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The answer is clear as a bell.
The American people have roundly condemned the Republicans and their experimentations, which promoted crony capitalism, fascism, militarism, bigotry, fear mongering, class warfare and lawlessness, dressed up with the buzzword of "Conservatism".
With their so called "conservatism" they have robbed and bankrupt this country and it was clear that more of the same is no answer for the problems that they've cursed us with.
To turn America around, we'll need exceptional people to lead us away from the failures, the reactionary fear mongering and cowering under the boots of the ruling class.
Change is required.
In the Black community, we have a notion that a black man has to be twice as good as his white counterpart in order to be considered his equal. The notion of Black exceptionalism has been part of the sports world since the days of Joe Louis and Jackie Robinson and has driven deep and dynamic changes there.
It's no accident that today, there are so many people of color competing at the highest levels of sports competition. And overall, today's athletes are bigger, faster and stronger than their counterparts of the past. Also, because those better athletes of the past have raised the standard, it now takes better athletes of all ethnicities to compete at the highest levels of competition.
As a reaction to racism, the legacy of exceptionalism has changed the landscape.
The world of American politics has seen this notion reach its own zenith, with the election of Barack Obama to the Presidency.
Without regard to his race, Barack Obama is a truly exceptional human being. I posit that his race shouldn't even be a consideration other than a trivial footnote that he will be the first African-American President of the United States.
I am not diminishing the importance of this milestone, but clearly based upon what I have observed from his strategy, running as the first black man to be president was not his modus operandi.
What I think that people should consider as his most salient aspects and advantages, are his exceptional intelligence, his ability to communicate expertly, his skills at organizing efficiently, his willingness to transform the landscape of the American body politic to service the needs of all its citizens instead of the privileged few and the way he has inspired so many people to see beyond their petty considerations and work towards a higher ideal.
His success has been exemplified by the way he has surpassed all expectations of a "black candidate", by pushing aside the entrenched power of the Clinton political machine and the superlative way he has waged his presidential campaign to achieve his staggering victory.
Barack Obama clearly represents a potential evolutionary step forward, in terms of the American statesman. He has raised the standard by which everyone in the arena needs compete successfully.
However, in spite of running the best campaign seen in quite a long time, the true test for Barack Obama and his exceptionalism will be how he functions as Head of State, Commander-in-Chief and Chief Executive of the United States of America. Also, how effectively he employs the Bully Pulpit.
In the coming years, we will see if he can be the transformational leader that is required to change the direction of the country. We will see if his message of change and hope will continue to inspire the Congress, which his coat tails have driven greater Democratic gains and the People, whose support he truly needs. We will see if his qualities are up to the job at hand.
He is challenged to be successful, in spite of the way that the Republicans and their right wing supporters have distorted the political landscape and corrupted the body politic. Challenges yet unknown are impending as well.
But, the true measure of this leader is not how he will avoid adversity, but how he prevails, helps the country to prevail and inspires leadership in spite of adversity.
I have complete confidence that he lead us all to prevail in the times ahead.
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