His platform of change has got him past his first major hurdle. As of yesterday, Barack Obama clinched his party's presidential nomination. Since Day One, his detractors have accused him of having expressed very vague views on a host of domestic and foreign policy issues, instead basing his appeal on optimistic speeches, without providing much detail on how he would govern.
I have a theory. I think that he won the nomination not despite his ambiguity on the issues, but because of it. Proposing legislation and the outlining of detailed initiatives can not possibly compete with the utopian picture presented by the promise of "change." It is an intrinsic part of human nature to always be unsatisfied with the current situation. To always want more and better; to always yearn for change.
Had Mr. Obama based his campaign on a series of initiatives and a defined platform, his appeal would have been limited to those who approve of the proposed agenda. But the prospect of change talks to everyone—at least all those who are convinced of the sincerity of his intentions to really bring about change. And it excites one of the most basic human drives.
Brilliant campaign strategy? Apparently yes. Will he deliver if elected? Maybe. But one thing I can say with certainty. Even if elected, and even if he turns out to be a wonderful president, Obama will never satisfy our innate hankering for change. Accomplishing that will take much more effort on our part than pulling a lever in a voting booth.
Satisfying this need – on a personal as well as a global level – is possible. Every mitzvah we do brings closer the moment when the world will be changed for the good, once and for all.
If only all those who voted for Obama – both Jews and non-Jews – knew that their vote for change is perhaps a manifestation of their soul's deep desire for the ultimate change. The one that we can and will collectively accomplish; the one that will be ushered in by Moshiach.
