{"id":7720,"date":"2006-06-19T10:42:12","date_gmt":"2006-06-19T14:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com\/?p=7720"},"modified":"2006-06-19T10:42:12","modified_gmt":"2006-06-19T14:42:12","slug":"obama-speculation-kicks-into-high-gear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/obama-speculation-kicks-into-high-gear\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama speculation kicks into high gear"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve noted on several occasions in recent months that [tag]Barack Obama[\/tag] says he’s not planning to run for [tag]president[\/tag] in 2008, but when the Washington Post runs a front-page item<\/a> on the possibility, the political world can’t help but notice.<\/p>\n

Obama, a first-term Democratic senator from [tag]Illinois[\/tag], seems to be hitting the right notes these days. During Senate recesses, he has been touring the country at breakneck pace, basking in the sudden fame of a politician turned pop star. Along the way, he has been drawing crowds and campaign cash from [tag]Democrats[\/tag] starved for a fresh face and ready to cheer what Obama touts as “a politics of hope instead of a politics of fear.”<\/p>\n

His office fields more than 300 requests a week for appearances. One Senate Democrat, curious about Obama’s charisma, took notes when watching him perform at a recent political event. State parties report breaking fundraising records when Obama is the speaker.<\/p>\n

The money he is bringing in for fellow Democrats is shaping up as an important influence on 2006. And the potential Obama is demonstrating as a political performer — less than two years after his elevation from the Illinois state legislature — is prompting some colleagues to urge him to turn his attention to [tag]2008[\/tag] and a race for the [tag]presidency[\/tag]. Obama has made plain he is at least listening.<\/p>\n

“I think he is unique,” said Illinois’s senior senator, Richard J. Durbin (D). “I don’t believe there is another candidate I’ve seen, or an elected official, who really has the appeal that he does.” As for the 2008 presidential race, “I said to him, ‘Why don’t you just kind of move around Iowa and watch what happens?’ I know what’s going to happen. And I think it’s going to rewrite the game plans in a lot of presidential candidates if he makes that decision.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Charles Schumer called him a “[tag]phenomenon[\/tag]” and noted that Obama is “more requested than anybody else” in the party’s hierarchy for fundraising and campaign appearances on behalf of congressional candidates.” Obama is not only as welcome in Nebraska as he is in Connecticut, he also draws presidential-size crowds.<\/p>\n

All of this, of course, comes just a month after Obama hired<\/a> two nationally known Democratic consultants as advisers both of whom have experience in presidential [tag]campaign[\/tag]s.<\/p>\n

And then there was Obama’s speech<\/a> at the Take Back America conference last week.
\n
\nMother Jones’ Art Levine noted<\/a> that the conference featured some of the top leaders in the Dem Party, many of whom offered laundry lists filled with the issues they find important. Now, there’s nothing particularly wrong with laundry lists; they help highlight a person’s priorities and values. But when Obama spoke, the junior senator from Illinois offered a [tag]vision[\/tag] and a broader understanding of what it means to be a progressive in 2006. After explaining the principle of “social Darwinism,” Obama said<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“Yes, our greatness as a nation has depended on self-reliance and individual initiative and a belief in the free market. But it’s also depended on our sense of mutual regard for each other, our sense that we have a stake in each other’s success. You know, that everybody should have a shot at opportunity.<\/p>\n

“Americans understand this. They know the government can’t solve all their problems, but they expect the government can help because they know it’s an expression of what they’re learning in Sunday school, what they learn in their church, in their synagogue, in their mosque, a basic moral precept that says that I have to look out for you and I have responsibility for you and you have responsibility for me; that I am your keeper and your are mine. That’s what America is.<\/p>\n

“And so I am eager to have this argument with the Republican Party about the core philosophy of America, about what our story is. We shouldn’t shy away from that debate.<\/p>\n

“The time for our identity crisis as progressives is over. Don’t let anybody tell you that we don’t know what we stand for.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Obama added, “I guarantee you America is looking for us to [tag]lead[\/tag]. And if we do it, it’s not going to be a Democratic agenda or a liberal agenda or a progressive agenda, it’s going to be an American agenda.”<\/p>\n

I have to admit, my opinion about an Obama presidential campaign is in flux. Whereas a couple of months ago I thought it was a non-starter, I’m beginning to think there’s something to this. A fresh face, with rock-star appeal nationwide, and who can articulate a progressive vision of government as well as anyone I’ve seen in a long while, may be the best hope for bringing excitement and passion into the next presidential campaign.<\/p>\n

Put it this way: if I’m a [tag]Republican[\/tag] consultant, there are a lot of Dem presidential contenders I’m not afraid of. But if I’m that same Republican consultant, I don’t want to see Obama throw his hat into the ring. Something to think about.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve noted on several occasions in recent months that [tag]Barack Obama[\/tag] says he’s not planning to run for [tag]president[\/tag] in 2008, but when the Washington Post runs a front-page item on the possibility, the political world can’t help but notice. Obama, a first-term Democratic senator from [tag]Illinois[\/tag], seems to be hitting the right notes these […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[617],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7720\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}