Would he make a good president?
Is he electable?
I have doubts on the latter point. Senators rarely make good presidential candidates, and in 2008 Obama will still be only a freshman senator. All he’s got going for him is the “star power” of the moment. He needs to put in more time, accumulate more clout, and maybe serve a term as governor of Illinois for the executive experience.
I’d say yes and yes. Looking at it these days, I don’t see the harm in him running - and even less harm in forming an exploratory committee. He could do all the right things and still never have his star get any brighter than it is now. And in theory, his lack of time in the mess in Washington could even be an asset. The concern I have with him right now is that he may be trying to be all things to all people. If he keeps that up, he’ll end up with nothing but some vague ideas. I don’t expect a lot of specifics at this early date, though.
Meh. We knew he was going to run, and this doesn’t change any of the things I’ve said in all the other recent Obama threads. Good for him.
I would support him enthusiastically as the nominee, but I have a feeling he’s going to get “Deaned”.
The problems with being the “hot” guy early:
You have a big target on your chest, and get attacked by all the other candidates;
Voters have too much time to think about the “hot” candidate and tend to get buyer’s remorse. Democrats talked themselves out of Dean in '04 (foolishly, I believe).
My local station reported he was in fact running, no exploratory committee, etc. What was the tag to the news snippet? Did they say “If elected, Obama would do this, that, or the other thibng, X, Y, or Z.”
Nah, it was “If elected, he would be the first black President.”
Afraid this is going to be the only thing latched onto by most people.
Sir Rhosis
Good for him! A democracy needs candidates willing to stand.
Call me an optimist, but I think that works in his favor. Racism has changed in flavor from outright white supremacy to a much subtler and stranger beast. I think people could vote for a black man for president, pat themselves on the back for their forward thinking and muse on how far this country has come, and then nervously hold their pocketbooks tighter when some black teens pass them on the way home from the polls.
Let the Swiftboating begin.
<sigh> Brace yourselves guys, this is gonna get UGLY.
!!! None of those even mentions that his middle name is “Hussein”!
There, there, dear. Perhaps this* will satisfy your outrage at the omission.
Gee, and here I’d figured we’d have a really nice and honorable election. Other than the possibility that a black man or woman will be running, the only difference I expect to see is more of these attacks from Democrats, who feel they lost last time as a result of overlooking them.
Hey, waitamminit, all the cited attacks are from Republicans.
According to one of the links cited above, if a man’s father were a Muslim, then the Islamic world considers the man to be also a Muslim. Is this true?
I’m interested in how all this will pan out. I’ve liked what I’ve seen of Mr. Obama, well enough so that I’m interested in learning more and hearing what he has to say. He’s certainly a very impressive orator.
Critics trying to score points with Obama’s middle name (and similar cavils) can … well, this is GD, and I was about to write something very impolite. If necessary, I’ll put it in the Pit at some point.
Maybe I lost some clarity in my precambrian jungle of vertiginous verbosity.
By “these attacks,” I meant swiftboating-style crap. I meant that in 2008, Republican operatives will be as mean and dishonest as they were in 2004. However, I think Democratic operatives will also be as mean and dishonest as Republicans were in 2004. Or at least, they’ll try. They feel like they lost in 2004 because the Kerry campaign didn’t hit back often enough. I’m sure it’ll be a big treat for the voters.
I’m reminded of a joke from back in the '80s. Jesse Jackson shows up at the Pearly Gates.
ST. PETER: So, what did you accomplish in your time on Earth?
JACKSON: I was the first African-American ever elected president of the United States!
ST. PETER: Really?! Wow! When did that happen?
JACKSON: About ten minutes ago.
LIke Marley23, I’m gonna go with yes and yes. I’m also a lot less worried about Obama absorbing a lot of heat as frontrunner for awhile; I think Sen. Clinton still has that role - and she’s still the one the wingnuts love to hate. So while I don’t expect Obama to get a free ride through the summer, I don’t think he’ll get the Dean treatment, at least not between now and Labor Day.
Why would that possibly matter?
The whole process is silly. Just what do these exploratory committees do, anyway? If it’s just having some people get together to debate your potential candidacy, why on earth do you have to announce it?
Anyway, we don’t know whether he’d make a good president. First term senators typically aren’t the heavyweights going into the primaries. He is a truly gifted orator- I’d put him in the same class as Martin Luther King. And he isn’t Hillary. But we don’t really know the man yet.
Electable? I think so. Maybe he wouldn’t carry the old south, but northern Dems never do anyway. I think at last we’re ready to look beyond race. Colin Powell was electable, I think Obama is too.
After hearing him talk in detail about which locks and dams needed the most attention and which were less urgent to replace, i don’t see him as a candidate who will have vague ideas. He came out of Chicago, but faster and better than seemed possible, he spoke credibly on issues important to other parts of the state that I never hear about up here. I see him as the kind of president who will have a detailed grasp on the issues, not just some vague platitudes. He is more like Bill Clinton when Clinton talking about foreign policy than our current president when talking about anything.
BobLibDem, the purpose of an exploratory committee is three fold. It is to capture extra news cycles, bring early dollars, and to give the appearance of actually thinking about becoming a candidate in a serious way before deciding to join the circus. Obama seems to be doing all three exceptionally well.
His timing of the announcement and choice of location makes it clear that he is not positioning himself not to be compared to Dr. Martin Luther King jr. but rather to Abraham Lincoln.
Of course there will be attempts to Swiftboat him. There will be attempts to Swiftboat any one who runs. The earlier they come the better. But if those are samples of what they’ll bring then Obama hasn’t much to worry about. His baggage seems to be more of the carry-on variety (and less than 3 oz of fluid to boot) … HRC has a steamer trunk.
In any case the issue is how a candidate deals with such attacks and if a candidate is out there defining themselves before the other side gets to define you by attack and reaction. Obama will be out there early defining himself. He has the media presence to respond effectively as well.