The unknown: Is Obama ready? (Comparisons to the Big Dawg, circa 1991)

[jefferson_dem]

The unknown: Is Obama ready?
By RON FOURNIER
Associated Press Writer

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. --Ask those who served with him in the Illinois Senate whether Barack Obama is ready to be president, and they will tell you he is a dogged consensus-builder known for his empathy, intellect and unbounded ambition.

They will call him cautious and calculating, a disciple of shady patrons, a liberal lawmaker and conservative poker player.

But they will not quite say he is ready for the presidency.

"Well, it's a big leap from here to there," said Democratic state Sen. Donne Trotter, standing just outside the Senate chamber where Obama served for eight years. "I couldn't say he wouldn't be up to the task."

Spend some time roaming the stone-slab floors of the Illinois Capitol and you will find many admirers of Obama - both Republicans and Democrats - as well as a nagging uncertainty about whether a man less than three years removed from this sleepy capital is ready for the White House.

More important, you will find clues to the type of president he might be. Along with the praise, there is reason for pause.

The dynamic in Springfield today is a lot like it was in Little Rock, Ark., 15 years ago, when state Capitol regulars favored visitors with stories about a charismatic young Democrat bursting with potential - yet dogged by questions about the depth of his experience and principle.

Nobody knew whether Bill Clinton was ready for the presidency. But his life and record in Arkansas were fair predictors of the kind of president he would become.

A major difference between Obama and Clinton is that the latter had been a long-serving governor who left a major imprint on his state. Obama was not in Springfield long enough to leave much of a mark. But he did make an impression.

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http://www.charlotte.com/540/story/162390.html

[wyldwolf]

1. Clinton resisted the whispers in his ears in 1988.

Obama should have waited as well, IMO.

[jefferson_dem]

2. Fair enough. I agree that "the experience issue" is Obama's largest hurdle.

At the same time, I would argue that the national mood right now is ripe for the sort of image that he is projecting. Fresh. New. Different.

It will be interesting to watch how this plays out...

[wyldwolf]

3. the national mood right now is ripe for the sort of image that he is projecting?

Sure, now if he would only live up to the image he is projecting. More than a few people have noticed Obama's contradiction with his handling of oppo research.

[jefferson_dem]

5. That's the challenge. Of course, the Hillary camp will be all too eager to play up any supposed

"contradictions" in an effort to level the "character issue."

...ah politics American-style.

[wyldwolf]

6. If I claim to be bringing a new style of playground behavior and I won't slap anyone...

...then I walk out onto the playground and slap someone, there is a contradiction there.

[jefferson_dem]

7. Depends on if there was actually a slap or simply a feigned squeal by another playmate...

for the purpose of trumping up charges.

Or...it depends on the conditions under which the slap was delivered. Self-defense is expected.

[wyldwolf]

8. attempting to leak documents to the press to embarass a rival candidate is a slap.

The fact that the Clinton team turned the tables and came out smelling better than Obama does not mean Obama didn't slap.

[Dawgs]

12. Came out smiling better because Hillary and her supporters say so, not...

for any other reason. Keep trying though, it's a long way to January 08.

[wyldwolf]

13. no, sorry, the media is also stating it was a fuck up for Obama.

[jefferson_dem]

20. Oh, "the media" says it, huh? Well, who said the following?

"I can certainly run for the Senate seat in Punjab and win easily."

Right-o. Obama's camp was simply using the same verbiage "she" herself used. Typical Clinton twisting and spinning to try to manufacture controversy. They are awful slithery, you know...

I'm wondering what people think about Hillary's record on outsouring anyway. The *substance* of the charge seems to have gone unanswered.

[wyldwolf]

23. Uh, so?

Who's getting the heat for not only disseminating that information, but for also saying he was for a new kind of politics and then taking a cheap shot. Right. Obama.

[jefferson_dem]

27. I don't think there's much so-called "heat" there. It wasn't either a cheap shot nor an example of

hypocrisy, in my opinion.

The media reports i've seen have clarified the truism that...Obama may hope to rise above the "small politics" but it won't be easy, especially when he's running up against the well-tooled Clinton Machine.

[wyldwolf]

28. ok, you don't like the term "heat." Whose getting flogged for it? Obama.

[Dawgs]

30. Says you and no one else.

[wyldwolf]

32. heh! Oh, look! Obama just apologized for the "stupid" remark

[Captain_Nemo]

16. It was deceptive of him. A sign of his immaturity. By the way, what has he said about that memo?

[ieoeja]

19. If I claim to be bringing a new style of playground behavior to include unpopular kids in games...

... then I walk out onto the playground, pick an unpopular kid for my team, then slap a popular kid, there is no contradiction there.

Given that Obama's promised "new style of politics" is about bipartisanship in drafting legislation, etc while he runs his election campaign old style, then I believe my analogy is a heck of a lot more accurate than yours.

[wyldwolf]

29. except your definition is not his

[Benhurst]

4. As a native of Illinois and an Obama supporter in 2004, I still worry

about the dichotomy between his image and substance. He has not proven to be as liberal or progressive in the United States Senate as I had hoped; but I hold out hope his record will get better in time. He is still a comparatively young man. I wish he had not listened to the sirens of the corporate press and had waited for another election cycle or two before running for the presidency. We need two progressive Democratic senators in the Senate from Illinois.

[Ethelk2044]

9. He has more experience than Hillary Does

She has only one term in the Senate. She was a wife. She was never president. She is trying to ride on the coat tails of her husband's experience.



Biography
Full Name: Hillary Rodham Clinton
Party: Democratic
Political Office: U.S. Senator from New York; elected 2000; reelected 2006
Business/Professional Experience: Partner, Rose Law Firm (Little Rock, AR), 1979-1992
Date of Birth: October 26, 1947
Place of Birth: Chicago, IL
Education: B.A., Wellesley
College, 1969; J.D. Yale University, 1973
Spouse: former President Bill Clinton; married 1975
Children: daughter, Chelsea; born 1980
Religion: Methodist
Home: Chappaqua, NY
Campaign Web Site: www.hillaryclinton.com

[Captain_Nemo]

15. To put down a first Lady (From AK to DC) and Senator is as not having experience is incorrect.

[jefferson_dem]

21. Laura Bush in 2012?

:shrug:

[wyldwolf]

24. what has she done in 8 years?

:shrug:

[jefferson_dem]

25. I'm not sure, really. So we can agree that being first lady doesn't in and of itself equal

experience. Whew.

[wyldwolf]

26. nope, because Hillary has a long and distinguised record as first lady

[sallyseven]

31. She did a lot for her husband

and this county while in the white house. You are a typical chauvinist. She was a lawyer for any years. She is better than and more experienced than Obama.

[Captain_Nemo]

14. Fresh? New? Different? How about solving known problems; Iraq, Global Warming

I don't want a feel good president. I want a problem solver.

[jefferson_dem]

22. Who said anyone wants a "feel good president"? Now you're just making shit up.

Anyway, what problems has your candidate solved?

[Captain_Nemo]

35. I seem to recall him being " a great speaker" "inspiring." A DUer told me he'd be a great

president because he "connected" with people. I am not hearing answers from him as to our problems.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Hippo_Tron]

33. You may be right, but I think it's too early to make that determination

Clinton was certainly a much better candidate in 1992 than he would've been in 1988. Perhaps the same would've been true for Obama if he had waited another 4 years. I think John Edwards would be better off if he'd run for re-election in North Carolina instead of running for President in 2004. With Obama, time will tell.

[TwilightGardener]

10. Really good profile--he's complex, NOT a saint--got some down-and-dirty

ambition and political fight in him. Presidential material, absolutely.

[Tellurian]

18. I don't see Obama as complex..

I've known people like him before. He is lacking peacefulness within. Certainly no where near owning the gravitas, as a Bill or Hillary Clinton.

[TwilightGardener]

34. Well, you and I differ there--I definitely see "gravitas" in him.

I think he's comfortable in is own skin, also--no mean feat for a multi-racial guy who walks a very fine line in terms of his appeal to both blacks and whites, who may have very different perceptions/expectations of him.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

17. Clinton was governor for 12 years. Obama has 2 years of experience in primetime

There is no comparison between the two in terms of experience. The similarities between the two revolve around Clinton-Blair Third Way thinking and triangulation.