Chicago Tribune: Judicious Obama turns up volume

[deadparrot]

When Hurricane Katrina struck, Sen. Barack Obama was on the other side of the Atlantic, far out of reach of most of his political advisers and well out of earshot of the criticism churning among Democrats in the capital.

There were cries of government incompetence. There were accusations of victims being disregarded simply because they were African-American. The initial instinct of the junior senator from Illinois, though, was to avoid strictly aligning with either argument.

"It was apparent on the first day that blacks were disproportionately impacted, and I felt it was important to help frame how we think about that issue," Obama said. "I was outraged and heartbroken by what happened and felt anxious. I felt like I needed to do something."

During the first eight months of his Senate career, Obama has pursued a strategy of patience and caution. He is the Democratic Party's freshest star yet consistently has declined invitations to appear on high-profile talk shows, saying he would step forward when he had something unique to contribute.

He believes now, in the aftermath of the hurricane, is that time.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/chitribts/judiciousobamaturnsupvolume

[librechik]

1. it's about effin time!

:party:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. as you said.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. patience has its virtues, but it can become a momentum of its own

Obama, should he choose to accept it, has a mission. forget about presidential aspirations, and DO THE JOB HE WAS ELECTED TO DO. So far, he has been stepping as though prescious, fragile, antique eggshells sat on his path.

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. Obama has said over & over that he maintains the low-pro

because the is the low man on the totem pole. Probably a sane move, however these are insane times, it's time for him to get vocal and mak a move.

[babylonsister]

5. Turn up the heat, Mr. Obama! The Dems need a loud voice;

be it!

[WhiteTara]

6. I hope he stepsout boldly

where no Man has gone before.

[applegrove]

7. He is a first term representative. He has a long career ahead of him.

The old Democratic dogs are the ones who should be stepping up and getting attacked.

Obama is a leader for the Northeast. A danger to the GOP movement to permanently alter voting patterns. Don't put him out there so he can get attacked. He has stuff to learn.

[pushycat]

8. Right on applegrove

Obama has a great future. Smart, good timing

[wiley]

9. Agreed

Don't use all your resources up all at once. Save some for days or weeks later. Now is the time to start getting ALL OVER Congress. One by one.