Tuesday, October 24, 2006
President Obama? Ain't gonna happen ...
The current issue of Newsweek features Sen. Barack Obama on its cover with this question: "Our Next President?" It's not surprising that in this age of image over substance, an individual who's been in the U.S. Senate less than two years is suddenly the presidential "it" guy. Sen. Obama has a compelling life story, for sure, but his announced vision for America - related in a book and numerous television appearances - consists entirely of feel-good, Oprah-esque claptrap.
The current Obama phenomenon reminds me of the Colin Powell for President effort in 1996. Paying no mind to the fact that Powell had said practically nothing of substance 'bout the economy, education, entitlement reform, etc., the punditocracy decided Powell's uber-moderate Republicanism was just what the country needed "to bring people together." The Powell presidential effort never materialized because Powell did not have the stomach for the rough and tumble of electoral politics. Obama, on the other hand, not only has the stomach for politics (he has three campaigns under his belt), he's now on record as saying that he just might run for president in 2008.
Barack Obama has a pretty face and he can impress an audience with pretty talk; thus, it's no wonder that certain media outlets and talking heads are hyping him as the next president. What these talking heads don't want to talk about is Obama's voting record -- and for good reason. Maybe, just maybe, the media mavens know that once his voting record becomes an issue, voters will fall off the Obama for Prez bandwagon as quickly as they'll supposedly jump on. Here's a brief overview of his record on important issues:
Abortion -- Obama believes that American women, young and old, should have an unfettered right to an abortion at any stage and for any reason.
Health Care -- Obama says that health care is a "basic human right." Therefore, he supports a government-run national health care system.
Gun Control -- Earlier this year, Obama voted against shielding firearms manufacturers from lawsuits due to gun violence and in favor of legislation that would ban the sale or transfer of any and all semi-automatic firearms.
Immigration -- As an Illinois state senator in 1998, Obama voted to give welfare and Medicaid to undocumented immigrants.
Judges -- Obama voted against the nominations of both John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court, and he participated in the filibuster of Alito.
During the past two years in the U.S. Senate, and during eight years in the Illinois Senate, Obama compiled a decidedly left-wing voting record. After next month's elections the U.S. Senate will - if current polls hold up - be virtually tied. It's highly unlikely that Senators Harry Reid, Dick Durbin, and Chuck Schumer (among others) will tolerate much straying from the ranch when every vote will be needed to make life miserable for a very lame-duck president. Given another two years in an even more partisan congress, the championing of left-wing issues mentioned above will become a mere tip of the political iceberg.
If Barack Obama does indeed run for president in '08, he may certainly wow the left-wingers who turn out for Democratic presidential primaries. However, he'll have a hard time convincing swing-state voters in a general election that he's not Ted Kennedy sans red nose and boozy bloat. As far as presidential politics goes, Democrats will never be successful as long as they have to concede entire regions of the country (the South, the Texas to North Dakota agricultural belt) to the GOP. Barack Obama, despite his pretty face and pretty tongue, will have a very difficult time convincing voters in Kansas, Texas, West Virgina, or Tennessee that it's a good idea to give welfare to illegals or that it's a bad idea to let hunters purchase semi-automatic rifles.
Again, Barack Obama ain't gonna be president.
The current Obama phenomenon reminds me of the Colin Powell for President effort in 1996. Paying no mind to the fact that Powell had said practically nothing of substance 'bout the economy, education, entitlement reform, etc., the punditocracy decided Powell's uber-moderate Republicanism was just what the country needed "to bring people together." The Powell presidential effort never materialized because Powell did not have the stomach for the rough and tumble of electoral politics. Obama, on the other hand, not only has the stomach for politics (he has three campaigns under his belt), he's now on record as saying that he just might run for president in 2008.
Barack Obama has a pretty face and he can impress an audience with pretty talk; thus, it's no wonder that certain media outlets and talking heads are hyping him as the next president. What these talking heads don't want to talk about is Obama's voting record -- and for good reason. Maybe, just maybe, the media mavens know that once his voting record becomes an issue, voters will fall off the Obama for Prez bandwagon as quickly as they'll supposedly jump on. Here's a brief overview of his record on important issues:
Abortion -- Obama believes that American women, young and old, should have an unfettered right to an abortion at any stage and for any reason.
Health Care -- Obama says that health care is a "basic human right." Therefore, he supports a government-run national health care system.
Gun Control -- Earlier this year, Obama voted against shielding firearms manufacturers from lawsuits due to gun violence and in favor of legislation that would ban the sale or transfer of any and all semi-automatic firearms.
Immigration -- As an Illinois state senator in 1998, Obama voted to give welfare and Medicaid to undocumented immigrants.
Judges -- Obama voted against the nominations of both John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court, and he participated in the filibuster of Alito.
During the past two years in the U.S. Senate, and during eight years in the Illinois Senate, Obama compiled a decidedly left-wing voting record. After next month's elections the U.S. Senate will - if current polls hold up - be virtually tied. It's highly unlikely that Senators Harry Reid, Dick Durbin, and Chuck Schumer (among others) will tolerate much straying from the ranch when every vote will be needed to make life miserable for a very lame-duck president. Given another two years in an even more partisan congress, the championing of left-wing issues mentioned above will become a mere tip of the political iceberg.
If Barack Obama does indeed run for president in '08, he may certainly wow the left-wingers who turn out for Democratic presidential primaries. However, he'll have a hard time convincing swing-state voters in a general election that he's not Ted Kennedy sans red nose and boozy bloat. As far as presidential politics goes, Democrats will never be successful as long as they have to concede entire regions of the country (the South, the Texas to North Dakota agricultural belt) to the GOP. Barack Obama, despite his pretty face and pretty tongue, will have a very difficult time convincing voters in Kansas, Texas, West Virgina, or Tennessee that it's a good idea to give welfare to illegals or that it's a bad idea to let hunters purchase semi-automatic rifles.
Again, Barack Obama ain't gonna be president.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Tuesday, October 24, 2006 
