Another America

Another America

Another America spoke up this past fall. Barack Obama’s victory over the Reagan Revolution’s latest surrogates opens new possibilities.

It is a moment for hope, but not for messianic expectations. “Lead us into the Promised Land,” someone cried out a century ago at a rally for Eugene V. Debs, Socialist candidate for president. He replied that he wouldn’t if he could because then “someone else could lead you out.” We need robust reform today. It won’t be easy. The United States is in difficult straits after a quarter-century of Ayn Rand fictions taken for reality. Obama won thanks to a fresh coalition of liberals and the famously fluid “center.” Spurred on by the financial crisis, it overcame racism. That is something to savor. The new administration must now hold its coalition together, extract us from Bush’s mess, and tug toward a more attractive America.

“He’s a socialist!” So Obama was accused during the campaign. We at Dissent wish he were (we have some authority in this regard). Alas, we must report that he is not even a subscriber. Should anyone wish to send a gift subscription….Think about it, especially if you are a Republican. You can use it against him in 2012.

In the meantime, thanks go to Sarah Palin for giving the word “socialist” so much publicity. We hope she will explain its meaning soon on Saturday Night Live. In case the “liberal media” distort her: socialists think that political liber...