I am not on the Barack Obama bandwagon but I do understand it. (I hear about Obama pretty often as it seems that 90% of my friends have been swept up in its momentum.) That I am not on this particular bandwagon doesn't mean I am against Barack Obama. I am just doing more research on him and his positions. I like some things and dislike other things. I am one of those deliberate dudes who takes his time deciding stuff. We have until November so I think I will manage.
What I would like to see Obama do (as I suspect some of his hardcore fans would like too) is to see Barack Obama in action. I don't mean another speech or another debate. I mean, I would like to see Barack Obama in action as a United States senator. Ever since Obama started running for president over a year ago, I don't recall him performing many senatorial duties of note. At the very least, running for president should increase one's visibility and likely one's power. Obama should have been taking advantage of this "power bump" to push issues that he cares about. And Obama's campaign has done waaaay more than increase his visibility a little. He is now one of the most famous people on the planet. That should have given him the power and the influence to push legislation that he favors.
There are some problems when a senator runs for the presidency. You can appear to vote against a popular bill because you are holding out for a stronger version of the same bill. There can be technical votes where you vote against something you believe in because you know the votes aren't there at that time and you need to go back and regroup. Pushing for legislation while running for president is inherently risky. Supporting a piece of legislation means you are getting people against your legislation angry. But if a piece of legislation is right, it is right. That a vote on a piece of legislation will make you a little less popular is not something that should enter one's thought process. Chief Justice Earl Warren held out for a 9-0 decision in the Brown v. Board of Education decision because he knew it was such a game-changer that even a little dissent would be picked up and run with by some people. Chief Justice Warren was worried about doing what was right. He wasn't about small steps or waiting for the time when such steps would be more politically expedient.
Obama has been asked why he is running now by many people. He is only 46. He has only been a senator for a couple of years. Obama references Martin Luther King, Jr. when he talks about the "fierce urgency of now." Why is now not the time, Obama asks. The same is true for the responsibilities he controls now as a United States senator. There are pieces of legislation that demand the "fierce urgency of now," well, now. Why hasn't Obama been pushing these pieces of legislation? I would hope he is not acting out of political expediency.
Being a native Texan, I knew quite a bit about George W. Bush when he ran for the presidency in 2000. I knew enough about his years as our governor to know that I would never vote for him for president. It may be hard to remember now but back in the day then-Governor Bush was seen as an easygoing and friendly guy who was easily able to crack jokes. I remember liking Governor Bush as a person. I also liked that he made many attempts to reach out to the Black and Hispanic communities in Texas. But I had seen his governing style and I didn't like it. After the election, I thought to myself, "Well, some of us Texans knew just a little more than the rest of the country. But the rest of the country will soon catch up, I hope."
Barack Obama is not George W. Bush, by any means. But who is he exactly? I don't know yet. With George W. Bush, millions of people got caught up in what a great guy he seemed to be. Being a student of his governorship, I knew that there wasn't much "there" there. Barack Obama is truly a phenomenon. But I need a little more. Obama should have spent part of the last year just being a senator. Get some important legislation passed. Or at least work to get it passed. This would have served Obama in so many ways. People couldn't say that he wasn't substantive enough to be president. And also, his followers who are all caught up in the "Obama wave" would have been brought down to earth a little bit by seeing their guy in the give-and-take (and practical world) of politics. Obama's biggest worry now should be the expectations of his supporters who think he will be a miracle worker. He won't be. And when this fact emerges, there might be some hell to pay.
Friday, February 22, 2008
The Practical Obama
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Thomas....please stop comparing George W. Bush and Obama...I know you don't think they are the same but the fact of the matter is that every time you mention him in the same breath as George W. Bush, you are comparing them. I know you mean to say that just because somebody is likable, that it doesn't mean they'll make a great president...but why do you use GWB as the example?
There are plenty of other examples of politicians who were relatively untested nationally, and easy going, likable guys...William Jefferson Clinton comes to mind...in fact if you had compared those two I would be more likely to buy into your argument...especially considering the second half of your argument, that there will be a tidal wave of disappointment with what Obama is able to accomplish...because that is what happened with Clinton.
Every time you bring George W. Bush into the argument, the signal to noise level goes to zero and whatever cogent point you are trying to make is lost in the noise of the association.
That said, you raise a valid point by wondering what Obama has done since he got to the senate...I intend to tell you in my next post...I'll do your work for you.
First, specifically, you wonder what he has done this year...
Fair question, if you asked the same question of Hillary Clinton and John McCain. The fact of the matter is that when running for president, members of congress don't take advantage of the opportunity to press through legislation...none of them do though, so to single out Obama is really an unfair critique...in a measure that is fair, attendance for votes, Obama actually has the highest attendance rate of the three...he has missed 10 of 21 votes, Hillary has missed 18 of 21 and McCain has missed 19 of 21.
So what has Obama done?
I'll just mention two bills that he co-sponsored and that became law:
The Lugar-Obama Nuclear Non-proliferation and Conventional Weapons Threat Reduction Act
and
he Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006
Two important pieces of legislation...both with Republican Co-Sponsors.
More to come in my post tomorrow.
After I saw Obama in concert, I jumped on the bandwagon.
Thomas,
I can't get on the bandwagon yet either but I have enjoyed your posts. I linked to you from the 7-10 and keep coming back.
:) t
www.seedingspartanburg.com
I understand why you compare Obama to Bush. I've made the same comparison. Bush was supposed to be the inspirational candidate who would "restore honor and dignity to the White House." He was "a uniter, not a divider." He was "a compassionate conservative." After being disillusioned by the Clinton presidency, a lot of voters were interested in what Bush was selling and needed to be uplifted.
And he turned out to be a terrible disappointment.
Fast forward eight years and you have Barack Obama. He is saying the same things that Bush was in 2000. Even though he's batting for a different team from Bush, his message is largely the same. And I don't think that's enough for some people.
A "tidal wave of disappointment" also overcame Congress this year. They really overstated how they were going to end the war in Iraq fast, all while knowing having a simple majority was not enough. But the Democratic Congress let their constituents get too excited about what is not possible right this moment. They could have done a better educating their followers in what still needed to be done to end the war.
All I know of Obama is that he is promising:
1. To change the way Washington works – a promise he can never fulfill.
2. To yank all the troops out of Iraq in the first year of his first term – a promise that I’m sure he would fulfill to devastating consequence.
Think twice before you jump on that bandwagon.
Post a Comment