One thing I don't understand about Presidential races is everyone's obsession about needing candidates to have specific, detailed proposals on every conceivable topic. When has any president EVER had all his detailed plans put into action verbatim? It makes sense for those things that the president actually has control over, such as foreign and military affairs; so yes, I expect every candidate to have a detailed plan about how to get out of Iraq. But outside of that, why does every candidate need a detailed, 300-page plan to fix health care, the environment, the economy, education, and potholes? These are issues that require a lot of people, both in the WH and Congress, to solve. What seems more important is a dedication to specific principles.
I want to know what a candidate stands for and what kind of country he or she envisions. Those are where I want details. And yes, please illustrate it with possible solutions and support or rejection of current laws or proposals. But now more than ever we need a candidate that can stir us into action, not give us a 100-page proposal for tax reform that will never get thru Congress. We need a president that can actually inspire us to take risks, to help raise us out of the GOP muck, to infuse us with the will to do the real work of solving our actual problems. Where we are right now in this country, we need a leader, not a bureaucrat.
We have gone without true leadership for so long, people are desperate for it, and that is why I think Obama is getting the attention he's getting. He comes across as a statesman, and he has enough of a resume to give him bona fides. This country, more than ever, needs someone who is thoughtful, inspiring, genuine, and willing to stand up to the corporatist powers that have taken control of our government. This could be Obama and it could be Edwards...time will tell to see if they will continue to rise up or fizzle out. Whichever happens, I don't think it will be predicated on the number of pages in their policy whitepapers.