The Democratic Party Has A Leader (And Better Is Good)

President Obama hit the campaign trail last Friday with a great speech in Illinois. He is planning to campaign hard for Democratic candidates this year.

I think we can take three important things from this.

1. In spite of what the talking heads on cable news would have you believe, the Democratic Party is not leaderless. It has a great leader -- Barack Obama. And he will be the party's leader until someone new captures the support of most Democrats.

2. There are no perfect policies or politicians, but we don't need perfection. We just need to make things better, because better is always good.

3. It is up to us, the voters, to make things better in this country -- and we do that by voting for better candidates.

Here is just a tiny part of his first campaign speech of this electoral season:

Making democracy work means holding on to our principles, having clarity about our principles, and then having the confidence to get in the arena and have a serious debate. And it also means appreciating that progress does not happen all at once, but when you put your shoulder to the wheel, if you're willing to fight for it, things do get better.

And let me tell you something, particularly young people here. Better is good. I used to have to tell my young staff this all the time in the White House, better is good. That's the history of progress in this country. Not perfect, better.

The Civil Rights Act didn't end racism, but it made things better. Social Security didn't eliminate all poverty for seniors, but it made things better for millions of people. Do not let people tell you the fight's not worth it because you won't get everything that you want. The idea that, well, you know, there's racism in America, so I'm not going to bother voting, no point, that makes no sense. You can make it better.

Better is always worth fighting for. That's how our founders expected this system of self-government to work. That through the testing of ideas and the application of reason and evidence and proof, we could sort through our differences and nobody would get exactly what they wanted, but it would be possible to find a basis for common ground.

And that common ground exists. Maybe it's not fashionable to say that right now. It's hard to see it with all the nonsense in Washington. It's hard to hear it with all the noise. But common ground exists. I have seen it. I have lived it.

I know there are white people who care deeply about black people being treated unfairly. I have talked to them and loved them. And I know there are black people who care deeply about the struggles of white rural America. I'm one of them. And I have a track record to prove it.

I know there are evangelicals who are deeply committed to doing something about climate change. I've seen them do the work. I know there are conservatives who think there's nothing compassionate about separating immigrant children from their mothers. I know there are Republicans who believe government should only perform a few minimal functions but that one of those functions should be making sure nearly 3,000 Americans don't die in a hurricane and its aftermath.

Common ground's out there. I see it every day. It's just how people interact, how people treat each other. You see it on the ballfield. You see it at work. You see it in places of worship.

But to say that common ground exists doesn't mean it will inevitably win out. History shows the power of fear. And the closer that we get to Election Day, the more those invested in the politics of fear and division will work — will do anything to hang on to their recent gains.

Fortunately, I am hopeful, because out of this political darkness, I am seeing a great awakening of citizenship all across the country. I cannot tell you how encouraged I've been by watching so many people get involved for the first time or the first time in a long time. They're marching and they're organizing and they're registering people to vote and they're running for office themselves. . . .

The antidote to a government controlled by a powerful few, a government that divides is a government by the organized, energized, inclusive many. That’s what this moments about, it has to be the answer.

You cannot sit back and wait for a savior, you cannot doubt because you don’t feel sufficiently inspired by this or that particular candidate. This is not a rock concert, this is not Coachella, we don’t need a messiah, all we need are decent, honest, hard working people who are accountable and who have America’s best interest at heart. And they’ll stop up, and they’ll join our government and they will make things better if they have support. One election will not fix everything that needs to be fixed but it will be a start and you have to start it.

What’s going to fix our democracy is you, people ask me what are you going to do for the election, now the question is what are you going to do? You’re the anecdote, you are participation and your spirit and your determination, not just in this election but in every subsequent election and in the days between elections. Because in the end the threat to our democracy doesn’t just come from Donald Trump or the current batch of republicans in Congress or the Koch brothers and their lobbyists or too much compromise from democrats or Russian hacking, the biggest threat to our democracy is indifference.

The biggest threat to our democracy is cynicism, now cynicism led to many people to turn away from politics and stay home on Election Day.