Monday, April 14, 2008

Why Barack Obama?

This was developed as a script for the Moveon.org "Obama in 30 Seconds" contest, but not produced:

(Still photos with pans over the pictures. Obama making speeches, audiences listening attentively, and so on.)

They say he speaks too well: it can’t be real.

They say his vision is too good: it can’t be practical.

They say he won’t fight back: not tough enough.

They say he should abandon his friends: he won’t.

They say a Chicago politician can’t be trusted: he's risky.

They say judgement is not enough: he lacks experience.

Eloquence, vision, dignity, loyalty, character, judgement: The right kind of experience.

Obama for President

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Why not Hillary Clinton?

Iraq: Her initial vote to authorize the Iraq war can be understood: a large majority of the Senate voted the same way. What is harder to understand is her consistent defense of that vote for the next three years, long after it was apparent that Iraq had nothing to do with Al-Qaeda, and that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Even today, during the primary campaign, she has resisted stating that her vote was a mistake, instead saying that the issue was more complex than people appreciated. And, after initially refusing to commit to troop withdrawal by the end of her first term (January 2013), she toughened her position to be closer to Obama’s. Stubbornness and reluctance to admit a mistake?

Iran: Her subsequent vote to label the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization is much harder to understand. It was clear to many in Congress and the media that the White House was trying to stir up anti-Iranian sentiment, with little substance to back it up. The resolution was an obvious step toward military action against Iran, but she went along with it. Afraid to look weak?

On Iraq and Iran, has she been a fighter, standing up to the White House? No.

On Bush: On the Bush tax cuts, on torture, on domestic spying, on habeas corpus, on extraordinary rendition, on Abu Graib, on Guantanamo, has she been a fighter and a leader, standing up to the White House? No.

On the primary campaign: For over one year in the primary campaign, she focused on her experience as the reason to vote for her: she failed to convince voters in many states. Having failed to sweep the primaries on her experience, she turned to attacking her opponents. Her campaign has subtly but clearly played the race card in recent months, too. The negative approach has helped her, but at a cost: is it Presidential to mock and attack one’s opponents? Is this the behavior of someone who wants to unify and lead the whole country?

On experience: She has claimed 35 years of experience, virtually every day since she left school. Was every day truly an experience qualifying her for the Presidency? She has claimed a major role in negotiating peace in Ireland: others now question the primacy of her role. She has claimed the lead role in enacting the State Children’s Health Insurance Program: others now question whether she really was the lead in Congress. More recently, her claim to have landed under sniper fire in Kosovo simply turned out to be false, a story she has used several times during this campaign. Has she tended to exaggerate her roles and experience? Yes. Does this promote trust and appreciation for her integrity? No.

So, why not Hillary Clinton? For all of the above, for a history of waffling on issues, for her sense of outrage that anyone would challenge her claim to the Presidency, and in the end, for her lack of good judgement: No.