Mandate for change will test Obama

In the days following the terror attack of Sept. 11, 2001, if someone would have predicted that in seven years a black man named Barack Hussein Obama would be the next president of the United States, you would have said that person was crazy.

But America made history Tuesday night when it elected Barack Obama as its first black president by a landslide vote.

Obama’s victory wasn’t so much a win over John McCain, but instead a cry for change following eight years of George W. Bush. The terror attacks that shaped the Bush presidency gave Bush the reason to launch the war for which his presidency will be remembered, and we suspect it won’t be quite as favorably as Bush thinks history will judge him.

Since the terrorist attack on America, Bush policies have brought:

• An unjustified “pre-emptive” American attack on Iraq, as the administration made the case that Saddam Hussein’s government played a role in the Sept. 11 attacks. Bush’s rationale for invading Iraq changed with the facts that contradicted his reasoning. But, early on, few people questioned the war. The quick, short-lived war the administration predicted didn’t happen. Americans remaining in Iraq with no foreseeable exit eventually eroded public confidence in Bush.

• A national debt that almost has doubled as America used a credit-card mentality to pay for the war. The national debt stood at $5.73 trillion the day Bush took office; it stood at $10.56 trillion the day Americans chose his successor.

• A president so preoccupied with war that he was oblivious to a looming foreclosure crisis. The stock market spiraled downward, wiping out trillions of dollars, while joblessness increased. Bush responded with a $700 billion bailout of banks, effectively nationalizing the industry.

• Federal spending that increased dramatically and government that got bigger.

• Freedoms violated: warrantless wiretaps; nosing through your records and it being illegal for you to be told; secret prisons; torture. These are only a sampling of the Bush administration’s horrendous record on liberty.

It comes as no surprise that people are ready for change.

One of the important things to watch now will be whom Obama appoints to his Cabinet. He showed good judgment in putting Joe Biden on his ticket, adding a running mate strong in foreign policy. More of that kind of reasoned selection would serve Obama well.

Democrats now hold Congress and the White House. It took only two years to lose that advantage the last time they held it, so Democrats ought to move prudently. Resist growing government. Don’t let the Bush tax cuts expire. Don’t grow complacent on energy policy because gas prices again have dropped.

For the next two years, there isn’t much Republicans can do but watch. They should return to the party of limited government that Ronald Reagan championed. That’s the best chance the GOP has to make up a significant amount of ground in Congress in the 2010 election.

For now, we’re coming off the most exciting American election in generations, attracting millions of new people along the way.

The historical significance of America electing its first black president will not be lost on the world. Four years from now, just one thing will matter: Is America better off than it was in 2008?

That’s how Obama’s leadership will be measured. That’s the challenge he faces.