Barack Obama: The Right Choice?
Dennis Copson
March 13, 2008
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are engaged in a political ´battle to the death´. Both are campaigning as ´the right choice´ of voters to be the next President of the United States. The barbs are flying and vociferous claims pro and con are being made. Which one is the right choice as the Democrats´ nominee? We must make that decision soon!
Barack Obama´s call is for "change in America" and he proclaims to be the agent of change. No more of the old Washington ´politics as usual´ is his refrain. None of the ineffective ´old´ ways of doing business in our capitol. No more partisanship; he will reach out across the isle to get things done, to initiate ´change´. We need something and someone new in Washington, D.C., he insists. We need ´change´ and he is the one to bring it. Fast! There seems to be a new ´change´ befitting the audience at every campaign stop, a change for everyone´s needs, an all encompassing list of ´changes´.
But what does that all mean? What types of change? How radical will those changes be? How will he accomplish them? Most importantly, how much will those changes cost us as individual taxpayers? These are just a few of the questions we must have answers to before we can decide if Obama is the right choice for the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.
Herein lies the rub. Obama has given us few all inclusive details of the nature of the change he says is coming, if elected. In fact, that is the very nature of Barack Obama - we know so little of what to expect for we know so little about him which is substantive.
We do know he is an artist with words and gives moving and persuasive speeches. That we do know. No, they aren´t ´just words´, I suspect; it is his way of saying those words which motivates us to him. So smooth, so convincing, so soothing. It makes us feel better listening to him and his positive, uplifting message. We need more. Hillary says so all the time when she reprimands him for giving "speeches and not solutions."
A very confusing thing about Barack Obama is in the question, "Who is he, really?" Oh, we hear all the good things and high honors he accomplished while attending Harvard, how he was on the streets of Chicago ´organizing?´, his tenure in the State Legislature of Illinois. He has been in the United States Senate for two years. Hardly enough time to understand the complexities of getting things done on Capitol Hill especially when you are on the other end of the avenue. However, as he says, "…long enough to know the ways of Washington must change."
Do any of these things – or all of them totaled up - qualify him to lead the most powerful and influential nation in the world? Hillary says, "No!" So do others which is why the ´Clinton Machine´ has used ´experience´ throughout her campaign comparing her level of it with his lack thereof. Her speeches and the ´Clinton Machine´ ads are unrelenting in bringing this to the attention of the voters. It, finally, may be having an effect as voters put aside their emotional attachment and take a second look.
Obama has made recent gaffs that may have cost him Texas and Ohio. He got tied up with the NAFTA issue to the point he plainly stated that he would rescind that nefarious trade agreement and start over. Then, supposedly, someone from his campaign organization met with Canadian government representatives to poo – poo that statement as just ´campaign rhetoric´. Not to worry, they reportedly assured Canada. NAFTA was safe. It was made public as a fact. Obama denied it at first and then it turns out there may have been an element of truth to that story. I am not certain what the real truth in that matter is. If Obama really believes he can and will rescind NAFTA, he´d best clarify his stance – and soon. Yet, he seems to have backed off that issue as too volatile and that hurt him in Ohio. (Again, The Clinton Machine led by Hillary, jumped all over it.)
One change - and gaff - he has been unambiguous about is that he will end the Iraq war and bring the troops home almost immediately upon taking office. A comforting idea though not easily done in the near future without disastrous consequences. No matter your feelings on the war or how we got there, abandoning the current battle will leave Iraq in turmoil, set the dogs of radical Islamism loose, and set fire to the vast oil rich Middle East in all probability. Ending the war and withdrawal of all US forces is a noble goal; it must be accomplished with extreme care. Barack has promised a ´change´ here, too: precipitous withdrawal disregarding the consequences. (McCain will nail him to the wall on this issue alone!)
Barack Obama began his campaign for President with the well founded assumption that the American people were disgusted with the status quo and wanted ´change´. He was so right in his belief that the American people by and large have lost all faith and confidence in Washington politicians. There is malaise in the land evidenced by the slightly over 20% approval rating given to Congress by the American people in poll after poll. It isn´t getting better as promise by the Democrats when they took office a year ago. It, in fact, has gotten worse aided and abetted by the petty political posturing and squabbling on a daily basis in our nation´s halls of government. The American people lack faith in our elected officials getting anything done for them or for the good of the country. They are disillusioned that promises made have not been kept. There is the notion to ´throw the bums out!´ Barack has seen that, capitalized on it, and it has taken him far.
Obama has capitalized on these feelings and has swept through the country winning primary after primary against the assumed automatic nominee, Hillary Clinton, and has fared exceptionally well against the once deemed invincible ´Clinton Machine´. He leads in all categories of numbers based on his popularity and his filling a need in the populace for something new in Washington – anything but what we have, a new face in the crowd, someone bold and young with new and refreshing ideas. That has sustained him to date. Can it last?
Words alone will not suffice for him to maintain his momentum and lead. My suggestion to Barack Obama, if he is to convince me of his being ´the right choice´, is to be specific about the changes he proposes, detail them and outline how he will accomplish them, be honest in laying out the costs, and, of all things, be sincere . He must show us where the money will come from for these changes. There is no doubt that what he proposes will be stingingly expensive in the short term. And divisive.
He must rethink some of the statements he has made including the rescinding of NAFTA and the strategy of precipitous withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. The worst thing that could happen to him when, in the initial first days in the White House, he has to renege on these changes, or try to explain away not being able to get them initiated. He would be damaged by that - the voters who chose him would second guess their vote for him as ´the right choice´.
Barack might heed what one time Presidential aspirant, Adlai E. Stevenson, no slouch when it came to politics, once said: "Man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them."
Barack Obama´s call is for "change in America" and he proclaims to be the agent of change. No more of the old Washington ´politics as usual´ is his refrain. None of the ineffective ´old´ ways of doing business in our capitol. No more partisanship; he will reach out across the isle to get things done, to initiate ´change´. We need something and someone new in Washington, D.C., he insists. We need ´change´ and he is the one to bring it. Fast! There seems to be a new ´change´ befitting the audience at every campaign stop, a change for everyone´s needs, an all encompassing list of ´changes´.
But what does that all mean? What types of change? How radical will those changes be? How will he accomplish them? Most importantly, how much will those changes cost us as individual taxpayers? These are just a few of the questions we must have answers to before we can decide if Obama is the right choice for the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.
Herein lies the rub. Obama has given us few all inclusive details of the nature of the change he says is coming, if elected. In fact, that is the very nature of Barack Obama - we know so little of what to expect for we know so little about him which is substantive.
We do know he is an artist with words and gives moving and persuasive speeches. That we do know. No, they aren´t ´just words´, I suspect; it is his way of saying those words which motivates us to him. So smooth, so convincing, so soothing. It makes us feel better listening to him and his positive, uplifting message. We need more. Hillary says so all the time when she reprimands him for giving "speeches and not solutions."
A very confusing thing about Barack Obama is in the question, "Who is he, really?" Oh, we hear all the good things and high honors he accomplished while attending Harvard, how he was on the streets of Chicago ´organizing?´, his tenure in the State Legislature of Illinois. He has been in the United States Senate for two years. Hardly enough time to understand the complexities of getting things done on Capitol Hill especially when you are on the other end of the avenue. However, as he says, "…long enough to know the ways of Washington must change."
Do any of these things – or all of them totaled up - qualify him to lead the most powerful and influential nation in the world? Hillary says, "No!" So do others which is why the ´Clinton Machine´ has used ´experience´ throughout her campaign comparing her level of it with his lack thereof. Her speeches and the ´Clinton Machine´ ads are unrelenting in bringing this to the attention of the voters. It, finally, may be having an effect as voters put aside their emotional attachment and take a second look.
Obama has made recent gaffs that may have cost him Texas and Ohio. He got tied up with the NAFTA issue to the point he plainly stated that he would rescind that nefarious trade agreement and start over. Then, supposedly, someone from his campaign organization met with Canadian government representatives to poo – poo that statement as just ´campaign rhetoric´. Not to worry, they reportedly assured Canada. NAFTA was safe. It was made public as a fact. Obama denied it at first and then it turns out there may have been an element of truth to that story. I am not certain what the real truth in that matter is. If Obama really believes he can and will rescind NAFTA, he´d best clarify his stance – and soon. Yet, he seems to have backed off that issue as too volatile and that hurt him in Ohio. (Again, The Clinton Machine led by Hillary, jumped all over it.)
One change - and gaff - he has been unambiguous about is that he will end the Iraq war and bring the troops home almost immediately upon taking office. A comforting idea though not easily done in the near future without disastrous consequences. No matter your feelings on the war or how we got there, abandoning the current battle will leave Iraq in turmoil, set the dogs of radical Islamism loose, and set fire to the vast oil rich Middle East in all probability. Ending the war and withdrawal of all US forces is a noble goal; it must be accomplished with extreme care. Barack has promised a ´change´ here, too: precipitous withdrawal disregarding the consequences. (McCain will nail him to the wall on this issue alone!)
Barack Obama began his campaign for President with the well founded assumption that the American people were disgusted with the status quo and wanted ´change´. He was so right in his belief that the American people by and large have lost all faith and confidence in Washington politicians. There is malaise in the land evidenced by the slightly over 20% approval rating given to Congress by the American people in poll after poll. It isn´t getting better as promise by the Democrats when they took office a year ago. It, in fact, has gotten worse aided and abetted by the petty political posturing and squabbling on a daily basis in our nation´s halls of government. The American people lack faith in our elected officials getting anything done for them or for the good of the country. They are disillusioned that promises made have not been kept. There is the notion to ´throw the bums out!´ Barack has seen that, capitalized on it, and it has taken him far.
Obama has capitalized on these feelings and has swept through the country winning primary after primary against the assumed automatic nominee, Hillary Clinton, and has fared exceptionally well against the once deemed invincible ´Clinton Machine´. He leads in all categories of numbers based on his popularity and his filling a need in the populace for something new in Washington – anything but what we have, a new face in the crowd, someone bold and young with new and refreshing ideas. That has sustained him to date. Can it last?
Words alone will not suffice for him to maintain his momentum and lead. My suggestion to Barack Obama, if he is to convince me of his being ´the right choice´, is to be specific about the changes he proposes, detail them and outline how he will accomplish them, be honest in laying out the costs, and, of all things, be sincere . He must show us where the money will come from for these changes. There is no doubt that what he proposes will be stingingly expensive in the short term. And divisive.
He must rethink some of the statements he has made including the rescinding of NAFTA and the strategy of precipitous withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. The worst thing that could happen to him when, in the initial first days in the White House, he has to renege on these changes, or try to explain away not being able to get them initiated. He would be damaged by that - the voters who chose him would second guess their vote for him as ´the right choice´.
Barack might heed what one time Presidential aspirant, Adlai E. Stevenson, no slouch when it came to politics, once said: "Man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them."
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