Jackson Jambalaya

Remember when cool was cool? High school and Hollywood were cool. Substance had nothing to do with cool. Popularity is the key to cool. It’s not necessarily what somebody has. Many times it’s what cool people don’t have unlike all of the rest of us. Most of us are not cool. We’re just regular folks.

Cool took a left trun in the first decade of the 21st century. Traditional was boring. Cool was exciting even when it violated traditional standards. LGBTQ+ was born cool. LGBTQ+ challenged tradition and values. That was cool. Anyone who challenged LGBTQ+ was automatically not cool and simultaneously a hater or a phobe or an “ist” none of which are cool.

Without a doubt, Barack Hussein Obama was king of cool. At the Democratic National Convention in 2004 he spoke as a rising star that rose to become the 2008 Democrat nominee for president. On January 31, 2007, the same day Joe Biden filed his paperwork to launch his own campaign for president, a reporter recorded him saying of Obama, "I mean, you got the first sort of mainstream African-American … who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man.”

From then on, history made a sweeping left turn in America. LGBTQ+ rights became an issue in the 2008 presidential campaign between Democrat Senator (D-IL) Barack Obama and Republican Senator (R-AZ) John McCain. These two candidates were joined by vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, ironically, and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin respectively. Supporters of LGBTQ+ rights planted more seeds in the Democrat Party, but in 2008 the issue was still just on the horizon.

In 2008 Obama said, "I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of gay marriage.” Four years later in May 2012 he said, "I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.” On the other hand McCain was somewhat of a moving target regarding LGBTQ+ rights during his career. His position on this issue followed the shift of the country when many changed their minds about allowing same-sex marriage in America.

As 2008 rolled along toward the election, the economic recession bloomed into a bigger deal than either candidate might have anticipated. Both candidates voted for the $700 billion rescue bill in the Senate. Obama blamed too little government regulation of the financial markets, while McCain blamed Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae for their roles in the crisis.

Other issues that led in 2008 were the Iraq War as well as national security and foreign affairs. Of course, taxes and the economy held their usual places in the election hierarchy. Energy and the environment became bigger issues. And, Obama created an issue around health care that soon became one of the cool issues.

The elephant in the room was a Black man running for president. And, a cool Black man who could be the first Black president in our history. Arguably that was the key issue that led to electing Barack Obama president! That issue led Democrats to advocate for more non-traditional values and issues. Cool was in and cool trumped social issues until another Trump returned common sense to American governance.

Daniel L. Gardner is a columnist who lives in Starkville, MS. You may contact him at PJandMe2@gmail.com.