<p>As some here may know, I am an ambivalent supporter of Barack Obama’s campaign. I wish him to be the candidate of our time and of this moment – but I cannot tell if he is. Issues like those raised by Brooks (he spoke my fears aloud, here) continue to give me pause. </p>
<p>Our Senator seems to be caught at the crossroads of National-Poet avenue and Commander in Chief blvd and it seems to me, as R. Frost suggests, you cannot head down both roads at once: There will be a road not taken.</p>
<p>I am always skeptical of those that not only feel that they can fulfill everyone’s desire, but make it their obligation to accomplish this. Put differently, as the apostle Paul once instructed his followers “to be all things to all men” (this was Paul’s prescription not his sanction) is a noble but unrealistic goal for a president, or perhaps for anyone.</p>
<p>Does Barack Obama want to be the evangelist’s “all things to all men” or; does he want to be our ‘first American amongst equals’ in a dangerous if wonderful world? </p>
<p>I don’t really know.
Yet, to me, the election will turn on this symbolic and practical point.</p>
<p>I would be sincerely interested in what the thoughtful think of this.
Does this question ever cross your mind and if so, where does it lead you?</p>
<p>Why did Brooks read only HALF the speech? Obama was clear about the need to root out terrorism and the conditions that produce it. He called for GERMAN troops to fight in Afghanistan - a very, very unpopular, non-political position, hardly the stuff of “being all things to all men”, and not close to saccharine.</p>
<p>Let me be clear: I’m not fond of lots of Obama’s positions - he is FAR too conservative. His health care plan is a giant tax giveaway to private insurance companies. His tax and spending plan would add $3.4 trillion to the national debt over 10 years (not as bad as McCain’s $5 trillion, but hardly worth the comparison). His tax plan for the wealthy doesn’t get close to recouping the giant tax giveaway to the rich over the past 8 years. His tax cuts for the middle class make no sense at a time when the war is unpaid for, national infrastructure is crumbling, and health care leaves 80 million people on the brink, and trade policy leads to global warming, global pollution, and destruction of American jobs.</p>
<p>But symbolism is SO important, especially after what the Republicans have done to our standing in the world over the past 8 years.</p>
<p>Well, I find Sen Obama amazing. And will vote for him wholeheartedly.</p>
<p>And if you are in doubt because he isn’t exactly what you wanted or hoped for, its time to look at your option. </p>
<p>Is what is on the other side, the other choice for leader of the free world, the one to pick the next supreme court, to appoint judges, the cabinet, etc.</p>
<p>Is your ambilance toward Obama so powerful, that the other option is the choice you would make, even by default.</p>
<p>Yes it crosses my mind, but I don’t worry about the gloss, I look at the substance, the power, the following and I look at what we could end up with if I wasn’t 100% thrilled with Obama. I would rather vote for someone who is pretty darn close to what I want then allow someone who is so far off of what I think is best for the country be elected.</p>
<p>I didn’t like his vote on FISA, but would that be enough for me to not vote or vote for McCain- not a chance.</p>
<p>I think you need to look at what is annoying you about Obama and then go, hmmm, is my feeling annoyed about it enough to have McCain as president.</p>
<p>For me, McCain is far to scarey an idea as POTUS, that any flashes of second thought I may have gets washed away in a nanosecond- the alternative is just far to terrifying.</p>
<p>dstark, my impressions fit the mold of your co-worker.</p>
<p>Having had, in my youth, a debilitating tendency to want to please all --which in business is near deadly, I suppose I am always cautious about this fatal flaw in others.</p>
<p>
took the words right out of my mouth.</p>
<p>I also agree with mini that symbolism is very important. Very.</p>
<p>I agree with mini (though not so much on his health care comments). Obama’s call for more European contributions to the war in Afghanistan (where Al Qaeda is still ensconced) did not go down very well in Germany–I suspect it won’t wither in France or in Britain. But he is making that call. He is right that the US cannot do it alone. As for griping about citizen of the world, not only does this line dates back to Diogenes (well he used the word “cosmopolites”) but it is true insofar as we face problems that transcend national borders and demand transnational solutions. If there’s pollution in Indonesia, it can be smelled in Singapore. If some Chinese factory uses lead paint in toys, our children can chew on it and their growth will be affected by it. A crisis in Kuwait, as in 1991, affects Philippina maids. If Vietnam and Thailand decide to cut down on rice exports, the Philippines suffer. Human trafficking crosses borders in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, and in Latin America.</p>
<p>This is what I think he was referring to, not some mushy feelgood universalism.</p>
<p>Sorry, I was going to delete this post since I’m going on vacation in 10 min, but since Woodwork responded this is what I wrote…</p>
<p>Woodwork, well somebody I work with has met Obama on at least a dozen occassions and says… he is one of the most capable men he has ever met, he is an incredibly nice guy, he does have a little ego but considering he is running for president it isn’t that high, and he is very honest.</p>
<p>I also have a friend that played cards wih McCain in a casino (with McCain’s wife watching) and didn’t think much of the McCains. My friend is a republican by the way. Obviously this is a small data point.</p>
<p>Obama, though…he has a good shot to be a great president. Will he, nobody knows… but at least the potential is there.</p>
<p>Edit: I guess I should add that the guy I work with and Obama aren’t close or anything. Just to be clear. This my my co-workers impressions.</p>
<p>I would be skeptical, too, Woodwork, but I don’t believe this is an accurate representation of Obama. I think what Obama is best at is:</p>
<p>1)listening to both sides of an issue (the foreign leaders commented on this trip that he is a good listener and that they felt their concerns had been carefully heard), </p>
<p>2) accurately deciphering where people on the two sides might possibly be open to compromise, a skill that requires a good deal of dispassionate analysis (interpreted as aloofness by some in the media and the RNC) </p>
<p>3) communicating a broader vision, often by placing the conflict in a ‘grander’ historic narrative that allows people on the opposing sides to focus on what they will gain rather than what they will give up by compromising and cooperating (the media and the RNC call this ‘singing kumbaya’ or golden rhetoric).</p>
<p>That he does this while remaining extraordinarily disciplined and without breaking a sweat or looking as if he feels much pressure at all, is impressive. It would be extremely nice to have a disciplined, articulate and intensely calm executive in the Oval, one who intellectually can hold his own with intelligent, experienced and knowledgeable Cabinet, military, and foreign leaders. </p>
<p>Some people are annoyed/threatened that he is not hiding these qualities while running for office, sort of like how some kindergarten teachers are annoyed/threatened by four-year-olds who come to school on the first day of class already reading chapter books. They blame the parents for “pushing” the kid, when really, the kid is just that smart. </p>
<p>Maybe, Obama is just that good at politics, leadership. Time will tell.</p>
<p>Obama is not connecting with the American people. Funny, but he’s the one who is out of touch. McCain has actually gained ground during Obama’s trip (and while the press tell us continually what a “horrible week” it’s been for McCain). I have read that even some Democratic leaders are not entirely sold on Obama. His elitist, superior attitude is not playing well in Peoria. Kennedy barely scraped up a win over Nixon, of all people! Interestingly, Bob Herbert and even Chris Matthews said last night that the polling numbers are probably even lower for Obama than they are appearing.</p>
<p>Obama’s biography is not the conventional biography of presidential candidates. That’s one reason he’s not connecting with the majority of the American people.</p>
<p>There’s no doubt he comes across more aloof. He’s not one to say “my friends” in every other sentence. McCain’s more intimate style suits the town hall format better than Obama’s more soaring but less intimate rhetoric, just as McCain’s more intimate style would not go over well, I think, when addressed to 200,000. </p>
<p>I have the feeling that the Obama campaign is not taken aback by the polling numbers. The trip abroad was undertaken with the idea that he needed to establish his foreign policy credentials; and it was scheduled at this time to allow him to refocus on domestic issues between his return and the convention. </p>
<p>Should he win, the timing of his trip is a good thing as the first few months of a presidency are taken up with myriads of decisions including personnel as well as domestic issues. Fitting in a trip abroad in those first few months would be difficult.</p>
<p>momof2inca - that was a well-reasoned post. The intellectual in me was drawn to the picture you painted of this candidate, O-B-A-M-A.</p>
<p>I’m not sure he is all that he appears to be for you. :(</p>
<p>Also… McCain IS all that AND a bag of chips - haha!</p>
<p>Seriously, don’t discount McCain’s abilities as a statesman - he’s PROVEN them. Conversely, there’s no way Obama can acquire the knowledge & insight McCain has developed over the past two decades as a Congressman & even before that on the world stage. (And may I suggest that his POW experiences would’ve given him even more gravitas).</p>
<p>I hope you’ll come to respect McCain as much as you do the image you have of Obama.</p>
<p>bz:
I wish that McCain would actually lay out his plans and quit attacking Obama. Not that it’s wrong to attack one’s opponent. The problem is that he’s been criticizing Obama only to play catchup with him soon afterward:</p>
<p>----Regarding needing more troops in Afghanistan
regarding a timetable for withdrawing troops in Irag (see the intervie with Wolf Blitzer)
–regarding using international venues for trying Osama bin Laden on June 19</p>
<p>So I don’t know which McCain to believe from one month to the next. It’s okay to try to move a bit more to the center and appeal across party lines. But it would be better not to attack an opponent only to sing the exact same tune a month later.</p>
<p>“So I don’t know which McCain to believe from one month to the next. It’s okay to try to move a bit more to the center and appeal across party lines. But it would be better not to attack an opponent only to sing the exact same tune a month later.”</p>
<p>I don’t think he flipflopped. I think he simply doesn’t remember.</p>
<p>bz, I admire your steadfast passion for your candidate; unfortunately, I simply don’t agree with his politics (aligned so closely with the Bush/Cheney administration). I also find him to be showing disconcerting signs of bewilderment during this long campaign, and I do not respect the fact that he does not know how to use a computer. My father-in-law is two years older than McCain, former Navy commander and lifelong conservative… but he knows how to Google, download photos and send emails with attachments. To me, McCain’s lack of computer expertise points to a lack of intellectual curiosity; how could anyone, much less a future/potential leader of the free world, not have been curious enough about cyberspace to learn to navigate it? I don’t think 72 is too old to be commander-in-chief, but I do think McCain is. That said, I respect his service to our country, his past willingness to buck the system and the fact that he adopted a child from Bangladesh.</p>
<p>“how could anyone, much less a future/potential leader of the free world, not have been curious enough about cyberspace to learn to navigate it?”</p>
<p>Especially as former chair and ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee that in part regulates it? :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I have been using email as the primary means of communication with my 83- year-old Dad and 80-year-old aunt for many years now. However, my father has not yet mastered Facebook. ;)</p>
<p>First of all, given that McCain blasted Bush for his mismangement of the situation in Iraq & called for Rumsfeld’s firing, one can’t really equate his policies w/ Bush/Cheny.</p>
<p>Like you, I am amused (& somewhat disappointed) by the fact that McCain doesn’t get online. My mom is pretty adept at it & is older than McCain. But my M-I-L is younger and doesn’t really use the computer. I would imagine that McCain is pretty occupied w/ his job as Senator. </p>
<p>It’s funny b/c it seems JM has no qualms about bringing up his perceived shortcomings (you kind of get trained to focus on your weaknesses as a means to improve them at USNA - it’s probabaly in his nature). I think it’s a way to reassure himself & others that “I’m working on it”.</p>
<p>Wow - just think how awesome McCain will be when he get the internet at his fingertips! :)</p>
This my my co-workers impressions.</p>