In today's strong endorsement of Barack Obama for president Bill Richardson told the story about a telling moment from one of the earlier Democratic debates. The story wasn't part of Richardson's prepared remarks so its not in the transcripts but the WaPo told the tale back in January:
"I had just been asked a question -- I don't remember which one -- and Obama was sitting right next to me. Then the moderator went across the room, I think to Chris Dodd, so I thought I was home free for a while. I wasn't going to listen to the next question. I was about to say something to Obama when the moderator turned to me and said, 'So, Gov. Richardson, what do you think of that?' But I wasn't paying any attention! I was about to say, 'Could you repeat the question? I wasn't listening.' But I wasn't about to say I wasn't listening. I looked at Obama. I was just horrified. And Obama whispered, 'Katrina. Katrina.' The question was on Katrina! So I said, 'On Katrina, my policy . . .' Obama could have just thrown me under the bus. So I said, 'Obama, that was good of you to do that.'"
And this, ultimately, is the real difference between the race Sen. Obama is running and the one Sen. Clinton is running.
Obama could have easily let Gov. Richardson twist in the wind in that debate moment. All that was required was that Barack do nothing, say nothing, and Richardson would have looked like a fool. Instead, Obama gave his fellow Democrat a little cover, he kept the focus on the substance of the debate and not on an an opportunistic 'gotcha' moment that would have served his short-term personal interest. He spoke out when silence-- and self-interest-- were easier.
Contrast that with Clinton's response the the Wright controversy.
Hillary certainly knows that Jeremiah Wright is a well-respected minister with a lifetime of positive service to his flock and in his community. She knows, too, that the emotionally heated over-the-top clips being run over and over on the cable news do not reflect the substance of Wright's ministry and that such fiery on-off statements are not uncommon in charismatic churches, black and white, across the nation. But, given the opportunity to give a fellow Democrat a little cover by saying this publicly and shifting the debate back to the issues, she chose to let Obama twist in the wind. Her first an only instinct has been for her own short-term personal interest.
That instinct for basic fairness and decency, that commitment to winning on the durable merits not the fleeting optics, that willingness to speak up when silence is easier, is what makes Barack Obama a real leader and it is those same qualities that will make him an extraordinary president.