Our Newly Minted Patriots

I'm not going to spend a lot of time rehashing the events of today -- there are millions of bloggers plowing that ground and it's highly unlikely that my views will differ much from what you can read elsewhere.

I've made sport of the vacuous self-congratulatory celebrities surrounding Obama twice in the last day, mainly because I'm skeptical that they really mean what they say. My suspicion is that the pledges of fealty to ideals generally, and to Barack Obama in particular, are written on sand. Maybe Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers is sincere in his Puss-n-Boots imitation, but it's more likely that he'll choose a night of debauchery over a day of public service. That's just the way it is.

But what about other people, especially those whom this new president has inspired, who swear that they are now ready to make real sacrifices for the nation? Are they serious?

The former 60s radical David Horowitz has an interesting essay out that has been reprinted at Powerline. He makes a valuable point about the messages that Obama and his surrogates have offered in recent days:

Barack Obama is the head of a party whose leaders have accused the outgoing president and his Republican Party of betraying their own country by waging an
illegal, aggressive, and unnecessary war and in the process destroying its Constitution and the liberties it guarantees. By contrast, in his victory speech in November, Barack Obama repeated his pledge to be president of all Americans,
liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, and thanked the American
troops whom a Republican president had sent to Afghanistan and Iraq in these words: "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."

In the speech announcing his economic stimulus package, Obama deliberately passed up the golden opportunity it presented to blame the biggest financial disaster in the nation's history on Republicans, as Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders would inevitably have done.

At the "We Are One" celebration, orchestrated by his team, the script that was given to liberal actress Marisa Tomei included a passage from Ronald Reagan's inaugural, a gesture that paid tribute to him as a leader who preached tolerance and compassion and a united nation. Another actor read similar sentiments from Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Farewell Address without so much as mentioning its famous admonitions about the "military-industrial complex," as a Democrat invariably would. Liberal actor Jack Black then paid tribute to another Republican hero, Teddy Roosevelt, as America's pioneer environmentalist, and Tiger Woods presented himself as the proud scion of a military family, praising his family's service and paying tribute to America's armed forces. Even the music was inclusive, with country singer Garth Brooks playing an extended set.

In his appointments, Obama has also pursued the national unity theme, ceding to Republicans vital positions as heads of his National Security team, and to conservatives and centrists the key positions on his economic team. As his Secretary of State and his chief of staff, he has appointed two Democrats prominently identified with support for the Iraq war, the most divisive national issue since Vietnam, and one over which much of the leadership of the Democratic Party, including its standard bearers in the last two presidential elections, played disgraceful roles.

These appointments are not merely symbolic gestures but solid commitments to policies that are at least centrist and do not take America's world leadership lightly. Naturally, Obama has made appointments -- and policy commitments -- to the left as well. Conservatives should and will be watching these, opposing those which are destructive to the national interest. Conservatives will also recognize that having lost the election, these battles will not be easily won.

But on this Inauguration Day, before the onset of these political battles, it is important for conservatives to focus on what has already been gained in political terms by symbolism of Obama's election and the decisions he has made.

It may all turn to ashes, of course. But my sense is that Obama does understand that conservative concerns aren't simply to be dismissed outright. That in itself would separate him from many in his party. And it is undeniable that he has a chance to get some of his acolytes to support American ideals in ways that they may not have chosen to before. Again, Horowitz:

All over the country Americans have invested their hopes in Obama's ability to pull his country together to face its challenges. Among these Americans are millions -- most likely tens of millions -- who have never identified with their government before, who felt "outside" the system they regarded as run by elites, who ascribed its economic troubles to the greedy rich, who bought the Jackson-Sharpton canard that America was a racist society and they were locked out, who would have scorned the term "patriot" as a compromise with such evils, and who turned their backs on America's wars.


If it seems unfair that Barack Obama should be the source of a new patriotism -- albeit of untested mettle -- life is unfair. If the Obama future is uncertain and fraught with unseen perils, conservatives can deal with those perils as they come. What matters today is that many Americans have begun to join their country's cause, and conservatives should celebrate that fact and encourage it. What matters now is that the American dream with its enormous power to inspire at home and abroad is back in business. What it means is that the race card has been played out and America can once again see itself -- and be seen -- for what it is: a land of incomparable opportunity, incomparable tolerance, and justice for all. Conservative values -- individual responsibility, equal opportunity, racial and ethnic pluralism, and family --
are now symbolically embedded in the American White House. As a result, a great
dimension of American power has been restored. Will these values be supported,
strengthened, put into practice? It is up to us to see that they are.

Pay attention to the last two sentences. "Will these values be supported, strengthened, put into practice? It is up to us to see that they are." Indeed. That is what a loyal opposition does. Obama is going to do things that are wrongheaded and irritating. That's a given. But we shouldn't ignore or deny the positive things he will accomplish in the coming years. That's also what a loyal opposition does.

Godspeed, President Obama. And welcome to those who are now engaging in our national enterprise. We're glad you're here; we're going to need you.