Barack Obama's impressive road to the White House

[babylonsister]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/nov/02/us-elections-2008-barack-obama1


Barack Obama's impressive road to the White House
Say what you don't like about the length and expense of the presidential race, it is the most intense audition for the job

snip//

You cannot entirely tell what a person will be like as President from the way he fought for the office, but it does offer useful pointers. It is one huge stress test of a candidate's temperament, ideas, judgment, strategic capacity, organisational skills and resilience. Take the last first. Initially and then repeatedly dismissed as a fashionable fad, a celebrity confection, Obama has proved that he is durable. To get here, the rookie senator has out-campaigned both the Republicans and the Clintons, besting America's two most formidable political machines by building from scratch an even better organisation of his own. At the climax, his campaign is so flush with donations that he can afford to buy 30 minutes of airtime in prime time across the networks while his opponent is running on empty and calling himself 'the underdog' to try to make a desperate virtue out of being behind.

Among the people enthused by Obama are other politicians, not least those watching in some awe from this side of the Atlantic. It is a convention that British leaders do not take public sides in American presidential races, especially for fear of finding that they have backed the wrong horse. This cannot mask the excitement among Labour people at the prospect of an Obama presidency. That we'd expect. Labour and the Democrats are sister parties. More remarkable is the large number of Tories for Obama. John McCain had many admirers among British Conservatives. He was the international guest of honour at their conference not so long ago. But if David Cameron had a vote, it would not go to the Republican.

The Tory leader can't say this publicly, but he has revealed to colleagues that he hopes the Democrat will win. There's the obvious and rather glib reason for this: an Obama victory would be a win for 'change' just as Cameron hopes to be. There's the less superficial reason which is that the Tory leader was hugely impressed by the intelligence and judgment of the other man when they met in London a few weeks ago. David Cameron remarked to allies that he was especially struck by Obama's self-composure at a time when the polls and the atmospherics were turning against him. 'He was just so incredibly cool,' the Tory leader told a friend.

They call it no drama, Obama. After two years under the searing spotlight of the most saturated media in the world, there has not been a single occasion when he has publicly lost self-control. Nor has his organisation lapsed in its self-discipline. It is a testimony to his ability to select and lead a team that his campaign has been so smooth in comparison with those of his rivals. There has been none of the internecine warfare which riddled the Clinton campaign and is now erupting within the McCain camp even before they know for certain that they've lost.

snip//

Last, but far from least, Barack Obama has been true to himself. During 21 months of epic drama on this long road, he has never deviated from his essential vision and his core strategy. He ends the race as he began it, offering a positive prospectus of reconciliation, moderation and change.

Politicians in Britain and the world over will try to emulate him by borrowing his slogans, plagiarising his rhetoric, copying his fund-raising techniques and all the rest of it. Those are the small lessons of his success. The big lesson is that the politics of unity and hope can still beat those of division and fear. At least, the world is united in hoping so.

[OhioChick]

1. K&R

:kick:

[Hissyspit]

2. Excellent. From the foreign press, of course. n/t

[kayakjohnny]

3. Very good, and leave it to the foreign media to offer this, rather than our own.

Great article!