Lately there has been a huge amount of press for Barack Obama – one could almost call it a very premature coronation. He’s even picked up the support of Ted Kennedy, a major boon indeed. Of course, Obama always had the support of more young and first-time voters than Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. And quite frankly, that’s what worries me. Here are just a few reasons why I do not support Obama – and the very reasons why he’s garnered so much support.
Lack of experience
Don’t play this down. No matter how much you like the guy, he’s only been in the Senate a measly two years. He’s the most inexperienced candidate, especially now that Edwards has dropped out. He hasn’t had the chance to learn the ropes in
Says nothing
It’s a known fact that one of the most important skills for a politician is the ability to say as little as possible with as may words as possible. But when your entire speech is a contest to see how many times you can jam the word “change” into a paragraph you’ve way overdone it. Vaguely uplifting messages and subtle attacks make up a typical Obama speech, to the point where veterans like
Playing the race card
Some of us were too busy watching Power Rangers and Dragon Ball Z to remember
Add it up. Obama is the perfect candidate for a generation obsessed with MySpace to the point of distraction. Whatever is popular, whatever sounds cool – that’s what we support. Whatever happened to taking a stand? Why, when we should be at our most active and rebellious, are we going for the perfectly manufactured politician. A politician so perfect, he uses some of the oldest tricks to convince us that he is not a politician.
3 comments:
Well, we agree on this much, at least. ;) Good points. It's embarrassing to realize our generation is so apt to vote for the dude who looks best on TV...if we vote at all.
Well, its not just your generation. Presidential races have always been about popularity. And not just who looks good on TV.
One of the candidates back in the early 20th century - though he was very popular by the media - reportedly lost the race because his voice sounded coarse on the radio. It was one of the first radio broadcast debates. (I don't remember who it was)
Too many people are not - not to sound cruel - intelligent enough to understand politics well enough that the candidates could speak fully and openly about their plans.
Honestly, I think anyone who wants the job, should probably be automatically disqualified.
Can't disagree with any of what's been said about Barack, but what is the alternative? Is it not admirable how he speaks intelligently and substantativelyabout diverse -- yet hugely definitive -- concepts as two-way racism and class struggles? And the fact that he's young and attractive can't hurt his chances for political success in this country ... If it's experience you're worried about, he'll have more than anyone could hope for in a long and tangled web of beurocratic advisors who inherently guarantee that no one person (or reasonable intellectual, our current chief excluded) could decide too much chiefly on his own ... Dunno. Maybe I'm just too optimistic, but it's the first time in my short political life (was too young for Reagan) ...
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