The Audacity of Nope

[question everything]

washingtonpost.com

The Audacity of Nope

By Ruth Marcus
Wednesday, January 3, 2007; A19

(snip)

"But the question I kept coming back to was this: Would I be the best president I could be if I were elected in 2008? Or would I be a better president if I waited and learned and served and ran at some point down the road?"

(snip)

Let me acknowledge: This isn't the speech I expect Obama to give. Every indication is that he's planning to run. But this, or something like it, is the speech that I'd love to hear.

This is against professional interest: A Democratic race with Obama would be a lot more interesting. And Obama isn't any less experienced than, say, John Edwards was four years ago, after a career as a trial lawyer and just a few more years of experience in the Senate than the Illinois Democrat has now. But I do think that Obama would be a better candidate, and ultimately a better president, in 2012 or 2016 than in 2008. He will have learned more -- about the world, about domestic policy, about how to maneuver successfully in Washington.

(snip)

The main argument for Obama to run in 2008 involves the shelf-life theory of politics: that the Obama magic might fade, that an opportunity this good might never present itself again. Maybe, but I think that Obama has more promise than that, more staying power and more self-knowledge.

"My attitude about something like the presidency is that you don't want to just be the president," he told Men's Vogue. "You want to be a great president."

If so, Obama should ask himself: Wouldn't he be more likely to achieve that goal if he had the self-confidence -- the audacity, really -- to choose to sit it out in 2008?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/02/AR2007010200946.html

[illinoisprogressive]

1. Looks like another Hillarybot wrote an oped.

It's now common knowledge that clinton has her inner circle writing up doubts about Obama or starting whispering campaigns.
It also known she is beginning her slamming of the opposition now.
Articles in the past week on the Cocaine and pot use from his book was a put up job as well as other articles.

[Hailtothechimp]

2. Run Obama Run.

I remember Thurgood Marshall made the point one time that people kept telling African Americans to wait for civil rights. He said that the people saying this would never be ready to grant equal rights, so the waiting made no sense.

The same goes for Obama. Will the people who think he lacks "experience" be any more willing to embrace him in 8 or 12 or 16 years? I don't think they will.

And think about the damage that a republican could do in the meantime, if Obama were to wait. No, I think we need him now, but will just have to wait until January 2009.

[Demit]

3. I know you mean that as a rhetorical question...

but yes, experience is a real thing, not something you have to pute quotes around, and people who think Obama lacks experience would like to see him get some, on the national level, before he steps onto the world stage. It is the same concern with John Edwards. It's a legitimate question, not racial prejudice.

[Hailtothechimp]

4. I'm not so sure I agree.....

People who will not countenance the idea of a black man as president may be telling themselves it isn't just about that.

[crud76]

5. There's Time

This country is in such a mess right now that what is needed is a seasoned leader, someone who has a lot of experience in politics, has gained a lot of confidence and self-knowledge in the past few years and has served along side a sitting President. Catch my drift?

[Hailtothechimp]

6. I think you're saying Hillary, to which I cannot agree.

Hillary Clinton was not involved in politics at all until Bill Clinton left the White House in 2001. That gives her only 6 years in elective office, since I'm not considering "First lady" as being a qualifier for anything.

Barack Obama was elected to the Illinois legislature even before that, and has been in office ever since. He didn't start at the top, as Hillary did, but came up through the ranks. And he has lost an election, too. Hillary never has, that I can think of. What's the old line that you've got lose to know how to win? From Areosmith, but very true, I think.

I'm sorry, but if I did catch your drift, I can't agree with it. The Hannity crowd is just itching to relive the Clinton years, and candidate Hillary is their perfect vehicle. Obama genuinely will try to bring us together, so that's the message I'm getting behind. And whether he's black, white, or crimson, he's what this country needs right now.

The only other person I can think you may be referring to is Al Gore, but I'll believe it when I see it. I hope he gets in, but I'm also taking him at his word so far. He's a longshot to get in, at best.

[crud76]

7. Yeah

It's Al Gore. He's ready. He's already seen it from the inside. Now if we could really persuade him. Obama will still be around in ten years.

Hillary? Corporatist Hillary? Wife of Bill "NAFTA" Clinton? God forbid!

[question everything]

8. Hillary started her political involvement before she married

Bill and moved south. She worked in the house during an earlier impeachment - of Nixon.. on the Republican side.. Fresh out of law school, I think.