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White House
Ken Erfourth - 07:42 am Pacific Time - Jan 4, 2008 - #2956 of 2971
Do I really think that Obama believes the likes of John Boehner will sit down and honestly work for the better of America?
No, I don't. That would be silly.
Then why does Obama keep bringing up this non-partisan feelgood stuff?
Because it sounds good and makes people hopeful for change, which is what they really want. It sells. And what an election comes down to, in the end, is a selling job. Obama is selling himself to America, and so far, doing an outstanding job of it.
But why doesn't Obama just stand up and tell that John Boehner and those Pharmaceuticals and Neoconmen to just go to hell like some of us are do desperate to hear?
To quote Lyndon Baines Johnson, another amazingly effective politician, you never tell a man to go to hell until you can send him there yourself. Obama is smart enough to know that.
With Pelosi, and more so with Reid, we've had a whole lot of of telling people to go to hell without being able to back it up. Reid ain't got the votes to beat a filibuster, and he ain't got the balls to run one hisself. So he can say "Go to hell" all day long, and deliver nothing in the end.
I find that a little crazy-making myself.
Right now, Obama is selling hope to America. If he closes the sale, we might get enough coattail Senators and Representatives out of the effort to make breaking some Repugnicon filibusters in the Senate possible (especially with a master salesman like Obama behind the effort). We might see the emergence of some national leadership from Hillary, Dodd and Biden. We might even see a new Senate Majority Leader.
We might see all that, and see it delivered with a smile, and pat on the back, and a firm grip on some wavering congresscritters' cojones.
Detailed campaign platforms are, frankly, meaningless. Big ideas have power (Dean's antiwar stance and focus on healthcare come to mind), but details just mire people down into arguing about minutiae.
Elect the human, not the position papers. Position papers are non-binding and only appear at four year intervals.
Obama is the Human!
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BOOKS
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Obama's first book, a memoir focused on personal issues of race, identity, and community.
By Barack Obama
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
Obama's second book, in which he shares his personal views on faith and values and offers a vision of the future that involves restoring a government that has fallen out of touch with the people.
By Barack Obama
10 reasons there's a bright future for journalism
An optimistic take on what's coming, both for news outlets and news consumers.
By Mark Glaser, Salon
Obama: From Promise to Power
In this compelling book, a Chicago Tribune reporter draws on interviews with Obama, his family, friends, and rivals, as well as his own extensive coverage since Obama's days in the Illinois Senate, to offer a nuanced look at a man of idealism and ambition intent on making history.
By David Mendell
SPEECHES
July 28, 2004: Obama's first national prime-time speech
In this speech, Barack Obama urges America to remember its unity, pledging that "out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come."
August 28, 2008: Obama's acceptance of the Democratic Party's presidential nomination
In this speech, Obama lays into John McCain, describing him as "anything but independent."
November 5th, 2008: Obama's victory speech
In this speech, Obama tells his ecstatic supporters, and the entire nation, that "change has come to America."
January 20, 2009: Obama's inaugural address
The new president calls upon the nation to face its challenges head on, with determination, strength and a commitment to ensuring the delivery of freedom to future generations.
SALON STORIES
How would Barack Obama handle foreign policy?
The presidential contender on dealing with Iran, fighting AIDS in Africa and restoring America's standing in the world.
By Walter Shapiro, Salon
Chicago is Barack Obama's kind of town
The city has a unique history of launching the careers of powerful black politicians -- which is part of the reason Obama moved there.
By Edward McClelland, Salon
American revolutionary
In his acceptance speech, Barack Obama stood up for Democratic values, took the fight to McCain -- and proved that the United States is still capable of reinventing itself.
By Walter Shapiro, Salon
Barack Obama's epic win
The culmination of a brilliant campaign, Obama's unequivocal defeat of John McCain marks a political and generational transformation.
By Walter Shapiro, Salon
Barack Obama, honeymoon killer?
The Clintonites in his Cabinet, forgiveness for Lieberman, the creeping signs of centrism -- progressives aren't ready to panic, yet.
By Mike Madden, Salon
"A new era of responsibility"
Mixing straight talk about dire times with lofty rhetoric about hope and determination, Obama repudiates Bush and vows to get to work.
By Mike Madden, Salon
OTHER STORIES
The Conciliator
Where is Barack Obama coming from?
By Larissa MacFarquhar, The New Yorker
Time's "Person of the Year" coverage of Obama
A strangely fascinating database of Obama-formation, including everything from "6 Degrees of Obama" to a collection of Obama-themed art from Flickr.
Time
The presidency of Barack Obama
This New York Times megapage is the last word on Barack Obama, including everything from his personal biography to his current political stance on detainees and Africa.
The New York Times
We're Not Just Ballers And Rappers
Why I'm not celebrating the end of the bailout
In Accepting Peace Award, Obama Lectures on Just War
