Charismatic senators do not necessarily make good presidents
For example, take John F. Kennedy, a man who supported some worthy causes (excluding feminism) but did not put an abundance of energy into turning them into policy. That may have been because, as a drug addict and victim of a severe sexual compulsion, he did not have the time or energy to do so. Also, his choice of company was highly questionable. In short, in a second term, he may have found his way or he may have altogether crashed. We will never know because of the tragedy of his death.
Now, along comes charismatic (or so I'm told; I have yet to see the charisma) Barack Obama, who is very intelligent and articulate, but who has little experience at a high level of government. Yet he is purportedly "talking" with consultants about a run for the presidency, and he ranks high (along with the dreadful John McCain and the equally dreadful Rudy Giuliani) in a poll that measures the popularity of American leaders.
Hello. This is not the homecoming court selection; it is the election of the alleged leader of the free world. If you feel "good" about McCain (especially if you are a Democrat), you probably should recall that he is a nasty, far-right-wing panderer of the first degree. If you feel "warm" about Giuliani, you should recall that of the two dozen or so civil liberties cases filed against him in New York, he lost all of them. And if you feel "nice" about Obama, please remember that he has next to no federal government experience. (If you are a member or friend of the LGBT community, you should know that he does not support gay marriage for "religious" reasons.)
This month's Harper's has a good overview of Obama--"Barack Obama Inc."
Now, along comes charismatic (or so I'm told; I have yet to see the charisma) Barack Obama, who is very intelligent and articulate, but who has little experience at a high level of government. Yet he is purportedly "talking" with consultants about a run for the presidency, and he ranks high (along with the dreadful John McCain and the equally dreadful Rudy Giuliani) in a poll that measures the popularity of American leaders.
Hello. This is not the homecoming court selection; it is the election of the alleged leader of the free world. If you feel "good" about McCain (especially if you are a Democrat), you probably should recall that he is a nasty, far-right-wing panderer of the first degree. If you feel "warm" about Giuliani, you should recall that of the two dozen or so civil liberties cases filed against him in New York, he lost all of them. And if you feel "nice" about Obama, please remember that he has next to no federal government experience. (If you are a member or friend of the LGBT community, you should know that he does not support gay marriage for "religious" reasons.)
This month's Harper's has a good overview of Obama--"Barack Obama Inc."
posted by Diane at 6:54 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Did you see his speech at the 2004 Dem convention? I think he's extremely talented at speech writing and making. I see loads of charisma there.
I wish he had more experience, and had turned his charisma into action more often.
My daughter's really excited about his possible candidacy. I'm still trying to get over the loss of Feingold as a candidate.
By
Anonymous, at
2:25 AM
I was one of the few not particularly impressed by his speech. Maybe this is because I studied rhetoric and taught speech? It was a good speech, yes, but it left me with the feeling that I had just sat through a product introduction. And I had.
Obama's record does not consistently reflect his rhetoric. He is as tied up in corporate money as the next politician, and his votes show it. And whenever an oppressed minority won't go all the way for another oppressed minority, it turns me off.
By
Diane, at
8:23 AM
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