Obama's America

Back in the first decade of the 20th Century immigration to the United States was booming. Alas, some people felt the wrong kinds of Europeans (not to mention Asians) were coming. Restrictions were passed in 1917, attaching quotas to entering Jews and immigrants from Russia, Eastern Europe, and Asia.

In 1952 a law was passed that said becoming a citizen was colorblind (once you got in -- the quotas were still in place). That set the stage for Lyndon Johnson's Immigration and Nationality Act, which reformed the quota system. Johnson meant it as a way of rewarding Italians and Poles -- previous immigrants from there were loyal Democrats. But it didn't turn out that way. Since then the biggest influx has been from Mexico, China, the Philippines, India, and Vietnam.

Thus the stage was set for Obama's America, much more diverse that what we've known before and getting more so. And that is the big story (close to the whole issue) of Newsweek this week. See sidebars for the various parts. This story is told in five chapters:

1. Politics: Gavin Newsom's political future now that he is so closely tied to gay marriage. Texas isn't about to flip blue anytime soon. How the GOP can rise again (more below).

2. Geography: Many of Obama's advisors have lived outside the USA. It is time to combine suburbs and city into one metropolitan region when tackling problems.

3. Life and Work: Work and Leisure, home and office are now blended. The widening gap isn't between the rich and poor, but between the rich and middle class and Obama needs to rebuild the upward mobility ladder. Our "tribes" -- the people we associate with -- aren't built so much around family and race, but around shared interests. How a gay Jew became an Episcopal priest.

4. Diversity: Difficulties in getting Hispanics to join the Boy Scouts -- "What's a scout?" Bringing Latinos into the middle class benefits the nation as a whole. The Somali refugees who brought new life to dying Lewiston, Maine.

5. Age: A young Evangelical defies his parents and votes for Obama. Balancing Boomer benefits with taxes on the young. Convincing 5th Graders that college is important.

How the GOP can rise again. A big problem for the GOP is that its policies don't benefit the younger generations.

1. Develop policies that benefit the middle class, especially health care and college tuition.

2. Modulate the social message. They say they want a constitutional ban on abortion but never act on it. So don't say it. Obsessing over Terri Schaivo was confusing to voters. Some candidates ran as overtly Christian and most youth are secular.

3. Adopt a realistic environmental ethic. Keeping us safe is now as much about the environment as about terrorists.

4. Be a party of competence. Even limited government must be able to handle Katrina.

This may be a start but wouldn't be enough for me to vote GOP. I'd want a serious revamping of the social message. Then there's Bush's reliance on secrecy and visions of monarchy, the emphasis of the corporate at the expense of the worker, a seriously bad case of racism, and I don't have all night …