Obama Observation for the Day: How You Can Trust He Will Be Different

I had a realization as I was driving into work this morning that I think Pennsylvanians (and others) would be well-served to keep in mind when evaluating Obama vs. Clinton.

We are all ready for this primary season to be over with, and I'm sure none of us more so than the candidate and his top staff themselves.

Pennsylvania could be the finish line, and certainly Hillary has recognized as much, with her campaign in full-on desperation mode, attacking Obama from every angle they can come up with for the last six weeks. That is the modern state of campaigning, and it is what we have become used to seeing as voters.

What has been the Obama campaign's response? They have sharpened their elbows and attacked back at certain points, but they have always been measured attacks directed at targets that are fair game and very much in play.

So, once again, I think you can say that the campaigns themselves are instructive about how the candidates would function once in office. Obama could have much more readily played for the win today by adopting the "kitchen sink" strategy in return and sending it back Hillary's way. She has many, many negatives in her past that have not been pushed in this campaign, and they could have been exploited well in Pennsylvania.

But he maintained discipline, faith in his own underlying campaign principles, and recognition of the potential long-term damage he would do to himself if he had gone the kitchen sink route. So, with the biggest moments of his life on the line, if he's willing to play fair and disciplined, it becomes easy to make the jump to understanding that he intends to conduct himself in the presidency in the same manner.

He won't vilify enemies for political gain, because that can come back to haunt him. He will keep the waters from being muddied with those he has disagreements with, because today's foe can be tomorrow's partner on a different issue. In short, when he says he wants a new kind of politics in Washington, you don't have to look farther than the difficult but principled choices he's made in his own campaign to find the faith that he means what he says on this count.

Just something to keep in mind as we all deal with the "gotcha" BS and other distractions that tend to cloud the outlook during campaign season.  

•  Tips for positive Obama mojo

  by QuestionableSanity on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 09:28:21 AM PDT

•  Shine the light

  

  by notquitedelilah on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 09:37:22 AM PDT

•  Sadly "The Clintons" switched me to Obama.

  The fact that Hillary has been unable to manage her own campaign or show leadership without using Bill as a crutch caused me switch to Obama early, although I don't vote unitl May 6.  

  by drmah on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 09:39:48 AM PDT

•  consistency is the key

  Obama has been playing a fair game.  Most polls show that he is perceived as playing fair and his favorables remain very high.  Not so for Clinton.

  by louisev on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 09:46:56 AM PDT

•  I think it's because he knows

  that to win in the general he needs Clinton voters. He's planning ahead. Not such a bad idea.

  by NMDad on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 09:48:41 AM PDT

•  He's a better person than I am

  Seriously if HRC had tried that debate shit w/me, all her rumors the whole house of smut substantiated un unsubstantiated would have came bubbling from my mouth.  Even stuff about George and Charlie would have come from my mouth.  Then I would have smiled politely and said, "As far as I know".    That's how I know he will be diff. He doesn't go w/his base human instinct.

  by Shhs on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 09:52:15 AM PDT

•  Big Picture

  Obama is working for the big picture -- a united Democratic party which welcomes Independents and Republicans who are tired of their party doing service for corporations and big business (which includes the Occupation for Oil in Iraq.)  

  So he has been smart and careful when going after Clinton.  (And wise enough to know that she is her own worst enemy.)  

  Clinton, on he other hand, is going for a quick win.  She doesn't seem to take into consideration how or if people will back her in the Fall.   She just wants the nomination NOW and she'll deal with the fallout later.  

  The basic premise that Clinton has experience and knows what she is doing is the same type of fiction used to describe John McSame's "Straight Talk Express."    

  Look at her campaign:  Disorganized, many missteps, broke, done nothing to erase her high negatives.  

  Barack's campaign:  Organized, respectful, enjoyable, disciplined, propelled an unknown guy with a funny name and dark skin to front-runner.  

  Who's a better leader?  

  by ruscle on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:01:09 AM PDT

  •  And yet, our tendency as a society

    has been to try and tear him down. Why?

    I'm not saying he shouldn't be questioned, but the type of issues that have resonated the most with the media have only tangential ties to what he would do as president. It's like we're going out of our way to try and disqualify him on technicalities.

    What kind of self-destructive society functions in that way?

    by QuestionableSanity on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:07:58 AM PDT

    •  A society that is not driven by humans

      Our society is driven, in large part, by corporate profits.   That is why Natalie Holloway was a 24/7 story for 2 months.   It was cheap to produce, lots of speculation, not a lot of facts to "get right" and no outcome or followup necessary once the media moves on to the next such story.  

      Imagine if big corporate media had it's profits tied to how many facts it reports correctly.    

      I don't think there is anything intrinsically wrong with American's.   But I think the way corporations are controlling so much of everything is skewing us towards insane choices.  

      After all, look how Bush and the War was sold to us.  

      by ruscle on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:27:17 AM PDT

•  I *know* Clinton and Mccain won't be different

  So I choose hope.

  by joe28 on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:46:46 AM PDT