The Chicago Tribune lays out the contrasts between the two Presidential Candidates: Republican John McCain an experienced independent American Leader and War Hero and Senator Barack Obama a Chicago Hyde Park political chameleon with a powerful gift for oratory. thus:
McCain, vowing to restrain government spending, wants to extend the Bush tax cuts. Obama, proposing new spending for health care, wants to boost taxes on wealthier Americans. McCain pledges to prosecute the war in Iraq to a conclusive victory. Obama promises to bring troops home in 16 months.
"These two individuals represent about as stark a choice as we've ever had in American politics," said Darrell West, professor of political science at Brown University. "Voters are going to get what Barry Goldwater long ago promised — 'a choice instead of an echo.' "
He added, "The biggest differences are age, race and philosophy ... Those are things that translate into different perspectives on public policy."
Even their campaign styles seem to come from different worlds. Obama electrifies large arenas, while McCain is far more comfortable in smaller gatherings. Possibly because of this, McCain on Wednesday challenged Obama to a series of 10 town hall-style campaign debates.
"What we haven't seen are these two candidates face-to-face with one another," said David Lanoue, chairman of the political science department at the University of Alabama and author of "From Camelot to the Teflon President." "Clearly, Obama is a very inspiring, eloquent speaker. … He is best behind a podium with a prepared speech. McCain is best in a person-to-person situation with no prepared remarks."
"I think there is another dimension, and that is whether Barack Obama is seen as an elitist candidate," said Herb Asher, professor of political science at Ohio State University. "McCain will try to wrap himself in the mantle of change and present Obama as the agent of the wrong kind of change. ... It's really going to be a chance for Barack Obama to fill in the rest of his biography."
Discontent unites
And the choice arrives at a time when Americans are unified in one thing: their discontent.
Seven in 10 Americans are dissatisfied with the state of the nation, the latest Pew Center survey has found, and 27 percent of those surveyed in mid-May voiced disapproval of the job Bush is doing.
"The fundamentals are certainly going in a Democratic direction," Pew's Kohut said. "But there are rather sharp sets of really well-defined positives and negatives for each of these candidates, which makes it a much closer race."
mdsilva@tribune.com
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obama-mccain-differencejun08,0,3350838.story
The biggest differences are not age, race and experience - hardly. They are the people each man brings to his corner- for John McCain, Medal of Honor recipient Col. Bud Day and for Senator Obama, domestic terrorist Billy Ayers and Mike Pfleger.
More significantly, Barack Obama, whom I early tagged as a political chameleon, comfortably moved among any political opportunists who could also help him: Rezko, Billy Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn, Illinois Senator Emil Jones, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Alice Palmer, and Pastor Mike Pfleger.
Click my post title for more.
2 comments:
Political chameleons?
"Now that's a debate I'm willing to have!"
I'm sure you've read this beaut of a quote from Johnny "Straight Talk" McCain from a speech in February 2000:
"Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance, whether they be Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton on the left, or Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell on the right."
This was during the 2000 Presidential campaign, back in those youthful days when Johnny was first running for President.
It was a time when his pal George W. had the support of evangelicals or "agents of intolerance" like the late great Jerry Falwell locked up.
And so the Straight Talk Express sought to run up the middle. Take the "Maverick" position.
As luck would have it though, things didn't work out for Johnny in his first White House bid. However, proving you can teach an old dog new tricks, Johnny learned from his experience. He saw the light of Jesus and in 2006 hugged Jerry Falwell and said he was wrong to call him an "agent of intolerance". Even gave a speech at Jerry's Liberty University.
Praise the Lord for timing! Johnny didn’t know it then, but the support of Jerry Falwell and his fanatics would prove to be a major boost in his 2008 run for President
Excellent Riposte, God Son!
True enough. Back in 2000 I could not be dragged to the polls to vote for anyone but a Democrat. Nothing is constant but Change.
Senator Obama might have served himself better by 'walking' up the political gradus, but he chose to take the express escalator with the Hyde Park Progressives.
He is never associated with the best people in Illinois politics with whom he worked so well while in Springfield.
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