The Changing of the Guard
By Ambra Nykol
 
Two thousand and four has been a year for the books. Mount St. Helens erupted, Ken Jennings dominated and finally lost on "Jeopardy!" the Boston Red Sox supernaturally won the World Series, and Liberals are now scrambling to piece together some sort of platform that includes a "moral philosophy." Something is off-kilter.

Couple these events with the fact that just a few weeks ago, Michael Moore actually appeared on "The Tonight Show" looking half-way presentable, clean-shaven and donning a suit and you nearly have the twilight zone. Moore even admitted defeat on national television claiming that Bush won because he "got more votes." The fact that Moore wasn't running his mouth about dispatching cameras to scenes of nonexistent crimes is proof positive that the world is indeed off its axis.

Times they are a'changin'.

Now that the "anyone but Bush" crowd has successfully completed their fifteen minutes of whining, complaining, and childishly threatening to flee the country, perhaps we can all move on as a nation. America's re-election of President Bush proved to be the very beginning of some major developments on the horizon. No one thought it would happen, but Bush's re-election decidedly threw a gigantic wrench in the Democratic Party's plans for world domination. Since Election Day, the atmosphere of immense change has been palpable and whether or not we care to admit it, the country is moving full steam ahead. Better hop on board.

Leading the pack of sweeping change, Colin Powell, Tom Ridge and everyone's favorite Attorney General, John Ashcroft resigned as cabinet members. Cabinet resignations are nothing new to re-elections, but in the case of the last four years, Bush's particularly rocky first term and the War on Iraq didn't exactly win his cabinet members a great deal of praise from many Americans. Ashcroft in particular may go down in history as the most hated member of the Bush cabinet. The absence of these individuals in Bush's next term is certain to mean change in how his administration is viewed. This might be for the better as right now, Bush needs all the diplomacy he can get.

Of even greater importance are a few of the individuals Bush has appointed to take the places of those who've resigned. Particularly noteworthy are Condoleezza Rice, appointed as the first Black American Secretary of State and Alberto Gonzales, first Hispanic American Attorney General in the history of the United States. These appointments are rather monumental, but the fact they are Republicans grossly hinders what would usually be some sort of historical commemoration. Race and barrier breaking aside, Rice and Gonzales deserve even more recognition for accepting cabinet positions that will subject them to four years of being raked through the coals of "damned if you do, damned if you don't" standards.

The political world isn't the only place where the guard is changing. Kweisi Mfume recently announced he was stepping down from his post as president of the NAACP, a feat many thought would never happen. There has been some suspicion from conservatives that Mfume was booted out, but it really doesn't matter at this point. Mfume is leaving, and that in and of itself shows immense progress. The only hope for the NAACP is that new leadership will take the organization by the reigns and guide it out of the land of antiquated terms like "colored" and into the 21st century. In regards to stepping down from leadership, perhaps Kofi Annan will take the hint and hand in his resignation as well. There is yet hope.

In the media world, Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw and Barbara Walters have all stepped down from their anchor posts. Rather and Walters in particular, have been somewhat decrepit pillars in the broadcasting community and probably overdue for resignation. The case of the forged CBS memos probably wasn't the capper Rather intended for the end of his epic career, but it was the capper nonetheless. Unfortunately, Rather couldn't have stayed a day longer in his post because much of his credibility has been long lost.

Meanwhile, over the airwaves, Tavis Smiley submitted his resignation from his popular NPR show, citing lack of diversity in listeners. In the world of mindless radio, this year Howard Stern fell from all his raunchiness and "glory" and is being driven off the air onto satellite radio to save his pocketbook. In the case of Stern, the less his voice is heard throughout the airwaves, the better. In the case of Smiley, NPR is seeking out a replacement for the "black demographic." Perhaps there will be another individual to come and incite the type of dialogue and ratings Smiley was unable to produce. All the same, these are all time indicators.

Yasser Arafat died and Martha Stewart went to prison. A Republican bodybuilder was elected governor of the largest U.S. state and Barack Obama and Alan Keyes (two strikingly different black men) went head to head for the open Illinois U.S. Senate seat. Even here locally, should Washington successfully drudge its way through this inept voter recount, it is likely that we will have our first Republican governor in 20 years. He will also be a Republican who earned the endorsement of the Seattle NAACP and the Urban League.

Pigs must be flying indeed. Deny it all you want, but it seems as though something major is rumbling in America. Not necessarily a battle, but certainly a move for fresh ideas. Key leaders are being removed or self-selecting themselves for removal and the collective convictions of Americans are extremely divided. What will happen next can only be predicted, but if the post-election happenings of 2004 are any indication, America is in for a wild ride come next year. The guard is most definitely changing.

Ambra Nykol is freelance writer, Seattle native, and member of the "rebellious" generation. Visit her website at www.nykola.com.

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