Judging from my forays into places like MyDD (which unlike Daily Kos deletes and apparently censors people), No Quarter (where the N-word is used by alleged lefties), Hillaryis44 and Taylor Marsh's blog [UPDATE: to her credit, she is apparently walking some of that back now], it seems many people have been told all sorts of strange things about Obama. Fortunately, most of these things aren't quite true. I'll try to explain in a series of posts.
First, here's a short list of resources on Obama: his history, experience, his skills. Follow me past the fold -- and thanks for reading!
First off, let's start with the "he has no experience in politics or negotiation or whatever" canard.
As the following articles show, he has a long history as an an activist, a legal scholar (President of the Harvard Law Review -- doesn't get much more scholarly than that!), and a Chicago organizer in the mold of Saul Alinsky (who Hillary also admires), a man who knew how to throw elbows when needed and to speak soothingly when needed:
http://www.chicagoreader.com/fea...ve/barackobama/
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/new...0826/
3obama.htm
http://www.usnews.com/articles/n...-
candidacy.html
After reading these pieces on Obama [UPDATE: and these, too], and on his history as an organizer, legal scholar, and community activist, I defy anyone to say that he can't hack the rough-and-tumble of DC politics. Yes, he can.
Furthermore, he's already -- even in the midst of a hard-fought campaign -- using his skills as a negotiator to try and broker a cease-fire agreement between the warring factions in Nigeria (h/t The Politico). Seriously:
Rebels who have stepped up attacks on Nigeria's oil industry in the last month said on Sunday they were considering a ceasefire appeal by U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has launched five attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta since it resumed a campaign of violence in April, forcing Royal Dutch Shell to shut more than 164,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).
"The MEND command is seriously considering a temporary ceasefire appeal by Senator Barack Obama. Obama is someone we respect and hold in high esteem," the militant group said in an e-mailed statement.
I have to admit: When I first saw this, I dang near choked up. This is what Jimmy Carter would do. This is what Bill Clinton would do. Hell, this is what Hillary and Chelsea did when they were ambassadors without portfolio for Bill in the 1990s. (The people of India in particular loved and still love Chelsea Clinton.) Can you imagine John Sidney McCain III doing this? Me, neither.
The common ground between Hillary and Barack exists. Let's walk it together. Thanks again for reading!
(Part II will be tomorrow, and will focus on why "the bad stuff" won't hurt him in the general -- at least, not the way it's feared.)
[UPDATE 6:24 PM PDT: Had to add some text to the Intro block, and also edited to try and avoid any offense; which means I had to rearrange and chop out other bits of text to stay under the limit. No links were harmed! Or lynxes, either.]