Obama's Iowa Win*

Ariana Huffington wrote in response to Barack Obama's win in Iowa, "tonight voters decided that they didn't want to look back. They wanted to look into the future." No matter what your political views or who you're voting for in 2008, Huffington makes a strong point. The United States is making a statement by voting for Obama, bigger than race and bigger than party identity. Americans voting for Obama are voting for a man that seems to represent change, a pulling back from the fear politics associated with the White House after 9/11. Obama represents the hope that all American share, a hope and ideal that the country was founded on: the pursuit of happiness. Americans have turned this famous phrase from the Declaration of Independence into a cause celebre, bringing America its reputation for a land where one can start over, where with hard work anyone can achieve their dreams. This is just the kind of promise Obama brings. For Americans, the Senator from Illinois harkens to the idea that the US is a profoundly unique country - one distinguished by its unfaltering hope that things can be better, that we, as a society, can be better. In a world where upholding the status quo and complacency have become good enough, Obama tells us that it's not, that perhaps things can be better.
As I discussed America's unique position in the world with my father, an immigrant from Pakistan, he said that for all we complain, America is a wonderful place to live. And I agree, because in America I can say with complete conviction that I want a better world, and a better America. Perhaps Barack Obama can bring that promise.
* The views expressed in this column reflect those of the writer only and not those of the Roosevelt Institution, its executive committee, or its members.