以往的情況，確實需要領導人的大智慧。他會在歷史上留下什麼，值得大家拭目以待。
FULL TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Barack Obama's Victory Speech
Sen. Barack Obama Delivers Victory Speech from Grant Park in Chicago
Nov. 4, 2008
Full remarks as prepared for delivery and provided by the campaign of Sen. Barack Obama on Nov. 4, 2008, at Grant Park in Chicago, IL.
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled － Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.
I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.
I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.
To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics － you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to － it belongs to you.
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington － it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.
It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.
I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime － two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America － I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you － we as a people will get there.
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years － block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek － it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers － in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.
Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House － a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends&though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn － I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.
And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world － our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security － we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright －tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.
For that is the true genius of America － that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing － Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons － because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.
And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America － the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.
When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.
She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.
A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves － if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time － to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth － that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.
