My first exposure to Barack Obama was at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. I was first struck by his name, which clearly resembles a certain terrorist leader who is hiding in a cave in Pakistan. However, his speech at the convention was awesome, and made me an instant Obama fan. Instead of just claiming to be a "uniter", his address actually was a unifying speech.
Barack Obama: 2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address
And fellow Americans, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, I say to you tonight: We have more work to do...
There's not a liberal America and a conservative America—there's the United States of America.
There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America -- there’s the United States of America.
We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.
There is a very good chance that I would support Obama in the 2008 Democratic Primary, but during the past two to three weeks I have noticed a disturbing trend.
Continued...
Conservative pundit support for Barack Obama has skyrocketed. Let's look at a few examples:
New York Times' David Brooks on Meet the Press
You know, I looked at some of the coverage of his, his New Hampshire trip and you look at the crowd and they’re leaning forward toward him. It’s like they’re thirsty and they’re drinking for water. And he’s offering that. And what he’s offering is the ability to see all sides of an issue.
And on the same Meet the Press segment, the "balance" was provided by Iraq War cheerleader Thomas Freidman.
I think you need judgment more than experience. I think, if anything, the experience of the last six years has proven that, Tim. But I want to pick up on, on David’s point, because I think Obama is such a powerful candidate for, for a couple of reasons. David and I were talking about them earlier. One is that I believe Democrats voted in the last two elections like this, Tim. (Plugs nose) Al Gore. (Plugs nose) John Kerry. They voted with their nose plugged, basically. Democrats are starved, just as David said, to vote for someone they’re excited about.
I am sure David and Thomas have lots of conversations in the lounge at the New York Times. I am sure they have discussed in detail why they both hate John Kerry and Al Gore. Why no harsh words for Barack Obama? He's a different kind of Democrat... not like those other dirty bastards.
Here is another example of the right wing love for Obama:
Briefly — we have about a minute left — for all of the excitement about Barack Obama, there's also talk about his inexperience. They said the same thing about your brother John back in 1960. Do you see any parallels?
Chris Wallace is little more clever that David Brooks or Thomas Freidman, comparing Obama to John F. Kennedy. He asks and answers the question: Does Obama have enough experience to be president? Yes, because he is like JFK, and he had enough experience. Wallace would never give that much love to Al Gore, Howard Dean, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, ..., etc. And we saw how he treated Bill Clinton.
I can't put my finger on it, but conservative pundits seem to be favoring Barack Obama to win the Democratic Primary in '08. Perhaps they are hand picking a candidate who they think will lose. A black man named "Barack Hussein Osama" could have a tough time in red America, especially if Swift Boat tactics are used. Perhaps they could suggest that he likes white women, like they did with Harold Ford in Tennessee. Or they could use push polls that suggest a relative of Obama is a crack-fiend. The bottom line is that I see the Southern Strategy at work here, and it makes me sick to see it.