A New Yorker's View on Barak Obama

Margaret's diary about Paul Robeson, jr. reminded me of my friend, Chris Owens, who recently ran unsuccessfully for Congress in my district. Chris has taken the infrastructure he built in his very grassroots bid for Congress and is trying to perpetuate it, trying to prevent the usual progressive grassroots practice of disbanding after each effort to have to reinvent themselves each time a good candidate comes along. I have written about Chris before as one example of what I call a "community canidate," one who has a record of helping the community before running for office.

Chris now has his own blog, which I recommend people pay some attention to because Chris is intelligent, articulate and very progressive. He leans a bit to the left of me, but is a very smart man.

Many have already started backing horses in the 2008 Democratic primary. I tend to stay neutral and open minded until fairly late in the game. I admit that I am eyeing John Edwards for various reasons, mostly strategic. In some ways I am getting a gut feeling (and my political gut feelings have been reasonably acurate in the past) that and Edwards/Richardson ticket would be our best shot at winning. Once I formulate my gut feeling a bit more, I may even blog on that. But my personal preferences remain undecided.

But Barak Obama is without a doubt the most interesting candidate to date for various reasons: his background, his charisma, his ethnicity...

Here is what Chris Owens has to say about Barak Obama's run for the White House. I don't necessarily agree with all points, but it is a good place to start thinking about 2008:

I hope Barack Obama runs for President.

Yes, I am going on the record with this one -- despite being a New Yorker, a politico, a media wannabe and a very wary admirer of Senator Hillary Clinton's. I have a few strong criticisms of our junior Senator -- particularly regarding her handling of the Iraq disaster -- but I am unlikely to withhold my vote to make her my President if she becomes the Democratic nominee. She has earned serious consideration in her own right.

Whether or not or not she should be the nominee, however, is determined by a process greatly improved by higher-quality opposition during the primary election season -- and before. And who better to challenge the queen of "common ground" pleas than the junior Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, who has himself declared that "no one is exempt from the call to find common ground." Obama provides quality opposition and should be subjected to the same testing as Clinton. After all, the flawed Democratic winner will have to beat some tough -- if flawed -- Republicans, so the practice rounds should start now.

Obama has nothing to lose by running -- not even his Senate seat. He could win the nomination for President or Vice President, or even win the Presidency -- fortune can favor the bold. Senator Obama is as smart and charismatic as JFK, he's from a state that is not in the northeast, he's tall, and he has his own crosses to bear, so to speak. JFK had religion; his Catholicism was a burning issue for some. Obama has race -- and he knows that race is an issue with both whites and Blacks. And he also has his name -- Barack Hussein Obama -- something various bigoted Americans have chosen to focus on.

The Democratic Party's most loyal supporters are African Americans; everyone knows this. It is about time that not one but two candidates with great appeal to these voters -- Obama and Clinton -- seek the highest office in the land. Vice President Al Gore's 2000 candidacy for President was not weakened by the challenge of former Senator Bill Bradley's campaign. Neither Gore nor Bradley, however, had the appeal to Black voters by the end of their respective efforts that both Obama and Clinton already have before theirs even start. The other Democratic candidates, including former Senator John Edwards, have a long way to go...

I will note that Edwards' message on poverty is one that already plays well with some blacks I know. But it is true that the Clinton name and Obama's ethnicity both give them an advantage with black voters.

Chris ends his article (of which I have only given the first part, above) with some advice for Barak Obama:

o, Barack (we like to use first names, you know), what do you do now? Some advice from the peanut gallery:

1. Don't miss your Senate votes while you are campaigning -- at least not during 2007. Take every opportunity you can to speak on the floor in a less scripted manner. Highlight for the unconvinced the blend of passion and oratorical elegance that has brought you thus far on your way -- and add a strong dash of spontaneity. Force yourself to stay fresh on the issues and keep people talking 'bout you -- for free.

2. Be "the progressive" and consolidate "the left" and it's grass roots voter appeal. Your position on Iraq has yet to crystallize or resonate with anyone -- let alone the Democratic progressives (after all, you supported Lieberman over Lamont!) You cannot simply compete for Clinton's voters, you need to win all of the Clinton doubters and, more importantly, the disaffected progressives who may look to former VP candidate and "new populist" John Edwards or to perennial working class progressive champion Dennis Kucinich. It was leftist icon Alexander Cockburn who blasted you in The Nation (4/24/2006) for endorsing the re-election bid of Senator Joe Lieberman (CT), declaring: "What a slimy fellow Obama is, as befits a man symbolizing everything that will continue to be wrong with the Democratic Party for the next twenty years." Why be outflanked on the left? You are a progressive; it is in your blood. Don't run away from it. Bridge the unnecessary gap between leftist whites and the heart of the African American community. You can do it like no one else.

You also do not need Rev. Sharpton to replicate his 2004 candidacy and muddle African American focus. Don't give Sharpton any opening on key issues such as Iraq, the legacy of Condoleeza Rice, police brutality, support for public education, and the Democratic Party's commitment to urban youth. In addition, African American critics of your voting history have rated you (along with many Congressional Black Caucus colleagues) as far less progressive than might be considered appropriate by the Black community -- or others. In The Audacity of Hope, you yourself identify the challenge of being either too angry or not angry enough when dealing with racial issues and with American whites who have "exhausted" their reservoir of guilt. When these tough conversations take place, are you an American citizen who happens to be black? Or will you blend your attractiveness to white voters with your potential status as political royalty within the Black community?

3. Make sure your Senate Committee work provides you with as much foreign policy and intelligence exposure as possible -- and immediately bring onto your brain trust the best experts in these areas that you can. The Presidential media will test you on every question -- as will academics. The need to be prepared is an understatement.

4. Personally call every African American leader you can -- everywhere -- and ask for their support now. Define "leader" broadly. Start with New York, North Carolina and Louisiana, then do every primary state. Start the volunteer organizing now; you've been there before, so you know what to do. If you don't have at least 40% of those you reach on board with you by July 1, you will have a problem.

5. We all know a stump speech is an essential part of every campaign. Please abandon certain stories and humor lines, however, that have been overused to date either through speeches or in your writings. You can't be the fresh, new and inspirational candidate if we know by heart all the lines about your name, your King "arc of justice" references, etc. You've got to be different in many, many ways.

6. You have already mastered almost everything else ... times ten thousand.

7. Remember that Clinton & Edwards et al are doing the same things. But you are the celebrity of the moment.

I still reserve my judgement. But this is a good start to the discussion.

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