I will be more than upfront when I say that, from time to time since this campaign began and since he has entered the Senate, I have been somewhat critical of Barack Obama. Much of this criticism came about for me the way it came about for many people – he seemed far too cautious. However, in the aftermath of the YouTube/CNN debate in which he was attacked for saying he would engage in rigorous diplomacy, he has been nothing short of stellar. It seemed as if, on that night, he finally realized that Clinton was running away with this thing and that he needed to show the differences between them.
Ever since that debate, the race for the Democratic nomination has more or less been a two-on-two contest between Clinton and Obama. The back and fourth between the two has been electric: she called him "naïve," he called her "Bush/Cheney light." She scolded him like an angry mother for his judgment on Pakistan, he showed her up for judgment, or lack thereof, on the vote to authorize Iraq. And so on.
Yesterday, Obama really came out of his shell in an interview that appears in today's Washington Post. One of the major concerns for many Democrats, myself included, is that Hillary may be too polarizing largely on the account of her last name and the various Clinton battles of the 90s. In this interview, Obama finally makes the case for what we've all been thinking for months:
"I think it is fair to say that I believe I can bring the country together more effectively than she can," Obama said. "I will add, by the way, that is not entirely a problem of her making. Some of those battles in the '90s that she went through were the result of some pretty unfair attacks on the Clintons. But that history exists, and so, yes, I believe I can bring the country together in a way she cannot do. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be running."
Obama went on to sum up the theme of his campaign that perhaps now will start to resonate louder with American voters as he steps up to distance himself from her unlike earlier in the campaign:
"Her argument is going to be that 'I'm the experienced Washington hand,' and my argument is going to be that we need to change the ways of Washington," he said. "That's going to be a good choice for the American people."
Obama then gave his take on Hillary's overall campaign compared to his:
"I think it's very clear what their political strategy is," he said of the Clinton campaign. "They want to project Senator Clinton as the seasoned, experienced hand. I don't fault them for that. That's the strategy they're pursuing, and my response is that what the American people need and what the Oval Office needs right now is good judgment. Experience can be a proxy for good judgment, but it isn't always."
He then repeated what he said during a debate in Chicago last week: "All the people who were on that stage in Chicago talking about their experience and criticizing me for the lack of it were the same people who went along and displayed incredibly poor judgment in going along with a war that I think has been a disaster."
He then turned to the issue over meeting with foreign leaders who are deemed as enemies - the same issue that sparked his recent change in campaign strategy in the aftermath of the YouTube debate:
He then challenged Clinton for accusing him of being "irresponsible and frankly naive" after he said he was willing to meet with leaders of nations such as Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela without preconditions.
"Senator Clinton apparently disagrees with me on this issue of preconditions," he said. "I think she's wrong on that because if we continue to set preconditions for discussions that are hostile to us, I think that's what loses the PR battle worldwide because it implies the United States is the superior power and other states have to give in to our demands before we even deign to meet with them. And that reinforces the sense of the arrogance of U.S. power around the world, which is a source of great damage -- and makes us less safe."
Obama concluded the interview by saying that he had two goals for the next few months and he seemed to imply that he believed his campaign would soon gain traction and catch up to Clinton:
Obama set forth two goals for the coming months. The first is to outline in greater detail the changes he would make in health care, education, energy policy and national security policy. The second, he said, is to show that his career proves he has the judgment and experience to be president. "If we do those two things, I think that this will be a very competitive election, and already in the early states it is," he said.
As I said at the start, I have at times been rather critical of Obama and his way of politics in the past. However, this interview and his political behavior has been nothing short of spectacular to me and I truly believe that he may be the only person who can deny Hillary of the nomination. While I am still sticking with my first choice for the time being, I am coming to realize that I might eventually be voting for him and I am
Keep up the good work, Barack!