George Maidrand

A man touched by greatness lost the American Presidency Tuesday just as another man presented with an opportunity to achieve greatness strode confidently to the front door of the White House. And a nation showed the world----and proved to itself----that it had the capability to call upon its truer lights to shed its haunted past in order to forge a brighter tomorrow.
Barack Obama completed his rags to riches personal saga to become President Elect before hundreds of thousands of beguiled supporters and a nation demonstrably eager to bestow upon him the leadership mantle which can lead him to historical heights on a storied governing path. Obama has been presented a mandate for change. He possesses the magnetic charisma to accomplish a new direction so longed for by an electorate thirsting for an end to partisan posturing. If he delivers that change he will climb to the pantheon occupied by the likes of Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, the Roosevelts and Reagan. Already he has accomplished a feat Americans could scarcely have imagined a generation ago.
Indeed, the future 44th president owes much of his exalted standing to the newest generation of Americans who extended to him a firm mandate to create a visionary future. They stood in the Chicago crowd Tuesday night with shining, hopeful faces, perhaps unmindful of the tears glistening on the cheeks of nearby older African Americans who were witnessing the culmination of a titanic struggle for the ages. Obama is the savior who has led the generations of the past out of the wilderness; he is the pathfinder to the promised land for youthful Americans of all color.
The vanquished warrior who fell victim to the tide of history offered Obama the fig leaf that could help pave the road to national revival. John McCain, a patriot and public servant of the first order, extended a willing if-you-need-me-I-will-come congratulations in a concession speech variously described as gracious, elegant and classy. Above all else, it seemed to speak to the heart of a man who understood and appreciated the magnitude of the moment in which he had played a seemingly pre-destined part. It was as if he had always known the inexorable forces arrayed against his campaign. McCain seemed as proud of his nation in defeat as he would have been in victory.
The test for this most unlikely of American presidents will be to forge a governing coalition that will fulfill the expectations of a center-right people. To do so, Obama will need to withstand far left ideologues in his own party who will buffet his presidency with demands, as well as navigate the troubled waters of the far right in the opposition party. The effort may take every ounce of the considerable political acumen he demonstrated during a heated primary and general election season in the wake of fewer than expected Democratic gains in congress. In the end, his oratorical skills may provide the next victory margin if he can mold public opinion in support of his vision for America.
There is another challenge that needs to be mentioned. The American people need to treat Obama in a manner more respectful than the discourteous, uncivil and disgraceful way far too many Americans have treated the current occupant of the Oval Office. That conduct has not been worthy of a great people.
Tuesday’s victory was a grand reaffirmation of the American quest. But it was only the beginning of what can become a monument to the promise of that quest. If Obama is to solidify the greatness offered him, he must follow words with deeds and conclude what is perhaps the most promising personal American journey since the Great Emancipator who sowed the seeds from which his opportunity has sprung.