Sunday News

January 20, 2008

Nicholas Kristof:

With all the sniping from the Clinton camp about whether Barack Obama has enough experience to make a strong president, consider another presidential candidate who was far more of a novice. He had the gall to run for president even though he had served a single undistinguished term in the House of Representatives, before being hounded back to his district.

That was Abraham Lincoln.

Another successful president scorned any need for years of apprenticeship in Washington, declaring, “The same old experience is not relevant.” He suggested that the most useful training comes not from hanging around the White House and Congress but rather from experience “rooted in the real lives of real people” so that “it will bring real results if we have the courage to change.”

That was Bill Clinton running in 1992 against George H. W. Bush, who was then trumpeting his own experience over the callow youth of Mr. Clinton. That year Mr. Bush aired a television commercial urging voters to keep America “in the hands of experience.”

…Mr. Obama’s years as an antipoverty organizer give him insights into one of our greatest challenges: how to end cycles of poverty. That front-line experience is one reason Mr. Obama not only favors government spending programs, like early-childhood education, but also cultural initiatives like promoting responsible fatherhood.

Then there’s Mr. Obama’s grade-school years in Indonesia. Our most serious mistakes in foreign policy, from Vietnam to Iraq, have been a blindness to other people’s nationalism and an inability to see ourselves as others see us. Mr. Obama seems to have absorbed an intuitive sensitivity to that problem. For starters, he understood back in 2002 that American troops would not be greeted in Iraq with flowers.

…Mr. Obama’s strength is his vision and charisma and the possibility that his election would heal divisions at home and around the world….

Those are the meaningful distinctions in the Democratic field, not Mrs. Clinton’s spurious claim to “35 years of experience.” …

To put it another way, think which politician is most experienced today in the classic sense, and thus — according to the “experience” camp — best qualified to become the next president.

That’s Dick Cheney. And I rest my case.

San Francisco Chronicle

"Obama’s straight-ahead style"

The questions were finished, but Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was not. He had one more point to make before leaving his meeting with the Chronicle’s editorial board.

…"One thing, when this issue of experience comes up, I always ask the editorial boards to consider: Most of you spend enormous amounts of ink complaining about how broken the politics of Washington are; how sordid and inefficient and ineffective it is. And yet, during the course of campaigns or conversations, you’re looking for validation in terms of how well does this person work the system that you are constantly decrying and saying is broken and doesn’t work.
"I think it is important to ask: Do we need somebody who, in fact, does not speak in the very traditions that you say do not serve the American people? Are we willing to break out of that pattern?"

It was a fair point. It also was illustrative of another quality that came through repeatedly during our meeting at the St. Francis Hotel: his skill at delivering direct, pointed messages in a thoughtful, nonabrasive manner. I wanted to share that moment with our readers. I asked Obama to allow it to be on the record. He agreed.

The other striking quality of the Obama meeting was his willingness to listen to and engage in the questions that were asked - rather than regarding any question as a launching pad for the campaign’s talking points, a practice that has become epidemic in modern American politics. He demonstrated depth on an assortment of issues: mortgage securities, coal, California air-pollution laws. He showed political courage on the issue of Social Security by bringing up his support for raising the income cap on payroll taxes.

You can judge his performance for yourself. The full 52-minute video of the interview is available at sfgate.com.

…He set a high bar for his rivals, at least in this editorial board member’s view.

He also gets extra points for refusing to back-slap or pander before, during or after the meeting.

Lawrence Journal-World & News (KS)

Enthusiastic volunteers for presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., spread out Saturday across Lawrence to plead their case to voters.

About 20 volunteers, including several Kansas University students, braved the freezing temperatures to walk door-to-door, handing out literature to convince Lawrencians to support Obama during the Feb. 5 Democratic caucus. It was part of a statewide canvass, with volunteers trying to boost support in towns and cities including Wichita and Hays.

State Rep. Paul Davis, D-Lawrence, joined the volunteers in spreading Obama’s message of “unity, optimism and hope.”

Davis said he is weary of partisan politics in Washington and believes that Obama is the candidate who can unite the country.

“I’m really tired of hearing about the politics of fear,” Davis said. “It’s been peddled by conservatives for a few election cycles now. I think people are getting tired of it. Scaring people has really not led to the government addressing the problem. They’re ready for something new and different.”

New Haven Register (CT)

NEW HAVEN — “Change agents” rang doorbells across the city Saturday as supporters of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., sought to get his potential voters to polls for the upcoming Connecticut presidential primary.

Before fanning out into the streets, about 70 volunteers, a mix of college students and local activists, gathered in the cafeteria at Wilbur Cross High School to get their marching orders and hear a pep talk from Mayor John DeStefano Jr., who has endorsed Obama.

“Good morning! You’re here to change America!” DeStefano told the cheering audience.

Alluding to the Feb. 5 primary, one of 22 in the country on that date, DeStefano said, “This time the Democratic primary in Connecticut means something. This campaign can instill a sense of optimism and possibility in this nation.”

…[Stacy Spell, a retired New Haven Police Department detective] set out to begin knocking on doors, he said Obama is “someone who can really change this country. I truly believe he’ll be our next president.”

[Tokunbo] Anifalaje, an accountant from the West River neighborhood, said this was her first political campaign.

“He has a new approach to government that invigorates me and excites me,” she said. “He’s talking about our country in a new way, not the old methodology.”

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI)

Nobody knows just how crucial the Wisconsin presidential primary will be next month, but one candidate is treating the state as if it’s as important as his own backyard.

Which it is.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has already raised nearly $400,000 from Wisconsin residents - more than three times that of any of the remaining presidential candidates, Democrat or Republican.

…Obama opened an office in the Milwaukee area last week, putting five paid staffers to work in the state. No other candidate has done the same in preparing for the Feb. 19 primary.

Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said these moves are part of a larger regional strategy.

"We’re building a substantial organization across the Midwest in states holding early contests," LaBolt said Friday.

…In April, the first-term senator accepted Mayor Tom Barrett’s endorsement at a low-dollar fund-raiser - $25 a person - at the Milwaukee Theatre.

Boston Herald

…“Massachusetts is very important. We feel very good about this state,” said Obama spokesman Reid Cherlin…

Hoping to build on the grassroots-style support that propelled Deval Patrick to the governor’s office in 2006, the Obama campaign has launched 36 phone-bank locations and 31 Obama chapters on college campuses in greater Boston, Cherlin said.

Obama has amassed formidable support among minority students, politicians and activists in the state who see history in the making.

A win for Obama “would reinforce to the rest of the country that Massachusetts is slightly ahead of its time,” said Boston City Councilor Sam Yoon, the only Asian member of the council.

“Of all the candidates seeking the presidency, only Obama has the charisma, the intellect, the experience and the integrity needed for change,” the black-run Bay State Banner said in its endorsement last week. “Voters ignore this fact at their own peril.”

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

"So far, I would say he’s my favorite," she said. "I like what’s he’s saying."

Martin, a Monroe Community College student, turns 18 in March and will get to vote in her first presidential election.

She was among 200 people who packed the Venu Resto-Lounge & Nightclub on Saturday for a campaign rally sponsored by Rochester Democrats for Obama. The crowd was comprised of black and white people, young and old, who wore T-shirts and waved signs in support of the Illinois senator. Rally organizers said people are excited about Obama because he embodies the dream espoused decades ago by civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. — that Americans should regard an individual based on character and not race.

"It’s time to be a part of history," said Margaret Potter, 59, of Penfield, a public relations manager for Rochester Democrats for Obama.

…Obama "wants to give the government back to the people," said Ken Preston of Irondequoit, a rally organizer and Democratic delegate for the 25th Congressional District. "People just want to believe again."

…Obama "has an inspirational message of hope," said Berrien, 37, of Rochester. "It sounds kinda corny, but we do need that in America."