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History can wait

Obama-in-practice has not matched Obama-in-theory, and it seems to me that it’s the theory that just claimed the nomination.

I tend to not get overly excited about Democratic party nominations. Part of it is doubtless respondant conditioning imparted by a string of Dem losses in the general election - all that enthusiasm curdling in the heat of election returns. A lot of it, though, is just the preliminary nature of it all. We ain’t won nothin’ yet, whispers the reptile brain. And that is so, even now, even today, this first day (unofficially) of the primacy of Barack Obama, nominee, standard bearer, icon.

We ain’t won nothin’ yet - which is not to gainsay the societal milestone represented by Obama’s claim to the nomination. As a black man in America, I am heartened. As a plain old citizen, I am somewhat wary. The sense of history in the making seems a bit removed from where I stand.

I’d probably feel…more…about the Obama nomination if I felt…more…about Obama himself. What many of his supporters of feeling this day is what I felt the first day I heard him speak, in 2004, on the radio while driving. But even then, I said this:

Before people rush out to print “Obama in 2012″ yard signs, it would be wise to recall what the man said of himself in an interview: he is a work in progress. We have an idea of what kind of senator he would like to be, but we have yet to see what kind of senator he will be. Obama’s great value right now is as a standard bearer for ideals that might easily have been abandoned, and as a beacon to African Americans who until now have been less than convinced of the virtues of the party. There is a lot of work to do, and the year 2012 will take care of itself.

So much for 2012, eh?

For my money, Obama-in-practice has not matched Obama-in-theory, and it seems to me that it’s the theory that just claimed the nomination. And there’s nothing for it but to hope (to use the word of the moment) for all our sakes that the lofty rhetoric of the candidate is matched, at last, by the policies and acts of the office-holder.

But first Obama has to gain the office.

November will tell mark the real beginning of what Obama means, and what we as a people mean through him. Until that day comes, until it brings that true sense of history and anticipation, I can wait.

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