| HISTORIANS' COMMENTS | Historians' Comments- David Greenberg"Landslide? Not Exactly:
While 2008 represents an unmistakable repudiation of contemporary conservatism, Obama didn’t redraw the electoral map.
The advent of America’s first black president inexorably calls forth the word historic. Uttered so frequently
last evening, as it will be in the days ahead, the adjective would have been drained of meaning but for
the palpable momentousness of Barack Obama’s election. Gone was the pretense of post-racialism; revealed was
liberal America's pride in the often-unsung progress toward equality and toleration achieved in the civil
rights movement's aftermath....
TheDailyBeast.com, 11-5-08 - Alonzo Hamby"President-Elect and Champion Campaigner Obama":
....Yet I am struck that so many different people see different Obamas....
From my point of view, the transformation of the Daley organization into a 60s Popular Front, with room for
Weathermen bombers, old Black Panthers, and Israel-haters are revelatory of the moral confusion of post-Vietnam
American liberalism.
Who IS the real BHO? I'm damned if I know, but I feel that I can only take him and his record at face value.
No one can deny, however, that he ran a helluva of a campaign and is as charismatic a figure as we’ve seen in
American politics for a long time. Let’s hope for the best.
HNN, POTUS Blog, 11-5-08 - Gil Troy"The Obama-McCain"Return Night" Reconciliation: Lasting Hope or Fleeting Moment?":
On Thursday, in Georgetown, Delaware, the losing and winning candidates from the various contests around
that state will assemble for Return Day. In a ritual tracing its roots to 1791, voters and politicians
will hear the official electoral returns and make nice, no matter how bitter their campaigns may have been.
In addition to parading together down the main street in antique automobiles, the rivals will bury a ceremonial
tomahawk, quite literally burying the hatchet. Late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, President-elect
Barack Obama and Senator John McCain mounted their own version of this reconciliation ritual, offering a
magnificent display of the grace,
civility, and patriotism that could heal America, even during these painful times. -
HNN, 11-5-08 - Richard Norton Smith and Peniel Joseph Historians Answered Your Questions on Obama's Win, 2008 Campaign:
Sen. Barack Obama will become the country's first black leader after a campaign season that broke records
and saw female candidates break new ground. Historians Richard Norton Smith and Peniel Joseph
answered your questions on this historic election. -
PBS Newshour, 11-5-08 - ELLEN FITZPATRICK, University of New Hampshire"An 'evolution' of U.S. democracy":
I think it's an incredible moment in the history of this country, one of the more important moments we have seen ever.
And that is because this election has resolved a moral contradiction that runs through the interstices of our
history from its very founding.
The founders were not able to deal with the issue of slavery and created a republic based on a set of values
and beliefs that were denied to African-Americans through more than two centuries.
And through segregation, after the Civil War, it was followed by segregation, the Jim Crow laws. And that moment --
I think we've put a punctuation mark on a very important and rather shameful chapter....
-
PBS Newshour, 11-5-08 - PENIEL JOSEPH, Brandeis University"An 'evolution' of U.S. democracy":
Well, certainly I think we all agree at this roundtable that this election shows the evolution of American
democracy. As historians, we realize that that evolution is not always a linear progression.
So during the reconstruction era, for instance, we had the first generation of black elected officials, and
then that time ended because of Jim Crow segregation. The civil rights movement became a second reconstruction,
so to speak.
And now, 40 years later, I think many African-Americans are thinking of this as a potential third reconstruction.
But white Americans and Latinos have joined them, as well, so this really speaks to the potential, in terms of
democratic progression for the nation. -
PBS Newshour, 11-5-08 - RICHARD NORTON SMITH, George Mason University"An 'evolution' of U.S. democracy":
You know, 50 years later, we don't think of John F. Kennedy --
the first thing that comes to mind is not the first Catholic president.
Clearly, it loomed much larger in November 1960 than it does 50 years later. And if 50 years from now,
the most important thing about Barack Obama was his race, that would give me real pause, and it would
suggest that his presidency, which ultimately is going to be about other things than race, was
less than successful. -
PBS Newshour, 11-5-08 - MICHAEL BESCHLOSS, Presidential Historian:"An 'evolution' of U.S. democracy":
And, you know, in a way, that is what happens when there is success in breaking a barrier.
You know, one reason we don't think of John Kennedy so much as a Catholic is because, by breaking the barrier,
people didn't notice those things anymore.
The second Catholic on a national ticket after Kennedy was William Miller, on with Barry Goldwater in 1964.
No one even mentioned it, you know? And I think that will happen, the same thing with the second African-
American on a national ticket after Barack Obama. -
PBS Newshour, 11-5-08 - ELLEN FITZPATRICK"Hopes and concerns":
I think what we're seeing is a tremendous feeling on the part of the public that what they responded to
was the sense of hope that was being offered.
This was ridiculed at times in the campaign. But every social movement that has amounted to anything in
American history was based on that kind of idealism and some powerful leadership, a figure, as well, that
the greatest ones have been trans-historical, who were able to capture that mood and articulate it.
And the shifting of generations evokes 1960, as well. -
PBS Newshour, 11-5-08 - RICHARD NORTON SMITH"Hopes and concerns":
Franklin Roosevelt once said that, since our founding, we have been engaged in a permanent peaceful revolution,
a revolution that he defined as being all about, ultimately, democratic inclusiveness. And that's very much a
part of the essentially optimistic, hopeful nature of the American people.
I was struck by those comments. And last night, people feel good. People could have been very angry in this
campaign, and certainly there was anger.
But, you know, Barack Obama notably did not run as an angry candidate. Reagan-esque style, he really did
appeal to our sense of possibility. Maybe not optimism, because it's a tough time to be optimistic, but he
clearly laid the groundwork for, in effect, a unity government after a period of considerable division.
-
PBS Newshour, 11-5-08 - PENIEL JOSEPH"Obama's challenges ahead":
Well, I think domestically we have to go back to FDR. And FDR talked about freedom from fear in 1932,
freedom from want, talked about a new social contract with the body politic.
Certainly. And by 1940, we were faced on the eve of the Second World War, at least the United States'
involvement in that conflict.
Certainly, in 1960, John Kennedy faced a changing world within the midst of the Cold War, but I think what
Obama is facing is unprecedented in a way. -
PBS Newshour, 11-5-08 - MICHAEL BESCHLOSS"Obama's challenges ahead":
Well, you know, another part of this is that, you know, a political scientist would say we had a lot of the
ingredients yesterday for high turnout, high intensity: two candidates with big differences on the major issues;
and also an election where we really are at a crossroads on economic policy, social issues, national security.
But I must say I must have been too jaded, because I would have said probably -- and I would have been wrong
48 hours ago -- that, you know, people have a sense that the system isn't working and they won't turn out in
those numbers, numbers that approach 1908, 1960, years of very high turnout.
But the other thing is that, you know, look at Obama. You were talking about optimism and hope. Look what kind of
a leader he is.
There was a potential in the last two months for a demagogue of the kind of Huey Long of Louisiana, to just start
an angry campaign,"These horrible people on Wall Street are stealing your money, and the government is paying
them off, and why are oil prices so high, and arms merchants got us into a war in Iraq, and oil, and all this stuff."
A leader could have gone very far with that kind of an angry appeal; none of that with Obama.
So the result is that, elected as he is by a decent margin, he's coming in with an appeal that is almost
entirely positive. And I think that says very good things about this country. -
PBS Newshour, 11-5-08 - RICHARD NORTON SMITH"Obama's challenges ahead":
Well, not only positive, but almost post-ideological. I mean, the really remarkable thing, here is someone who in
many ways -- let's face it -- is a product of the civil rights revolution, who is a product of the '60s.
Certainly a beneficiary, absolutely, but who was very much a product of those times, and yet who's been very
explicit in making clear his desire to turn the page on our unhealthy, cultural obsession with the 1960s. And
in a sense, he's almost a post-boomer president. -
PBS Newshour, 11-5-08 - PENIEL JOSEPH"History's lessons on expectations":
Well, I think the Obama campaign has talked about the first 100 days and reading books about FDR's first
100 days to see how he would respond if he gets into the White House.
I think when we look at somebody like Bill Clinton, there were high expectations, and the first year was kind
of rocky. He got caught up in gays in the military and Whitewater instead of policy implications.
So in terms of managing expectations, I think it's going to be difficult, based on the 63 million votes --
this is the most in American history -- but based on the campaign and the discipline of his campaign, I
think he'll be able to manage it....
Well, the 63 million for a Democrat. This is the most a victor has gotten in American history.
-
PBS Newshour, 11-5-08 - MICHAEL BESCHLOSS"History's lessons on expectations":
A blessing because he can call on those people and say,"You elected me to do A, and B, and C. I'm asking
you for sacrifices that may be required to achieve those things. You people have to come among with me on that."
But, you know, here, again, Obama benefits from having read history. In that speech last night, he said,"You know, I may not do everything in my first year or even my first term." You sort of think that he may have
read John Kennedy's inaugural, where he said,"All this will not be finished in the first 100 days, 1,000 days,
life of this administration."
Occasionally it does really help when a president has read some history. -
PBS Newshour, 11-5-08 - RICHARD NORTON SMITH"History's lessons on expectations":
And echoes of Dr. King."We may not get there."...
Well, I mean, the classic -- I mean, Herbert Hoover went into office the most popular man in the country,
deemed to be an economic wizard.
That didn't -- that didn't sustain itself....
But what I believe, the inauguration, this is going to be the most exciting inauguration since Andrew Jackson.
And the irony is, you know, Jackson ushered in a new era of, quote,"democracy," very limited. It included
basically white men.
But, nevertheless, it was a profound shift from the well-bred and well-read who had governed the nation
before Jackson.
They had enormous expectations. They formed an army, a new politically potent army, and he sustained that,
and he transformed the party, and he transformed the country.
That's a tall order. But, clearly, there was that same sense of excitement. And I think, in this case, it
transcends narrowly partisan loyalties.
As I say, there's a real feeling in this country today of almost universal pride.
-
PBS Newshour, 11-5-08 - ELLEN FITZPATRICK"History's lessons on expectations":
I think that every president has a difficult job sustaining the momentum and meeting the expectations. But the
great presidents rise to their historical moment.
It may be a terrible moment. It may be a war; it may be a horrible depression. But the public, I think, is
chastened. They understand what we're up against, and they're looking for leadership.
If they provide leadership, even if they don't have all the answers and the solutions, that will carry them.
-
PBS Newshour, 11-5-08 - David Greenberg: McCain Ran the Sleaziest Campaign in History?:
....But unlike those exaggerations, the line about McCain threatens to stain a man's name for history. And when
viewed without partisan blinders or presentist lenses, the charge doesn't hold up. Indeed, it says more about
today's political culture, which has grown unusually high-minded, and the emotions that Americans invest in
presidential elections, which are unfailingly intense, than it does about McCain himself.... -
Slate, 11-5-08
- Allan Lichtman, presidential historian, American University"Latest : Historic win, Canada AM":
Allan Lichtman gives us his reaction to last night's historic win. He also provides analysis of Obama's
election campaign strategy and the future of American politics -
CTV, 11-5-08
- RICHARD NORTON SMITH, George Mason University"Political History Takes New Course in '08 Election":
Oh, sure. There's the history you make for the first time and there's the history that you revisit.
Clearly, in terms of what is unprecedented, the headline about this is, come January, we will have our first
African-American president or our first female vice president. That's the headline. And it's a pretty impressive
headline.
Beyond that headline, however, when you begin to ask what is motivating people, in terms of voting, I think you can
look at a number of elections in the past which are basically about the economy. And I think, for the last six weeks,
that's certainly been what has been driving this more than anything else.
It feels a lot like 1980, when there was clearly a desire on the part of most people for something other than
the status quo, but the challenger, Ronald Reagan, had to convince a majority of the country that he represented
a safe alternative to the status quo. -
PBS Newshour, 11-4-08 - PENIEL JOSEPH, Brandeis University"Political History Takes New Course in '08 Election":
Certainly. The idea that the United States, 43 years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act,
could actually have a major party nominee be an African-American is extraordinary and unprecedented.
After signing the Voting Rights Act, August 6, 1965, Lyndon Johnson famously said that he was giving
away the South, basically, for a generation. And except for a blip in 1976, when Carter won every southern
state except for Virginia, that's basically held true in two-person presidential elections.
So the idea that an African-American, as all polls suggest, may become the next president is certainly
historic and unprecedented.
-
PBS Newshour, 11-4-08 - MICHAEL BESCHLOSS, Presidential Historian"Political History Takes New Course in '08 Election":
Once, yes, but it hasn't been enough. You know, I mean, first of all, it shouldn't have taken until 1920
nor should it have taken until the end of the Civil War for African-Americans to get the vote.
Our founders were terrific, but this is a good night to remember, as wonderful as we think they are
and admire them for all sorts of reasons, these were people who did not consider African-Americans
fully human, considered them mainly slaves, and also never conceived of the idea that women would
be an important part of our political culture.
This night is a triumph in those terms, too. -
PBS Newshour, 11-4-08 - RICHARD NORTON SMITH"Parallels to the '30s":
Well, the difference, of course, is that you had this slow-motion train wreck. I mean, you'd had three years
in which the American people had been marinated in despair. And, basically, millions of them had given up hopes.
They had lost their homes; they'd lost their jobs. And they were un-American, in the sense that they had lost
that most American sense of optimism, that the future is our friend.
So Franklin Roosevelt, who, by the way, as you know, was written off by a lot of journalists and would-be
pundits in the '32 campaign as an amiable lightweight, nevertheless won simply because he wasn't Herbert Hoover.
And the fact that he promised an experimental, innovative kind of government to a people who were tired
of a government that appeared frozen in indifference, the difference, of course, is now -- to be sure,
people all year long have been saying the economy is the number-one issue, but it's only in the last six
weeks that there's a sense of panic about the future....
Yes, what happened in 1980 was people -- Americans always believe the future is going to be better
than the present. In 1980, there was a disconnect. People questioned that. And that was made-to-order
for Ronald Reagan. -
PBS Newshour, 11-4-08 - MICHAEL BESCHLOSS"Parallels to the '30s":
I think '32 will do, because, you know, '32 was, as Richard is saying, as we've suggested, a huge economic
problem. But the thing about this year is we're not just at a fork in the road on our economic system. We're
at a fork in the road also on national security. That rarely happens.
'32 was a big economic election; 1940, Franklin Roosevelt was running against Wendell Willkie, who was saying,"Don't help the British. Let's stay out of what would become World War II." Now you've got a time when both of
these issues are combined in one year.
You know, all of us, I think, as historians tend to think that you can only see something as historic in
retrospect, but anyone tonight who's going to say that the next president is not going to have an enormous
effect over how this country changes on both of those fronts I think is kidding themselves. -
PBS Newshour, 11-4-08 -
PBS Newshour, 11-4-08
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