All political speeches have multiple audiences. The least important is the audience listening in person. That, of course, was the case with Barack Obama’s “race” speech. But, it is false conceit for either the media or the general public to assume that they were the primary audience.
The most important audience was a few hundred people critical to the future of the Obama campaign.
Barack Obama and his campaign have worked tirelessly to make this election a referendum on personality, rather than on issues.
Not wanting the election to turn on whether or not Americans want the most liberal senator in the nation to lead their country, they have asked the nation to focus on his foresight and judgment.We are told that Obama should be elected President, despite a lack of experience or substantial accomplishment, because what really matters is judgment.
Okay, I know that looking for any rational, reasoned exchange of ideas on the Internet is pretty much futile.
Still, lately I’ve been finding the polarized comments between Obama and Clinton supporters a little stunning.
Having attempted to raise three daughters, I’m familiar with the concept of feminine and masculine traits or values.
Competitiveness…defeating your opponents…killing the most vampires in the video game…those are supposed to be masculine traits. Making others feel valued…playing fair…taking turns…those are supposed to be feminine traits.
It’s about 11 p.m. here in Illinois – it looks like the stories from tonight’s caucuses will be: McCain clinches nomination and Clinton stays alive.Actually, I think it ought to be – Clinton gains the momentum – but, given the media’s massive man-crush on Obama, I think they’ll minimize her victories, just as they did on Super Tuesday I.
I’ve decided to start adding separate pages on key topics. The first two (which you can view by clicking on pages at the right) focus on Barack Obama’s liberal votes in Illinois and on Obama’s tax record in Illinois.
One of the “Fairy Tales” the Obama campaign tells is that the candidate is a post-partisan leader who has a record of working across party lines to move legislation forward.Finally, some in the media are starting to ask for examples. There aren’t many.
A story posted on RealClearPolitics takes a look at Obama’s “bipartisanship” and comes up with basically nothing. One of the more interesting excerpts quotes an unnamed Senator as saying “If his voting record in the past is the real Barack Obama, then there isn’t going to be any bipartisanship.”
Interesting story in the Houston Press from a reporter who worked in Chicago and Springfield and covered Obama.
Interesting story on ABC News website.
Some background for those who may not be familiar with Illinois politics.
The Better Government Association is one of those rare groups that is genuinely independent and speaks out against corruption in Illinois, regardless of the party. I think Mr. Stewart makes a couple of good points.
An excellent story published in the Times of London detailing the Obama “house deal” with Tony Rezko and introducing a new character – Rezko business partner Nadhmi Auchi.
More importantly though, the story gives some excellent background on the house arrangement and summarizes the issue nicely: “The house-and-garden deal raised questions about whether Mr Rezko, a property developer and fast-food restauranteur, made it possible for the Obamas to purchase a mansion they could otherwise not afford.”
