Pending policy specifics Democratic voters are balking at giving Obama the Democratic nomination. It may be unfair but voters seem to give Hillary a pass on this assuming she will perpetuate the policies of her husband. If Obama is willing to lay out his policies specifics on the economy, national defense, the environment, health care, corporate policy, an equitable tax policy, and on and on, he will go on to win the presidency.
This is Obama’s race to lose. Unfortunately his campaign and mesmerized followers have claimed a movement but have left voters in the dark as to the direction. A sober and legitimate gauntlet has been laid down in two key states.
It may be that Obama’s campaign will go with conventional wisdom and stay clear of specifics while riding the mantra that they have more delegates. Resting there may prove disastrous as a larger sobering may ensue over the next few months leading to the convention when his campaign is left to mindlessly albeit righteously trumpet their minor delegate lead while demanding that they be given the nomination. That mantra could easily fail on an electorate not so much interested in the intricacies and outright failures of the nominating process but rather on winning the Whitehouse.
Admittedly this may seem like a risky suggestion given Obama’s current and seemingly future delegate lead but if Obama’s campaign seeks the legitimacy necessary to lead a movement they should be able to provide some goals.
Domestically:
Is the current historically low corporate tax rate fair? What should it be?
How do we manage corporate behavior/responsibility?
Will he change the overall tax code?
Is it time for public financing of elections? What is his proposal?
What will he do about obscene credit card interest rates and one-sided bankruptcy laws?
Is there a broader definition to national defense? Does it include investment in our infrastructure, education, job training, health care, etc?
Does the current 600 billion defense budget further our interests or national security or does it cripple the larger societal goals which will lead to a stronger more secure nation?
How does he explain that one in ten Americans are in jail?
Does the War on Drugs make sense? What should our drug policy be?
Will he invest in job training? What about a Roosevelt-level public works program?
What does sensible gun control mean to Obama?
How will he address the education crisis in this country?
How will he address the health care coverage gap in his program?
What is wrong with a single-payer system and why does his program continue to benefit insurance companies?
Will Obama tax excess oil company profits?
How will Obama move us toward energy independence?
Of course, we need specifics on how he will address global warming.
The list goes on and on... we need to know.
Some foreign policy questions:
Can Obama provide the independence necessary to solve the Israel/Palestinian question?
How will he extract us from Iraq?
Will he insist on human rights as a fundamental condition of U.S. relations?
Does our cozy relationship with authoritarian regimes like Saudi Arabia and Egypt make sense?
Will Obama embrace the emerging social and economic movement in Latin America?
Does it make sense to provide 5 billion in aid to Columbia?
These are just some of the critical issues facing the next president. Voters in Texas and Ohio spoke, they insist on more. If Obama wants to lead a legitimate movement, he needs to tell us where we are headed. If the movement is part of a new coalition, he will get all the support he needs.
Obama has seven weeks to give specific answers to the most important questions of our day. If he can do that, I believe he will be the nominee.