I read your comments and apparent disapproval of this candidate and wonder ... what all of your hype stems from? You comment on the cache of the media and imply that the general public is lacking clear sense. And why is that?
They are finally excited about a man who has stellar academics, they appreciate that fact that he speaks directly to them, and they respond by saying, thank god you are doing that. They say... George Bush doesn't have those qualities, his thinking is not fresh and lucid, he speaks a funny brand of English and, actually, it's an shameful brand that paints all americans as both provincial and intellectually lacking. Thank god he's managed to pay some brains to back him up.
Has a representative cross section of America ever opened its eyes widely and screamed to embrace Bush, Hilary, McCane or any other white house resident in recent memory? The answer is no.
Bush alienated allies. His "cowboy diplomacy failed". Entering the white house, He had no national leadership, successful congressional bills or amendments that can be noted. He even lacked the following of austinites when he was voted governor, again without any kind of experience. He had no meaningful substance upon entering the white house. And the public let him stay for two terms.
Let's face it: American has changed. Because of wars, unwanted immigration, changing demographics, increased interracial dating and marriage, an openess in general to those who are different than "leave it to beaver", and an awareness of foreign hostility, even by allies, we are coming together. Yes, we will defend ourselves. And we will also try to live together on this globe.
You are correct in suggesting that the hype or momentum that has been created by Mr. Obama is exceptional. No one under the age of forty has seen this level of public rallying around a candidate in this country. I, personally, find it very inspiring. And I say this without the answers that you seem to need before considering him as your president. But that's o.k. Your skepticism mirrors that of others who don't get the importance of his success to this nation and the nation's people.
I would welcome your thoughts and hope to continue this exchange. I really do want to understand your perspective if it's well founded. We can always learn from others. I do, however, question if you actually thought about your comments presented before posting them.
OK... glad you ended that civil.
First... I was pointing out how haywire the hype is. He's like Justin Timberlake amidst 15 yr old girls challenging puberty. Granted, I ask is the music the quality of Dark Side of the Moon, Aretha Franklin, or the Beatles... the way the "fans" are acting you'd think so.
If you've seen my other posts here (and honestly wouldn't expect you to search, so no harm/foul), I really haven't decided on the guy, because I'm more enthralled with this rockstar persona..... the analogies here are endless....
The guy has no "Washington track record".... which I believe MIGHT be a great thing, but unfortunately... wrestlers-turned-governors doesn't always work out right. Bush has amazingly succeeded at pushing agendas/policies (love or hate) as he took the MBA approach of delegation and appointment. Colin Powell and Dick Cheney (love or hate) are well versed in Washington politics. Hillary has those same purse strings to pull from.
This board is ppl complaining (with VERY little fact and comparison) about the economy, civil rights, immigration (oh wait, noone here cares little about that), etc..... yet really you don't see much trumpting of what Obama will do in these cases, if anything at all. So basically, I haven't decided on the guy, cause I have zero clue... granted my own fault as I haven't researched well enough... but I figure come summer, the rubber hits the road.. women will stop fainting, a cold will become second hat, he'll actually have to provide some concrete mini-plans on issues that come up between now and then...
There are a myriad of "smart well-educated ppl in Washington".
"Bush alienated allies. His "cowboy diplomacy failed".
That takes time to decide. Reaganomics was blasted at the time and shortly thereafter, and yet many economists accredit the success to this day in 2008.
"others who don't get the importance of his success to this nation and the nation's people"
Success amidst rhetoric only goes so far. You can't keep inspiring ppl, and ignore results for 4 straight years. Maybe that's why Dems shake their head and Reagan's UNMATCHED popularity in the '84 election.
"No one under the age of forty has seen this level of public rallying around a candidate in this country."
I don't care about age.... Reagan won the 1984 election five hundred and funking twenty-five to thirteen (525-13). If we forced the US to vote this instance at the height of Obama hype, he'd be lucky to 55% of the electoral. By the way, Mondale got 10 votes for Minnesota, his home state and the renowned bed-wetting state (which he barely won by 3,000 votes a few hanging chads). ..oh and DC... the same disaster that in that era re-elected Marion Berry (nuff said).
"Bush alienated allies."
Who've done what exactly the last 20 years for us... and last I checked France of all countries (given their loss of culture) is back on our side. England, the probably our best ally, was still in cahoots last I checked (see Tony Blair), Japan, etc...
And if our allies have issues... quit cashing our checks we send you ;-)