There has recently been a boatload of criticism of Obama about not having laid out specific plans and proposals.
I am one of those that likes to see detailed plans from politicians and candidates. More specifics, the merrier.
However, it isn't fair to badger Obama for not having specific plans at this point of time in the campaign. The reason being that, Edwards has been continuously running for President for a very long time, six years to be precice, and Obama's campaign is barely a few weeks old.
We need to give Obama some time to put up his plans.
John Edwards has been making rounds in Iowa for over six years.
Published: Sunday, March 4, 2001 9:54 p.m. EST
Edwards' Iowa presence sparks speculation about 2004
By JOHN WAGNER, Washington Correspondent
DES MOINES, Iowa -- President George W. Bush hasn't been in office for much more than a month. But in Iowa -- home to the nation's first presidential caucuses -- it's never too early to start thinking about the next election.
That helps explain what U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina was doing in downtown Des Moines on Saturday night.
In what Democratic activists describe as the first "toe-dipping" of the 2004 presidential campaign, Edwards delivered a half-hour speech at a Drake University Law School dinner attended by about 400 people, including some of Iowa's best-known attorneys and state Supreme Court justices.
This GWU link records visits to Iowa in 2001 and 2002 by Edwards and other candidates from the 2004 cycle. For instance, these were the number of visits in 2001:
Of course, someone that's been campaigning for 6 years would be expected to have specific plans by now. Expecting the same from Obama is simply not fair.
In my opinion, every candidate out there should put out their plans sooner than later, with:
- well laid out concepts,
- sketches and as many details as possible, and
- honest budgeting outlines for those plans
as well as overall budget outlook for their Presidency, which gives us a sense and understanding of feasibility of their overall agenda.
However, since Obama's campaign is only 2-3 months old, and we've still got 10 months before the first primary, there is ample time for him to put together his plans and then for everyone to debate them.
Therefore, it is time to put this line of attack on Obama to rest.
Update [2007-4-1 12:17:57 by NeuvoLiberal]: Interested readers may wish to explore Obama's Issues page and send his campaign any questions or suggestions.