David Brooks wavers, it seems to me, between thoughtful philosophical conservative and Republican talking head. Today he writes in his capacity as the latter.
John McCain, apparently, is at a disadvantage. He isn't getting to play the kind of politics he wants, where he appears to be the post-partisan healer of the country to Barack Obama's left-wing nutjobness. His campaign is being forced against his will to have structure, and to attack people. This isn't the kind of good-natured, easy-going presidential race John McCain signed up for. And this means that he's fallen behind and has had to turn to a more nasty, traditional kind of politics. Now, this doesn't come naturally to him, of course, and he's really had to work at it, but after long last his newly minted tactics of personal attacks and mocking of truth and justice have paid off. He's nearly neck-and-neck with Obama, and so in Brooks's own words, "a long-shot candidacy now seems entirely plausible."
And the American Dream is saved.
No. No no no. John McCain is not a long shot. He has never been a long shot. John McCain has held office in the United States Senate for over 21 years. He ran a nearly successful race for the Republican nomination for President in 2000, and has had more publicity than nearly all other senators for many years. He has the endorsement and financial support of hordes of super-wealthy Republican donors, not to mention a little cash in the bank of his own.
Barack Obama, on the other hand, emerged recently from extremely local politics, is the first viable African-American candidate ever, and defeated the most powerful family in the Democratic party to become the nominee. I'm not going to say it's truly a long shot, because his family does have some background in politics and he has served in the Senate, but he's a hell of a lot closer than McCain.
I know that I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but it really does irritate me when people use John McCain's poor policy choices and lack of charisma to characterize him as some kind of David to Obama's Goliath.
Showing posts with label obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obama. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Obama Phenomena
Tom Tomorrow (cartoonist extraordinaire, if you didn't know) has a rather clever strip this week about the varying perceptions of Obama. I probably fall in most closely with the "Obamanologists" who "strive to explain the difference between what Obama says and what he means." I have a feeling that most Democrats fall into one of these categories. Broockman is clearly a "disillusioned acolyte," and I know a couple folks would be fall in the "ubiquitous apostates" category.
Aside from being amusing, the strip also affirms Democrats' own perception of "I belong to no organized party, for I am a Democrat" (thanks, David). Obama's done a pretty good job of representing himself, but aside from the occasional email from Howard Dean, I haven't heard anything from other prominent Democrats since the primaries. The Party needs to revitalize its own clout and create a coherent image of its candidate that everybody can fall in with, instead of splintering off into their own incomplete ideas about him.
Aside from being amusing, the strip also affirms Democrats' own perception of "I belong to no organized party, for I am a Democrat" (thanks, David). Obama's done a pretty good job of representing himself, but aside from the occasional email from Howard Dean, I haven't heard anything from other prominent Democrats since the primaries. The Party needs to revitalize its own clout and create a coherent image of its candidate that everybody can fall in with, instead of splintering off into their own incomplete ideas about him.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
The Issues
By now, I'm sure most of you have seen this, but if you haven't, do. It's possibly the best speech I've ever seen by a contemporary politician.
This isn't anything original to point out, but this is why Barack Obama is a better candidate than Hillary Clinton. If you want an issues-based campaign, these are the issues. If you want change in America, this is where it comes from: point out the problems, and try to find solutions. And be candid. Obama is the real deal in a way that most politicians, that most people, can't even begin to be. He, at least in this speech, is talking in a way that makes people listen. He isn't speaking for applause. He isn't spouting soundbites. The incidental applause, the quotations CNN puts at the bottom of the screen, are out of place. He answers all the questions. He speaks plainly. He eliminates the jargon and the doubletalk and all the political bullshit that disenchanted pundits and intellectuals have been ranting about for decades. The man is smarter than I took him for; not cleverer, necessarily, not craftier, but smarter. I have never seen a politician look to the root of America's soul, love the country so much. I have come to trust him like I might trust an old teacher. It isn't charisma he's exuding. I thought that was all it was. I didn't like the "yes we can" change crap because I thought it was a tool. I knew it was a good tool, so I voted for him because I knew others would and because I wanted a Democrat in the White House. But his "yes we can" goes beyond the rallies and the posters and the psychology. He wants to try to fix America the way nobody has perhaps since Roosevelt. I have never before valued truth so much.
He'll probably still lose Pennsylvania. It will probably still come down to the superdelegates, and they may or may not choose to make him the nominee. But I hope they do because there is a chance--just a chance--that Obama will be the kind of president that the president is supposed to be.
I thought Howard Dean saw America the way it should be, and I liked him for it. He was smart and able and had good ideas in a time when almost all the ideas coming out of Washington were bad. But Obama doesn't see America the way it should be, he sees it the way it is. America can be distrusting and cynical and even hateful. It can destroy lives and it can cripple communities. But he has also seen the part of America that can make men strong and give them fulfillment and joy. Clinton's presidency would be historic. The first female president. She would be fine. She would break down barriers. But Obama's presidency wouldn't be remembered for being the first time a black man sits in the Oval Office. It would be remembered for showing America what it is, for better or for worse, and for trying to make it as great on the inside as we say it is on the outside.
Obama still panders. In Ohio, in Iowa, in Texas. I wish he wouldn't. He is still a politician, and Washington is still run by those who want it most. But maybe, just maybe, he can make some of the citizens want it more than the farmers. He wants a more perfect union. Excelsior, Alex. If you want Excelsior, look to the man who wants to change the way Americans think, not the way they pay their taxes or the way they buy their corn. Bush and Cheney have showed us how a country can start to hate itself. Obama can help us love ourselves, not because America has a bigger cock than the other guys, but because America cares for itself and makes great men who care for America.
I don't know precisely what policies he would implement. I leave that research to Ted Kennedy, to Bill Richardson, to David Broockman. I don't know how being a "community organizer" will help him correctly respond to that 3 AM phone call. But what I see in Barack Obama is more than a talking head, more than a bleeding heart, more than a helping hand. I see a man, a flesh and blood person, who wants to be president of the country that made him great so that he can make the lives of its citizens better. More perfect. Yes we can? I don't know for sure. But at this point I can't help but try.
This isn't anything original to point out, but this is why Barack Obama is a better candidate than Hillary Clinton. If you want an issues-based campaign, these are the issues. If you want change in America, this is where it comes from: point out the problems, and try to find solutions. And be candid. Obama is the real deal in a way that most politicians, that most people, can't even begin to be. He, at least in this speech, is talking in a way that makes people listen. He isn't speaking for applause. He isn't spouting soundbites. The incidental applause, the quotations CNN puts at the bottom of the screen, are out of place. He answers all the questions. He speaks plainly. He eliminates the jargon and the doubletalk and all the political bullshit that disenchanted pundits and intellectuals have been ranting about for decades. The man is smarter than I took him for; not cleverer, necessarily, not craftier, but smarter. I have never seen a politician look to the root of America's soul, love the country so much. I have come to trust him like I might trust an old teacher. It isn't charisma he's exuding. I thought that was all it was. I didn't like the "yes we can" change crap because I thought it was a tool. I knew it was a good tool, so I voted for him because I knew others would and because I wanted a Democrat in the White House. But his "yes we can" goes beyond the rallies and the posters and the psychology. He wants to try to fix America the way nobody has perhaps since Roosevelt. I have never before valued truth so much.
He'll probably still lose Pennsylvania. It will probably still come down to the superdelegates, and they may or may not choose to make him the nominee. But I hope they do because there is a chance--just a chance--that Obama will be the kind of president that the president is supposed to be.
I thought Howard Dean saw America the way it should be, and I liked him for it. He was smart and able and had good ideas in a time when almost all the ideas coming out of Washington were bad. But Obama doesn't see America the way it should be, he sees it the way it is. America can be distrusting and cynical and even hateful. It can destroy lives and it can cripple communities. But he has also seen the part of America that can make men strong and give them fulfillment and joy. Clinton's presidency would be historic. The first female president. She would be fine. She would break down barriers. But Obama's presidency wouldn't be remembered for being the first time a black man sits in the Oval Office. It would be remembered for showing America what it is, for better or for worse, and for trying to make it as great on the inside as we say it is on the outside.
Obama still panders. In Ohio, in Iowa, in Texas. I wish he wouldn't. He is still a politician, and Washington is still run by those who want it most. But maybe, just maybe, he can make some of the citizens want it more than the farmers. He wants a more perfect union. Excelsior, Alex. If you want Excelsior, look to the man who wants to change the way Americans think, not the way they pay their taxes or the way they buy their corn. Bush and Cheney have showed us how a country can start to hate itself. Obama can help us love ourselves, not because America has a bigger cock than the other guys, but because America cares for itself and makes great men who care for America.
I don't know precisely what policies he would implement. I leave that research to Ted Kennedy, to Bill Richardson, to David Broockman. I don't know how being a "community organizer" will help him correctly respond to that 3 AM phone call. But what I see in Barack Obama is more than a talking head, more than a bleeding heart, more than a helping hand. I see a man, a flesh and blood person, who wants to be president of the country that made him great so that he can make the lives of its citizens better. More perfect. Yes we can? I don't know for sure. But at this point I can't help but try.
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