I lived in Chicago from the time of the first Mayor Daley in 55 to after he was dead. There are those who cite Chicago politics as ruthless and unsavory. No city was happier when JFK won, and JFK knew what he was referring to when he told us that his father said he would help pay for the presidency but not a landslide. There lingered stories of some ballots lost in Lake Michigan.
Be that as it may, Obama is stuck with a certain persona ala big city machine politics. It's therefore relevant that his start at the state level is attached to a developer in legal trouble. One thing is also relevant and that is Bobby Rush beat him out in his first big foray into politics. Then he took a new elocution lesson and learned how to be folksy. There is no way he could not know folk language after being a community activist in Chicago. And there is no way that he cannot recall the history of Jesse Jackson, Sr. and his contention for a presidential nomination. I don't compare the background of the two in any way, but many will. (Jess Jackson, Jr. seems to be more up-to-date and perhaps is doing a good job for his constituents.)
So how Obama relates to the rest of the country comes from three experiences: Harvard Law School, International upbringing and the small tussle he's had with opponents. He conceded that his route to the Senate was all but certain, because the Republicans couldn't even find a candidate who really was eager.
In the current environment, it appears to me that the "just folks" part of the country are not going to be swayed by old "base" arguments from either side. I guess I finally wonder whether Barack really understands that he has not lived in the "just folks" places. I give him credit working rural Iowa. But I doubt if that will make him a strong contender because his biography to date is shallow on achievement. He easily made it into politics and he seems to have a vision of what he thinks the country should be about, but he is so short on practical issues. What will he do when someone wants to eliminate a military base in Illinois? What will he say when there is a direct question about reshaping the military? Yes, I think he's a little short on understanding what a president is up against.
Now take Hillary. She lived politics as a teenager, cheerleading for Goldwater. Then she arrived at Nixonian realities and is a Democrat by all measures. But she is also the triangulating kind. Playing it safe is the opposite of Obama. My question for her is "Where is the vision?" As for Clark, we know we have a man who wants to have a tidy military which can arise to any occasion, but not limited to hot wars. I suppose he knows how hard it would be to close bases. He is not a serious contender in my view, but will surely help out where needed. He soldiers on and should be thanked for setting a different tone in 2004.
When all is said and done, I don't really know who should be president. But I do know that this year the Democrats in Congress should think of how much liex ahead to be done just to correct some colossal mistakes made in this century.