The Work Ahead

In towns like Hollandale, MS hopes are sky-high that Obama will return a sense of economic normalcy to towns like it and hundreds others across the country that are adrift in a new world order that doesn't seem to appreciate what they have to offer.

In Hollandale, unemployment and poverty are twin cousins of evil that keep large swaths of Mississippi economically stagnant. Bush's policies did little to help and if you believe his critics his policies did much to exacerbate Hollandale's problems. Disdain for the poor while currying favor among the rich left the Hollandale's of America adrift.

The key is to council patience and recognize that change won't come like a lightning bolt from the sky, but only after years and years of meaningful investment.