The recent formation of Barack Obama's presidential exploratory committee has many people speculating about his electability due to his apparent inexperience, and lack of a record.
His inexperience speaks for itself, and I wouldn't bank on his electability either. But, since he is most recent Democrat to officially declare his potential candidacy, and the media eating it up, it's a good time to ask these questions.
The question I plan to ask (and offer an answer to) now, is what Obama's campaign strategy will be. What would be his strategy? As a resident and voter in Massachusetts, I witnessed firsthand Deval Patrick's successful quest for governor. Based on what we've seen so far, I believe that Barack Obama's potential presidential campaign will be in the mold of Deval Patrick's. I'll explain after the jump:Deval Patrick's campaign was full of platitudes and rhetoric about "hope." His campaign slogan, "Together We Can," became the instant response to tough questions about how he planned to accomplish his expensive plans for the state. Deval Patrick also ran as an outsider who would allegedly reach out to both parties in order to get things done. He probably campaigned just as much against "politics as usual" as he did against his Republican opponent, Kerry Healey. Meanwhile, those of us who back Healey were instinctually branded racists for not backing Patrick. His race, combined with his "message of hope," made him the "feel-good-about-yourself" candidate. I can't tell you how many stories I heard of Healey supporters who asked Patrick supporters why they were voting for him, and got some fluffy response about how good his "together we can" message made them feel.
And we're already starting to see Barack Obama (and his supporters) do the same thing Deval Patrick did, as is evident by the welcome message on Obama's exploratory committee website. He says, "I've been struck by how hungry we all are for a different kind of politics." And that "we have to change our politics, and come together around our common interests and concerns as Americans," and laments the partisanship that exists today and how "our leaders in Washington seem incapable of working together in a practical, common sense way." Fluff, not substance.
In the end, what does that mean? Just as Deval Patrick is now learning that "together we can" doesn't balance the budget or pay for all the ridiculous programs he wants to introduce to my state, Barack Obama's fluffed-up message about changing politics doesn't hide his inexperience or lack of a record.
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfield showed just how important experience is. They both served in 2 Presidential Administrations. But here we are today inspite of all those years of experience and wisdom. Its not because of Bush's lack of experience, it's because of the Judgement he used in selecting the people around him.
Ed at 10:45PM on Jan 17th 2007
2. Experience helps but not necessary. Common sense and judgement are a must! The caliber of people in a president's cabinet means a lot in terms of how much experience is brought to the table. But then again, it depends on judgement of those cabinet members. Look at where we are today in terms of Iraq...."Thanks" to the years of experience of Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld.
Emmy at 3:01PM on Jan 18th 2007
3. it seems like some are suggesting that we need someone with experience to run the white house. Well the last 14 years we had ex-governors with experience. Where did that get us? really think about that question. And, does anyone really have experience at being the president until you are one? Barack has proven himself in the state senate for 8 years. And another 2 years in the US senate. He is the only one standing up with real farsited vision for this country. Americans have been looking for many years for someone to stand up and really turn this country around. We finally have a chance to bring back the vision and values our founders of this country had. Barack NEEDS to be our next president. We NEED to stop the downward spiral that we are in right now.
ben at 5:49AM on Jan 19th 2007
4. AS A STUDENT JUST STARTING COLLEGE I BELIEVE IT IS IMPORTANT FOR ME TO VOICE MY OPINION ON POLITICAL ISSUES SINCE SO MANY CONSIDER THE YOUNG ADULT VOTE TO BE CRUCIAL TO ONE'S POLITICAL CAMPAIGN. OBAMA, I BELIEVE, WOULD BE THE PERFECT CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT DUE TO HIS EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL TRACK RECORD AS FAR AS ATTENDING BOTH COLOMBIA AND HARVARD LAW, TWO VERY PRESTIGIOUS UNIVERSITIES KNOWN FOR THEIR PRODUCTION OF WELL NOTED POLITITIANS, USUALLY I WOULD VOTE REPUBLICAN BUT THE CANDIDATE THAT I FIND MOST APPEALING TO MY VIEWS IS SEN. OBAMA. tHEREFORE SEN. OBAMA IS GETTING MY VOTE IN '08.
trevor neal at 10:54PM on Jan 19th 2007
5. in my opinion the moral shape of America has gotten so low that electing a muslim such as OBAMA is the perfect next step for the future.
Jimmy at 10:19PM on Jan 22nd 2007
6. Barack Obama is just what this country needs. Young, with fresh ideas and not the same ole, same ole stuff we have been hearing for years. I saw Senator Obama on Oprah and she absolutely adores him. If he is good enough for Oprah, then he's good enough for me. He will have my vote in 2008.
Barbara at 10:32PM on Jan 27th 2007