To the Editor:

Re “It Still Felt Good the Morning After” (column, Nov. 9):

Frank Rich and many others are hailing the election of Barack Obama as something transformational in the American electorate — the breakdown of centuries of prejudice and perhaps the creation of a new center-left coalition. Certainly an event that many of us did not expect to see in our lifetimes took place.

Let us not forget, however, that were it not for the economic meltdown of September and October, we might well be hailing the election of John McCain and the resurgence of the Republican majority.

It took the convergence of a truly unique individual with unusual gifts, one of the worst presidents in our nation’s history and a nearly unprecedented economic meltdown for Senator Obama and the Democrats to win. It is now up to President-elect Obama and his Democratic colleagues to see if they can fashion an enduring majority from a political perfect storm. I wish them well.

Michael G. Parker

New York, Nov. 9, 2008

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