November 5, 2008

Editorial

President Barack Obama

This is one of those moments in history when it is worth pausing and reflecting on the basic facts:

An American with the name Barack Hussein Obama, the son of a white woman and a black man he barely knew, raised by his grandparents far outside the stream of American power and wealth, has been elected the 44th president of the United States.

Showing extraordinary focus and quiet certainty, Mr. Obama defeated first Hillary Clinton, who wanted to be president so badly that she lost her bearings, and then John McCain, who forsook his principles for a campaign built on anger and fear.

Mr. Obama won the election because he saw what is wrong with this country: the utter failure of government to protect its citizens. He promised to lead a government that does not try to solve every problem but will do those things beyond the power of individual citizens: to regulate the economy fairly, keep the air clean and the food safe, ensure that the sick have access to health care, and educate children to compete in a globalized world.

Mr. Obama spoke candidly of the failure of Republican economic policies that promised to lift all Americans but left so many millions far behind. He committed himself to ending a bloody and pointless war. He promised to restore Americans’ civil liberties and this country’s tattered reputation around the world. With a message of hope and competence he drew in legions of voters who had been disengaged and voiceless.

Mr. Bush’s legacy is terrible. The nation is embroiled in two wars — one of necessity in Afghanistan and one of folly in Iraq. Mr. Obama is right that Afghanistan is the real front in the war on terror and that the Pentagon will not have the resources it needs to defeat Al Qaeda and the Taliban until American troops begin leaving Iraq. His challenge will be to manage an orderly withdrawal without igniting new regional conflicts.

The campaign began with the war as its central focus. By Election Day, Americans’ minds were on the economy and the government’s failure to prevent this collapse fed by greed and an orgy of deregulation. Mr. Obama will have to move quickly to impose control, coherence, transparency and fairness on the Bush administration’s jumbled bailout plan.

His administration will also have to identify all of the ways that Americans’ basic rights and fundamental values have been violated and rein that dark work back in. Climate change is a global threat, and after years of denial and inaction, this country must take the lead on addressing it. The nation must develop new, cleaner technologies, to reduce greenhouse gases and its dependence on foreign oil.

Thankfully, the campaign veered away from its early nasty focus on undocumented workers. Mr. Obama will have to rally sensible people to come up with a solution that is consistent with the values of a nation built by immigrants and refugees.

There are many other urgent problems that must be addressed. Tens of millions of Americans are without health insurance, including some of the country’s most vulnerable citizens — children of the poor and the working poor. Other Americans can barely pay for their insurance or are in danger of losing it along with their jobs. They must be protected.

To overcome Mr. Bush’s disastrous legacy and fulfill his own promises, Mr. Obama will need the support of all Americans. We hope that he will have the support of Mr. McCain and his party. Before this nasty, dispiriting campaign, we respected the Arizona senator, for his long service to this country, and for his willingness to stand up to ideologues and to compromise with opponents.

The nation’s many challenges are beyond the reach of any one man, or any one political party.