The First 100 Days

Editorial

This article appeared in the December 1, 2008 edition of The Nation.

November 13, 2008

The day before the election, Republicans were warning that Barack Obama would bring too much change too soon, that he was a "socialist" who would "spread the wealth around"

and that his election would usher in "one-party rule." Then, in the days after his sweeping victory, they tried to claim that his election represented no change at all. According to RNC chair Mike Duncan, Obama's not even really a Democrat. Reckoning with his party's dismal loss, Duncan claimed Obama won because he "ran the most successful moderate Republican presidential campaign since Dwight Eisenhower."

Even so, op-ed pages and TV pundits have warned the incoming administration "not to overreach" and have declared America a fundamentally, unalterably "center-right nation."

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