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March 7, 2008

Obama Far Short On Walk He Talks (Updated)

Topics: Political News and commentaries

In calling attention to some similarities between writings of Charles Krauthammer and David Brooks on the lack of evidence for Barack Obama's "transcendence and bipartisanship," Tom Maguire at Just One Minute offers some points that have apparently escaped the attention of the average Obama supporter:

From Krauthammer:

[...] The Obama campaign has sent journalists eight pages of examples of his reaching across the aisle in the Senate. But these are small-bore items of almost no controversy -- more help for war veterans, reducing loose nukes in the former Soviet Union and the like. Bipartisan support for apple pie is hardly a profile in courage.

On the difficult compromises that required the political courage to challenge one's own political constituency, Obama flinched: the "gang of 14" compromise on judicial appointments, the immigration compromise to which Obama tried to append union-backed killer amendments, and, just last month, the compromise on warrantless eavesdropping that garnered 68 votes in the Senate. But not Obama's.

From David Brooks:

[...] How is a 47-year-old novice going to unify highly polarized 70-something committee chairs? What will happen if the nation's 261,000 lobbyists don't see the light, even after the laying on of hands?

... The Gang of 14 created bipartisan unity on judges, but Obama sat it out. Kennedy and McCain created a bipartisan deal on immigration. Obama opted out of the parts that displeased the unions. Sixty-eight senators supported a bipartisan deal on FISA. Obama voted no. And if he were president now, how would the High Deacon of Unity heal the breach that split the House last week?

And as Tom points out via the New York Times, Obama couldn't even manage to work with John McCain himself on a bipartisan ethics bill. And as Tom also notes, if you can't work with McCain on ethics reform, who can you work with?"

Add to these differences and others between the Obama facade and reality - the little matter of Obama the messiah storming out of the press conference the other day, and we just may be seeing the beginnings of Obama voters finally realizing that Obama not only hasn't, doesn't, and can't walk on water, there's very little evidence that he can or will walk the walk he talks.

Related reading: The Top Nine "Changes" Barack Obama Would Make as President

Posted by Mike in Iraq at March 7, 2008 9:58 AM

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