Keys to the Obama Campaign: Us

With the launching of his exploratory committee, Senator Barack Obama took the first step towards the White House. CBS News assessed his chances with some very insightful analysis:

To a much greater extent than the other announced and prospective candidates for the party’s nomination, that depends on the immediate response of grassroots Democrats to his prospective candidacy…

By establishing the exploratory committee, he will be able to raise money to hire staff and build a basic campaign infrastructure in advance of the expected formal announcement in February. He’ll need it. Clinton and another contender, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, are far ahead of Obama when it comes to putting together the multi-state campaign apparatus that is needed in a fast-paced presidential campaign.

Can Obama catch up? Yes, but only if the grassroots Democrats who have been so enthusiastic about the prospect of his candidacy now turn that enthusiasm into practical commitments in states such as Iowa, where the first caucuses will be held a year from this week, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina. That transition will have something to do with Obama’s star power, of course, but it will have much more to do with how he defines himself.

Obama is undeniably the hottest political star at the moment, stealing the spotlight from a newly elected Congress and other possible horses for the 2008 race. But this article touched upon a good point: flash is, in the end, just flash. To borrow a fundamental physics lesson, Obama must turn the potential energy of his star-power into kinetic, working energy, manifested through grassroots organizing.

 

Obama’s Problems: Our Own?

Thoughts from Mark Sandalow:

Will Americans elect a black man president? It boggles the mind that Obama is only the third African American elected to the Senate since reconstruction. Polls suggest the country is ready, but this is the sort of question where people lie to pollsters.

At 45, Obama is roughly the same age as Bill Clinton when he sought the presidency. But Clinton had served four terms as governor and one as attorney general. George Bush had served just six years as governor. But that was before Sept. 11. Is America ready to entrust its national security to a candidate whose experience amounts to two years service on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee?

There will be other raps. Obama’s middle name is Hussein, which will likely remind some Americans of their discomfort voting for a man whose first and last names are even more unfamiliar.

Obama’s greatest hurdles come campaign time will be race, Washington inexperience, and unfortunate (and possibly unforgiving) coincidences. The good news is that problem number 2 can be addressed by the campaign. The bad news is that problems one and three won’t go away no matter how the campaign spins them. Why? Because they’re not his problems to change; rather, they’re a fault of our collective conscience, an issue of our own perceptions.

 

Obama Takes First Steps

It’s official…almost

 

Hate the Players…and the Game

With the convening of the 110th Congress, Senator Barack Obama makes a strong political message:

This past Election Day, the American people sent a clear message to Washington: Clean up your act.

It would be a mistake, however, to conclude that this message was intended for only one party or politician. The votes hadn’t even been counted in November before we heard reports that corporations were already recruiting lobbyists with Democratic connections to carry their water in the next Congress.

That’s why it’s not enough to just change the players. We have to change the game.

What timing: with a newly elected Congress that has pledged to end corruption and special interests, Obama has taken the initiative to resonate the challenge to both parties.  Democrats are not impervious to such vices, and they should not fool each other or the public that they are.  By maintaining the tough standard that Obama and Speaker Pelosi are promoting, Congress might be on its way to cleaning up its act and restoring faith in our government.

A thought: I couldn’t help but think how appropriate the timing was on this editorial piece.  Obama, a staunch supporter of ethics reform in Congress, is leading the way for bipartisan reform with his piece in today’s Washington Post. Is he trying to get his name exposed, attached to the crusade against special interest and the corruption that America found so repugnant this past November?  Absolutely, and it’s a wise step towards a possible run towards the White House.

 

Clinton vs. Obama, Round 1

Two feature articles appeared today addressing the impending Clinton-Obama bout.

Here’s the New Republic’s take. And here’s thoughts from Eugene Robinson.

Both bring up an interesting point: is Barack Obama a political orgasm that simply won’t last, or is he the real deal? Many have pegged him to be so, but my faith is in Obama the sensible leader and competent politician, not the Time Magazine cover boy and supposed political newbie. He might have rock star status at the moment, but the next few months of primary campaigning will ultimately reveal his true political worth. But if he is the sure shot, then Clinton, Edwards, Richardson, and anyone else will have more than enough work ahead of them.

 

Bipartisan Politics at UC Berkeley, CNBC Style

Cal Dems and Berkeley College Republicans on CNBC:

I can’t help but think that these organizations, while crucial to the political lifeline of our student body, are simply propagating the petty differences between party platforms that has been the bane of bipartisan cooperation in our own government. Both are so insistent on their own parties’ righteousness (it didn’t help that Larry Kudlow was spurring them on) that they simply will not even consider the flaws of their own agenda. There is a difference between being political and ideological; unfortunately, these two are busy bantering about their own party’s virtues to realize the difference.

In The Audacity of Hope, Barack Obama challenges America to stop political polarization and instead focus on the similarities between both parties. It’s hard to admit, even for a current Berkeley student like me, that we as Americans all share more values than we’d like to think. We all want a secure nation. We all want the best education, either for ourselves or our children. And we all want to be healthy and have access to the best health care.

All I ask is that we take a moment in our political scrutiny to consider the opposite side of every debate, not to brush it aside as the majority of ” U Cal Berkeley” tends to do. We must stop the inevitable gag reflex at the sound of key terms like conservatism, progressivism, or capitalism and consider why these ideological constructs exist within our national debate in the first place. When we can do this and begin to focus on pragmatic issues instead of the political foibles that we currently choose to define ourselves with, then change is truly possible.

 

Obama on the Daily Show

This is almost a year old, but nevertheless relevant amidst Obamamania:

My thoughts coming in a later post…

 

Inspiration from Obama and Untimely Excuses

Today I attended a townhall meeting in downtown Washington DC put on by the Partnership for Public Service featuring Tim Russert and Senator Barack Obama. A private showing of “Meet the Press” exclusively for interns, we were welcomed and inspired by both men, prominent figures in the nation’s capital. Obama’s address was of particular significance, appropriate for the venue but resonating even further in my own life. As he said, “the happiest people I have seen are those who devote their lives to something greater than themselves.”

I am still searching for that higher cause, whatever that might be. What an event: I was inspired and captivated by Obama’s eloquence and Russert’s great insight, two of my personal heroes. I hope to someday achieve a fraction of what they have accomplished.

(Editor’s Note: This week’s column has been pushed to Thursday)

 

Kid Wonder Obama and Daddy Gore: Democratic Ticket?

Here’s an interesting column from Sunday’s Washington Post. A few thoughts:

The inconvenient truth is that as a politician, Gore has always been more successful in a supporting role. In the Senate, he was a visionary on environmental issues, nuclear proliferation and, yes, the Internet, which he never did claim he invented. And people forget that his addition to the ticket in 1992 helped jump-start the Clinton campaign. But Gore never seemed comfortable as a presidential candidate; he surrounded himself with consultants who deluged him with bad (Don’t mention Clinton!), frivolous (Wear earth tones!) and conflicting advice. He ended up bringing three different demeanors to his three debates. He never talked about the environment and other issues close to his heart, and he never sounded as genuine as he did in his movie.

Of course, the current Democratic front-runner, Hillary Rodham Clinton, is a longtime Gore rival, and a new Clinton-Gore ticket is too far-fetched even for a thought experiment. But who knows? Maybe if Gore agreed to run with Obama or John Edwards or Mark Warner before the primaries, there would be a new Democratic front-runner.

Could the experience of a political veteran such as Gore coupled with the unadulterated enthusiasm from a junior Senator such as Obama be the Democrat’s ticket to success?

Obama is clearly a diamond in the rough; mountains of talent but no experience to support it. But what’s to say that this strategy can’t or won’t work? Look no further than the White House: as Andrew Sullivan explains, “An Obama-Gore ticket, with Gore as the veep, is a variation on the Bush-Cheney 2000 strategy – a young, untested pol with a daddy at his side.” Seemed to work for them.

Daddy Gore has been touring through the lecture circuit and even took his crack at the film world, with surprising success. But lets keep in mind that, in the end, Gore is a politician who belongs in Washington. An Obama-Gore ticket would be a delectable thought, but must be substantiated with more principles and platforms before I or anyone else can make any sort of assessment.

 

Will Obama run in 2008?

First, read this article from the Chicago Tribune. Then prepare for the political shitstorm, partisan rants, and demagoguery.

A thought from Time columnist Joe Klein:

“Close friends of Obama’s say he really doesn’t know yet what he’s going to do in 2008. It would be nice if we statesmen of the media gave him the room to think it through — but, of course, we won’t. Washington is buzzing with the possibility of an Obama candidacy; he is about to be seriously pestered for a definitive answer.”

Read the entire transcript here.

A thought for Democrats: while Obama might lack the political experience that his party might desire, liberals must realize the passion and universal appeal he embodies. Why must the Democratic nominee be a veteran; would we not prefer someone with identity and ideals, integrity and vision?

With today’s current issues and crises, what Democrats need is not a staunch veteran who plays the political game, but rather someone who has not yet been fully engulfed by it; one who will be bold enough to speak when no one else will.