Roll Out Obama

I'm watching all these insulated white men on Hardball salivating over this story that Barack Obama hasn't ruled out a Presidential run in 2008. Talk about getting ahead of yourself, we're two weeks out from an election. Of course, Obama brought this attention on himself, putting out a book in October and goosing all the speculation by appearing on any television show that'll have him. Whether this is good or bad for the Democrats this year is unclear. It pulls focus, but also gives people out in the nation hope that the Democrats are "thinking big" with new talent and a new direction.

Of course, what "thinking big" and Barack Obama have in common is even more unclear. Obama has a great record - as a state Senator. As a US Senator he has no record at all. That's probably to his benefit, as there's no long history of votes to pick apart. He has been so unwilling to lead on any major issue impacting the country, that his admission that he's considering the Presidency is at least a sign that he has leadership credentials at all. I honestly don't know that, in the end, he'll have the stomach for it. He's spent two years playing down expectations and saying he has virtually no pull in the Senate given his lack of seniority, which has given him a convenient cover to literally hide as a backbencher and play off of ONE SPEECH at the 2004 DNC to bolster his image. We are in a society of instant gratification, so maybe one speech is all it takes these days.

I have serious concerns about Obama's idea of leadership, his willingness to say what Democrats "should" be doing instead of going out and doing them himself, his lack of having ever run a difficult statewide race (in fact, in seeking federal office, he's 1-1). But I do agree with Matt Stoller:

Though you probably know me as someone who's not a fan of Barack Obama, I do want the Senator to run for President in 2008. I think it would be good for him, good for the party, and good for the country. I'm big on process, on public debate, on public deliberation, and we need his voice in the fray. We need to hear from him, what's his vision? What are his principles? What kind of America does he support? How will he stand up to pressure when he is debating other Democrats? In other words, what, exactly is his voice? Is he the Barack Obama who criticizes our political system for its smallness, its lack of vision, as he puts it in his stump speech? Or is he the Barack Obama who praises George Bush, and goes along and gets along in the Senate, ruffling no feathers and making sure that the smallness of our system is what he embraces? Or is the Barack Obama that thinks that this country is not ready for the sacrifices he knows are coming, and so will revel in his symbolic emptiness? [...]

So why, after all of this, do I think he should run for President? It would be good for everyone if he did. For the Democratic Party, we would be able to engage our hero in a debate over policies and ideas, and we'd be able to take him down off a pedestal and actually grapple together with common challenges. That would make us as a party stronger. For the country, all Americans would be able to move beyond the rock star persona, and get to the substance, and that would be good. Public debate is better than rock star adulation.

Barack Obama is not the only shining star on the Democratic bench. I'll take Eliot Spitzer or Brian Schweitzer any day of the week; hell, I'd take Gavin Newsom. But Obama's skillfully managed the hype, and this may be his best shot; you don't get to be the next best hope forever. The truth is that we have no idea what kind of Presidential candidate Obama would make, but like Matt says, we need to know. He may surprise us and fulfill the hopes that so many Democrats place upon him. We project images of what we think a good progressive would be onto this blank slate. If he decides to accept that mantle, it would ultimately be great for the country.