Over the past few decades, the right wing noise machine has made considerable hay out of pushing the false notion that liberals "hate America," while conservatives "love America." The argument has gone something like this: liberals are all pessimists who don't believe in the ingeniuty of the American people to solve problems without the help of government, while conservatives believe in the goodness of the American people; liberals blame America for all of the world's problems, while conservatives honor and revere America; yada yada yada. They run on phony populism by railing against flag burning, denouncing "secular humanists," and exposing the "war on Christmas." They play up hot buttons issue that divide the American public like abortion, gay marraige, and gun control.
The inability of Democrats to sell progressive ideas to the American people in the face of this Republican narrative has resulted in electoral failure and a seemingly endless stream of so called "liberal" political leaders bowing to the pressure exerted by the right wing noise machine for fear of being the latest victim of this phony right wing populism. This phenomenon has been analysed at length by Thomas Frank in his book, What's the matter with Kansas.
However, Barrack Obama is beginning to reverse this phenomenon, and he is doing so by merely pointing out the fact that all of our society's great achievements whether it be the Bill of Rights, the abolition of slavery, the women's suffrage movement, the New Deal, our journeys into space, or the Civil Rights movement were all brought about by progressive minded people. He is reminding us that America is a historically progressive nation that is continually trying to better itself. He is reminding us that suggesting that we can do better is not the same as denigrating our nation; in fact demanding that we do better is a proud American tradition.
In essence, he has reversed the script. He is pointing out the fact that it is the Republican party, which is the party of pessimism because it is the Republican party that says that progress on critical issues such as global warming, health care, and poverty can not be achieved. In contrast, it is the Democratic party, which looks at these issues and says "yes we can" successfully deal with these issues. It is the Republican party that is suggesting that we can never achieve peace, and that we must constantly live in fear of the terrorists. It is the Democratic party that believes that we can achieve peace, and that is the only thing we have to fear is fear itself!
His ability to reverse the right wing noise machine's script is precisely what gives him an excellent chance in the general election should he go on to win the Democratic primary. And this ability to reverse the right wing noise machine's script is precisely why he is currently the frontrunner in the Democratic primary.
Now by writing this diary, I am not suggesting that Obama will not be the subject of relentless right wing noise machine attacks just as our past candidates have. However, I think that his response to their attacks is going to be more effective than the response of our previous candidates. In particular, when John McCain claims over and over again that a vote for Obama will make us more vulnerable to attack by the terrorists, Obama will point out over and over again the fact that Senator McCain is merely a pessimist who wrongly believes that we must live in constant fear. When Senator McCain suggests that Senator Obama is being naive when he has the audacity to claim that we can provide health insurance to everybody in America, Senator Obama will point out the fact that Senator McCain is once again being a pessimist and saying "no we can't" despite the fact that we have proven time and time again in this nation that when we put our minds to accomplishing a goal, we can achieve great things. In short, this contest is going to be cast as a choice between optimism and pessimism, or more bluntly hope vs. fear. Unlike past nominees who have hedged their bets, Obama is putting all of his chips on the table and betting that the American people will choose hope over fear. It's a bet that I think he will win.