Posted on 12/09/2006 8:41:00 AM PST by Chi-townChief
Should Sen. Barack Obama run for president? It will be a tough call for the senator and for those who admire and respect him personally. If he runs, he has a good chance of winning because he represents what Americans want in their president at this very troubled time in their history, a man of firm principles but not an ideologue, a moderate who can sympathize with his opponent's position, a modest man with self-deprecating wit, a politician who tries to bring people together instead of polarizing them against one another. A candidate who does not swagger or shout and whom no one would ever call a cowboy.
For voters, sickened by attempts to demonize others in an era of "slash and burn" politics practiced by Newt Gingrich and Karl Rove, Obama seems to represent a possibility for a change in political rhetoric, a politician with honor, integrity and intelligence and one who writes his own material. A public figure who constantly questions his own motives and ambition -- on the record. He would also represent a new image of the United States to the world. The president of the United States is also the president of the Free World, the one to whom people around the world turn for leadership and inspiration. A charismatic moderate who is an African American would transform attitudes toward America almost overnight.
It is small wonder then that the senator's ratings in the polls have surged. There will be many disappointed Americans if he decides not to run. There are three reasons why he should not run.
The first is that he has not had enough experience. One could reply by citing another citizen of Illinois who ran for president, another man of integrity, intelligence and honor whose experience was also mostly in the Illinois Legislature and a year in the House of Representatives. With two years in the Senate, Obama could boast more "experience" than Abraham Lincoln.
Moreover consider the "experienced" presidents who have served the Republic in the last couple of decades. Lyndon Johnson was as skilled a politician as one could want. Yet he made the terrible mistake of escalating the Vietnam War and presided over a failed presidency. Richard Nixon, a man with a tremendous amount of "experience," continued the war, spent much of his time in the Executive Office Building writing paranoid memos on legal size yellow sheets and was forced out of office by the Watergate scandal. Jimmy Carter was a successful governor but did not succeed in Washington despite a large congressional majority because he never learned that you can treat Congress like you treated the Georgia legislature. Bill Clinton was an "experienced" governor but he did not realize that you can't engage in escapades in the Oval Office. The present incumbent had the experience of presiding over the baseball franchise and governing Texas, got us into the Iraq war and cannot admit mistakes.
Honor, intelligence, integrity and self-deprecating humor are superior to "experience" any time.
A second reason for not running is that the political rhetoric in this country is toxic. Attack ads, negative campaigns, personal assaults are an essential part of American politics. Bloggers, radio talk show hosts (like the poisonous Rush Limbaugh who calls the senator Osama Obama), columnists, mean-spirited editorial writers (especially at the Wall Street Journal), Republican operatives, spin doctors, publicity seekers, ambitious small-time politicians, fundamentalist preachers and rich businessmen will seek to destroy the candidate as soon as he announces. Like the Swift Boat crowd in the last election, they will stop at nothing in their efforts to turn him into political toast. Who needs it?
Finally, it is foolish happy talk to say that the United States is ready for an African-American (or perhaps a Kenyan-American) president. Racism is alive and well in the United States and is still as American as cherry pie. Obama starts out with the South solidly against him. Crazy white supremacists will fall over one another in their attempts to derail the campaign even before the primaries. If he decides to run, the senator is a very brave man. He should invest in flak jackets and helmets -- emotional and physical.
mailto:agreel@aol.com
Its the media how is in puppy love.That guy looks as if hes got skeletons hiding somewhere.Creeps me out like john david carr.
Take your complaint to Drunko Ted.
I dont see a black canidate i see a green one
he has zero experience
The MSM tried the same tactic, as I recall, several years ago with Harold Ford.
It got Ford into the House and got him on allot of news-talk programs, but little else. By the time Ford was running for the Senate this year, the MSM had basically moved on to new fodder for their news-bites.
This MSM feeding frenzy over Obama soon, too, will pass.
"For voters, sickened by attempts to demonize others in an era of "slash and burn" politics practiced by Newt Gingrich and Karl Rove, Obama seems to represent a possibility for a change in political rhetoric, a politician with honor, integrity and intelligence and one who writes his own material."
Good thing only the Republicans practice "slash and burn" politics. What a mess we would be in if the sainted Democrats did it too!!
And if "writing one's own material" is a prerequisite for office, then you can fire just about everyone up there, including the Dem Savior Hillary etc. etc.
"A public figure who constantly questions his own motives and ambition -- on the record."
Wouldn't "no record" be more accurate?
What kind of Helen Thomas KoolAid is this ignorant, biased fool on?
They pointedly couch him im terms of moderation, however, I have read that he has quite a liberal voting record.
Greeley is just another reason to remain an ex-Catholic.
What're you trying to do, advance the homonym agenda?
What "father" Sleazebag calls the "Swift boat crowd" were a group of veterans of Vietnam, most of them officers, who thought Greeley's boy Kerry was a fraud.
This man is full of hate and lies. I bet he's Michael Moore's confessor.
It's going to be a fun election. Obama will claim racism if we don't vote for him. Bill Richardson has declared his hispanic status and will claim racism if we don't vote for him and then there's Hillary the vaguely female candidate who will claim sexism.
"... represents what Americans want in their president at this very troubled time in their history ..."
Sorry, I'll take the swagger and plain talk - and stubborn defense of America. You can't please everybody and anyone who thinks you can is delusional.
A résumé candidate is one who has a stellar biography—years of service in public life and perhaps the military—with deep connections to the means for extending power and influence in the U.S., but who may or may not have the accompanying charisma and personal draw that often brings voters to a particular candidate. Source
Obama has that kind of untested, a priori appeal to a lot of people. Only it's not based on what he's done but on who he is. So he's something like a favorite son or legacy candidate.
In any event what matters for him is how well he performs in the campaign. For now, people are right to be skeptical of someone who is so unexperienced, and unlikely to get real, hands-on governing experience in the Senate.
Dozens of senators have run for President but only two senators have gone directly to the White House. The Senate is more for showhorses than for workhorses and based solely on experience and proven ability, Obama doesn't have what it takes to break out of the pack.
And .. only ignorance keeps a person from checking Rush's very own website where you can listen to the AUDIO OF TED KENNEDY SAYING "Osama Obama" - proving once again these people will use any untruth to foment their hatred.
But he's such a good looking man! He has a great sense of style and looks great in a suit.
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