What 'Change' meant in Election 2008              

(For a look at what Change to expect in 2009, click here)

As the Obama Administration prepares to take the wheel, a number of nationally prominent pollsters and political observers have been offering corporate America their take on what occurred and what will happen next. Here is a synthesis of what we've heard:

Change Convergence.
A number of changes in the country caught up with each other during the election. Some of those changes include the demographic rise of ethnic groups and age groups, electronic communication linking millions of people together, a Congress and Administration with faltering and historic low approval ratings and a recognition that some of the key, aggressive global policies of the last several years are not working.

People with Power at Fault.
The United States is seen as being increasingly in a crisis caused by people who have abused the power they were given – President, Congress, Businesses, High Net Worth People, etc.  The electorate chose a relative newcomer with little track record who promised he would change things over an elderly man with lots of experience in the way things have been run the past decades that has led to the crises we face today.  This was a vote for hope in the unknown versus hoping the “old guard” could change and lead us out of the crisis.
 
Incompetent Washington.
The public believes Washington insiders have shown themselves to be incompetent and incapable of taking us in the right direction.  With hosts of Congressmen driving things for their own gain and showing themselves to be unworthy of the job (Craig, Stevens, Rangle, etc., etc.) and the federal government vividly demonstrating their inability to react to crises (Katrina), an outsider or relative newcomer had a major advantage.  Hilary, while coming close, was viewed as being too tied to the Washington insiders to really drive change.

Competence over Policy.
People generally put the candidates’ policy statements to the side – they don’t believe most of it turns into actual law as compromises take their toll.  It is interesting to see the cabinet Obama has put together thus far – it is much more conservative than his policies would suggest.  It is also perceived to date as being a fairly competent group of people who may be much better at getting things done.
 
Pelosi and Reid – wild cards.
A concern certainly by many business leaders was that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would run wild and Obama would be powerless to stop them.  Many pollsters and analysts suggest that may not be the case as Congress has an approval rating of 10% while, at least in the fist year Obama is likely to have an approval rating of 60-80% giving him a lot of power to steer things.