Obama-rama
It is not too long until an election-starved cadre of pundits and politicos start talking presidential politics for 2008. In fact, in that 7-week period between election day and the day the new Congress is sworn in, there is little else to talk about, politically speaking.
Now, I don't want to get too far ahead of the game, because there is literally an eternity between now and 2008 (and by "literally," I mean, "not literally.") But the following question is worth consideration right now:
Should Barack Obama run for President in 2008?
Obama had as good an October as George Allen had a bad August. His new book was released, he was on the cover of Time, and he was basically the most sought-after Democratic fundraiser to bring in enthusiastic crowds to rev up Democratic bases all over the United States. What's amazing is the man's nationwide popularity began with his overwhelmingly well-received speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention--he was born as a star literally ("not literally") in an instance.
Inevitably, rumblings have emerged for the Democratic party's only star (other than Bill Clinton and Howard Dean, both of whom can't run for Prez in '08) to seek the top office. He made news not by announcing that he'd run for President, but by announcing that he hadn't ruled it out. By the way, I also haven't ruled out running for President in 2008 . . . where's my news story?
Here are a couple reasons Obama should, and shouldn't, run.
Should: Obama has a very rare quality, particularly among Democratic politicians--when he speaks, people want to listen. As opposed to our last couple of nominees; when they spoke, people felt lectured.
Should not: Why now? He's a young guy, and he entered the national stage two short years ago. Maybe the guy is literally a bottle of wine (not literally), who will improve with time. But unlike dinosaurs like McCain or Kerry, Obama doesn't need to rush.
Should: Ideologically, Obama is a liberal Democrat, but I think he's one guy that people think can transcend ideological and partisan labels to get things accomplished. After such a divisive 6 years, we could use someone who is able to pull us together.
Should not: Similar to the previous "should not", Obama may be too inexperienced to preside over foreign policy matters during war time. Or, he may be perceived as such and thus will have difficulty winning.
Should: C'mon, I really like him.
Maybe Should, Maybe Shouldn't: This may be a broader question, and I'm interested to hear people's opinions on this--but do you think a black man can win a nationwide race at this point in history? Since Obama will be around for a long time, he may want to wait another 15 years or so for some of the racists to simply die off. On the other hand, it would no doubt be an landmark moment in our nation's history, and I'd argue he could achieve it now.
Thoughts on Obama-rama?
Now, I don't want to get too far ahead of the game, because there is literally an eternity between now and 2008 (and by "literally," I mean, "not literally.") But the following question is worth consideration right now:
Should Barack Obama run for President in 2008?
Obama had as good an October as George Allen had a bad August. His new book was released, he was on the cover of Time, and he was basically the most sought-after Democratic fundraiser to bring in enthusiastic crowds to rev up Democratic bases all over the United States. What's amazing is the man's nationwide popularity began with his overwhelmingly well-received speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention--he was born as a star literally ("not literally") in an instance.
Inevitably, rumblings have emerged for the Democratic party's only star (other than Bill Clinton and Howard Dean, both of whom can't run for Prez in '08) to seek the top office. He made news not by announcing that he'd run for President, but by announcing that he hadn't ruled it out. By the way, I also haven't ruled out running for President in 2008 . . . where's my news story?
Here are a couple reasons Obama should, and shouldn't, run.
Should: Obama has a very rare quality, particularly among Democratic politicians--when he speaks, people want to listen. As opposed to our last couple of nominees; when they spoke, people felt lectured.
Should not: Why now? He's a young guy, and he entered the national stage two short years ago. Maybe the guy is literally a bottle of wine (not literally), who will improve with time. But unlike dinosaurs like McCain or Kerry, Obama doesn't need to rush.
Should: Ideologically, Obama is a liberal Democrat, but I think he's one guy that people think can transcend ideological and partisan labels to get things accomplished. After such a divisive 6 years, we could use someone who is able to pull us together.
Should not: Similar to the previous "should not", Obama may be too inexperienced to preside over foreign policy matters during war time. Or, he may be perceived as such and thus will have difficulty winning.
Should: C'mon, I really like him.
Maybe Should, Maybe Shouldn't: This may be a broader question, and I'm interested to hear people's opinions on this--but do you think a black man can win a nationwide race at this point in history? Since Obama will be around for a long time, he may want to wait another 15 years or so for some of the racists to simply die off. On the other hand, it would no doubt be an landmark moment in our nation's history, and I'd argue he could achieve it now.
Thoughts on Obama-rama?
posted by Matthew Jerome @ 12:41 PM
9 Comments:
At 8:07 PM,
Dave G said…
I like Obama. I respect Obama. In fact, I have a huge man-crush on Obama. But somebody please tell me what makes this man qualified to be president.
Obama is a brilliant man, an amazing politician, a great orator, and someone who can captivate people more than anyone else. But his entire political experience can be boiled down to eight years in the Illinois Senate and two years in the US Senate, which have mostly been spent campaigning for others.
At first thought, I really like Obama. But the reason I couldn't get behind Edwards in 04 was because he had absolutely no practical experience. Obama has less.
I think character, intelligence, and respect are important qualities in a presidential candidate, much less a president. But more so are experience and the knowledge gained by governing. I'm not saying I won't vote for Obama or support his candidacy. But I think the president should be someone with more experience. Both sides offer more experienced choices, and before we are captivated by Obama, we should consider those options.
At 10:12 PM,
Jemo said…
Another consideration - lets say that Obama waits another 10 years or so before running for president (for arguments sake 2016). Conceivably, he would be reelected and have 14 years of Congressional experience by then. However, history tells us that Senators have a tougher time getting elected President than Governors, because Senators have a legislative record to attack (just about everyone has their vote on some piece of legislation that could be looked at in a bad light).
Assuming that Obama isn't going to run for some kind of State Executive Office like Governor, Now might be a better time for him to run, before he amasses another decade of voting in Congress.
I also think that Obama should run now because as big an angle as the racism aspect would play, I honestly think that this country would sooner elect a black man than a white woman (Hilary, the presumptive nominee if Obama doesn't run). I personally think that if the election becomes McCain vs. Hilary, McCain wins in a landslide.
At 11:02 PM,
Matthew Jerome said…
Dave-"Obama is a brilliant man, an amazing politician, a great orator, and someone who can captivate people more than anyone else. But his entire political experience can be boiled down to eight years in the Illinois Senate and two years in the US Senate." I guess that's the argument for and against his candidacy. I think though, experience aside, it may be invaluable to have a President that people enthusiastically believe in again. The only place where "experience" really matters for me is in foreign policy matters, and of course Bush and Clinton had no expertise in those matters. For one that turned out ok, for the other, not so much.
Jeff, good debate question. I think you are wrong, incidentally, I think a black candidate has a steeper uphill climb than a woman--particularly Hillary.
At 11:26 PM,
Dave said…
Which brings me to my final point:
Lichtman in '08!
At 9:11 AM,
Cassidy said…
Maybe it's just that I am so convinced that Hillary will win, but I think that Obama, instead of running for president, is running for the spot of vice president. Maybe in 2012 he will run for the big seat, but for now, I think he'll be content to be Hillary's #2 for 8 years, and then take the natural leap into the White House.
Although, to piggyback on severl others' comments, I do think he is the first one I can say sounds like JFK/RFK without being even a little cynical.
At 10:36 AM,
kenf said…
Hmmm, Lincoln spent only 8 years in the Illinois legislature before becoming President. But, then again, he lost his race for the Senate
At 12:16 PM,
liberal journal man said…
I like Obama, I think he has great potential, but he's going to have to show me some more. A lot of the Obama talk is hyped up because of his attractive persona.
Cassidy's right in saying it might be Obama as the VP nominee. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it. I think they'll face a tandem of McCain-Giuliani, as I just wrote on my blog.
I would say that America is much more likely to vote for a woman than a black man. England had Margaret Thatcher. And if you just look at the Senate, there's a lot more women than black men.
At 1:56 PM,
Matthew Jerome said…
I agree with you that that's more likely. Even really conservative places have elected female senators, governors, and congresswomen (Liddy Dole, Blanche Lincoln, Kathleen Blanco, Marsha Blackburn, etc. Though the list isn't much longer than that, I suppose)
At 12:23 AM,
Stephanie Dray said…
He's my frontrunner right now, even though he has majorly irked me in the past.
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