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The NY Times’ Caucus blog wrote about a very poignant conversation with Ethel Kennedy, the sister-in-law of Sen. Ted Kennedy and widow of former US Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. Mrs. Kennedy is an avid Obama supporter.
Mr. Obama’s wife, Michelle, and other close friends have expressed concern about [Sen. Obama’s] safety if he decides to run for president. His aides have already been discussing security plans, in case he runs.
As she rode in an elevator, surrounded by a few members of her family, Mrs. Kennedy lowered her head when she was asked whether such concerns should prevent Mr. Obama from running. She shook her head, indicating her answer was no.
“Life,†she said, “is an adventure.â€
Meanwhile, I couldn’t agree more with Neil Steinberg’s smackdown of the breathless reaction to that Washington Post story about Obama’s youthful drug use.
Maybe he’ll pick his nose on camera and this will turn out to be the year you can’t do that.
But if downfall comes, it won’t be because of something he may or may not have snorted in 1979. America craves candor and it craves intelligence, and so long as Obama doesn’t undermine those allures, he’ll still have a chance.
And on a completely unrelated note, Tavis Smiley was interviewed in the Northwest Herald and had this to say about Obama.
Q: Does the buzz surrounding Barack Obama as a possible contender for the White House indicate American is ready to elect a black president?
A: I think we are, but it’s got to be the right person. And I think in some ways Barack has the right image. Whether he has the right agenda and whether he can sell that agenda is another issue.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 6:02 am
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Tavis Smiley? Ethel Kennedy? What’s next? Yakov Smirnoff comes out in support of Obama?
We know you want to keep the buzz going Rich, but c’mon…you are giving cynics like me far too much ammo.
Comment by Leroy Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 6:32 am
Enough already about Obama’s purported lack of an agenda or lightweight status. Don’t embarrass yourselves by showing your ignorance until you’ve read both of his books.
As far as I’m concerned, it’s the agenda (and overall position regarding politics) that makes him an attractive candidate, not the media-hyped “image” that has to be one of Obama’s greatest liabilities.
Also, for the record: if Obama can get a generation of young people excited about politics who have previously been jaded because of the pettiness and partisanship of his predecessors on both sides of the aisle, that’s a major accomplishment. Restoring (or improving) the health of a democracy is about as substantive as you get.
So, with all due respect, shut up until you have something informed to say.
Comment by Too many cynics, too little knowledge Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 7:25 am
Where it will become clear whether Obama is all he’s cracked up to be will be after the hype begins to fade. Anyone can look good when the media wants him to do so; it takes a much rarer person to stick to his guns when the media turns on him. The usual pattern is for media darlings to start believing what they read about themselves in the press and then start letting themselves be directed by media politics rather than principle. If Obama can harness the hype (as I think he’s doing pretty well) and then gracefully move off his pedestal and rejoin the rest of us once his honeymoon’s over, that says a lot.
Comment by Too many cynics, too little knowledge Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 7:37 am
Neil Steinberg is right on target - candor - smart effective candor is what Obama needs to shield him from polygon attacks at his character, skin color, diet, tailor, dental floss, night-stand reading, memberships, and whether or not he is a Yosemite Sam or Elmer Fudd aficionado. ( A taste for Foghorn Cleghorn would be the tie-breaker.)
So long as Senator Obama has the skills of effective politicians at his fingertips and not the Mad-Hatter squad that consistantly crowds and Democratic candidate’s stage, he should be OK.
The Clinton’s are beating the bushes for Obama ammo - not to mention the ever-ready lock-and-load crowd of the GOP.
Comment by Pat Hickey Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 7:46 am
America wants candor and intelligence? I’m sorry, Mr. Steinberg, please explain President W then. And the return of Gov. Blago as well.
I realize the alternatives in both cases weren’t terribly appealing, but I’m just sayin’.
Comment by Stuck with Sen. CPA Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 8:27 am
The news media are dominated by liberal elites and it is fashionable to say that youthful misuse of substances doesn’t matter. It does, though. Not everybody can avoid addiction. Thousands of young people die annually and the lives of thousands of others are ruined by misuse of drugs and alcohol. The government spends billions of our dollars annually to fight the drug war, albeit not very successfully. Billions more are spent incarcerating first time drug offenders.
Every day in this country, somebody high on something crashes their car into some innocent and destroys his/her life and the lives of family and friends.
It’s a serious issue and Obama, in his greed for power, seems to be trying to minimize it, perhaps taking his cue from the media and media advisors.
A cozy financial relationship with Tony Rezko and now a history of illegal drug use. Should this prevent him from being President? No, but we need to take a hard, critical look at this man’s ability to make sound judgments.
Comment by Cassandra Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 8:42 am
Used drugs in high school and college…BIG DEAL. Once again, we are given “shocking” information about Barak Obama that turns out to be this? I thought the information about drug usage by Rod Blagojevich was far more shocking - he claims he didn’t touch the stuff.
He’s black, he used drugs, he has a funny name - can he be president? Are these people serious? This is no way to investigate whether a presidential candidate has what it takes. This is a People magazine approach, not a serious look at Obama.
I still don’t see a serious approach to Obama’s candidacy by most so-called reporters. Just crap like this.
The longer the media continues to make laughable mini-scandals out of rumors and tripe like this about Obama, the more they innoculate him from real criticism. At this point, the media has succeeded in only making idiots out of those who have problems with these mini-scandals and themselves. It seems that what they hope to accomplish is making anyone who doesn’t want this lightweight San Francisco liberal as president look like they care about his skin color, name and pot usage. Thats blatantly misleading.
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 9:06 am
Obama is not a “black candidate” with a “black agenda.” He is an “American candidate” with an “American agenda.” He is above using “sensitive terms” like “plantation politics” and “slave mentality.” He does not tell demeaning jokes about minority groups. I will continue to vote for Obama because of who he is and is not.
Comment by Patriot Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 9:11 am
I’ve always been under the impresion that Tavis Smiley felt that the first black President should be Tavis Smiley.
Comment by So-Called "Austin Mayor" Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 9:12 am
Baserock Obama is biracial. That is perhaps more important tham him being African-American. He can identify with not really knowing his paternal family and not looking like the family who he was raised by. Those are compex issues and the media needs to report facts, not their fantasy.
Comment by Wumpus Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 9:16 am
In the evil old plantation days, you were black if one of your great-great grandparents were. These people were called octaroons, being one-eighth black.
Just how far have we come? We see Barak Obama or Tiger Woods as black? Frankly, Barak Obama is the son of an African, so if he isn’t African-American, who is? Teresa Heinz was raised in Madigascar and claimed to be African-American too. Is she?
It is really weird that a culture claiming it wants a color-free society seems so quick to label people based on skin color.
However, as fascinating it is to debate what Obama means regarding civil-war era stereotyping, what we should be doing is debate where he stands on real issues. The Media is more fascinated with what Obama is, than where he stands.
Both our senators are heavy duty liberals. They are both pro-government, pro-abortion, and pro-illegals. They are both insanely unrealistic regarding the biggest issue we face today - Iraq. Whether it is Durbin or Obama, when one of these bloviating mini-LBJs runs for president, we should be discussing why his stands on the issues are the wrong ones.
Not what color he is. Or the rest of the drivel passing for “news” about Obama. Obama’s ideas belong in 1958, not 2008.
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 9:31 am
I’m gonna offer some support to what “Too many cynics, too little knowledge” had to say. “VanillaMan,” you rant all the time about “issues,” but unless I’m mistaken, you rarely if ever actually address any actual issues with which you disagree. His positions are out there. He has a long voting record in the state and a couple of years in the US Senate, two books and several position papers. It’s a hollow argument.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 9:43 am
I’m telling you, Al Gore plans to run again.
Comment by Squideshi Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 10:21 am
Cassandra, were you (are you?) concerned about George W. Bush’s substance abuse?
Comment by Carl Nyberg Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 11:03 am
I don’t know if I’d agree with all of his positions if I had a choice between a moderate Republican and a leftie Democrat, but if anyone cares that the cat got high back in high school and college, they need to get a life and stop reading the tabloids so much. This is such a non-issue, although I note that they were doing it to Bush about his reckless youth, so I suppose that’s why everyone’s on this now, just to dish it out fairly to everyone, I suppose.
OK! You smoked a joint. We don’t care. Next?
Comment by Angie Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 11:44 am
Al Gore is not running again. Please, Lord in Heaven, tell me he’s not running again. I’d take a less experienced Obama than the carbon based robot if I only had a choice between two Democrats. No, not Gore.
Comment by Angie again Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 11:45 am
Carl,
Yes, and I said in a post earlier this week, I don’t think a history of substance abuse alone should be cause for not supporting a presidential candidacy. On the other hand, it shouldn’t be discounted either.
Comment by Cassandra Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 12:37 pm
VM,
Barack’s positions,like Durbin’s, while I would not characterize them as you did, are the positions of a majority of voting citizens of Illinois. That is why they got elected. As hard as it may be for you to believe, it is your conservative, pro-gun, anti-choice, xenophobic approach to immigration ,pro-Iraq war views that are out of the mainstream…at least in Illinois. What scares the GOP and right wing the most is that, unlike Kerry or Gore, Barack is a popular,charismatic candidate with a real chance to win.
After 8 years of GW, we need a real leader to clean up the mess. Barack has some pretty clear ideas on what the problems are and how to fix them.
As much as I admire the Clintons, I would definitely go with Obama if he decides to take the plunge.
Comment by Bill Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 5:21 pm
I think it’s fair to take a look at Senator Obama’s drug use even if he only experimented during his youth. You should see the screening process for the FBI as my cousin as informed me. If you even admit that you toked on a joint in High School they don’t take you. I think the CPD psychological test is the same. Anyway….we are not electing someone to President of a school council. We are talking about President of the United States here. Does that make someone shallow, prejudiced, or not open minded if they feel more comfortable in voting for the candidate that does not have a background with drug use? I don’t think so. And please, I am not suggesting that Obama was a big druggie. My humble opinion is that it is fair game. There will be voters that are more comfortable in casting a ballot for the drug free candidate. I think the cocaine issue will hurt him, and not just among conservative caucasion seniors.
Comment by swede Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 10:14 pm
Enough about Obama’s charisma. I don’t care if he’s male, female, white, black, or green–what does he plan to actually do once in office?
Comment by Squideshi Saturday, Jan 6, 07 @ 10:20 am