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Until today I was still unsure of what to make of the Presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama. I have not consulted with others who work on this website about this post. Therefore you won’t see the word ‘we’ as this is entirely my own opinion. I can credit a report heard on the radio this morning for the conclusion being drawn today.

I looked for a print version of what I heard and was unable to find one. What I recall is a reference to a speech made in Atlanta or Tampa or some other recent campaign event where Senator Obama said his campaign was not about him but ‘your’ hopes and dreams. That is the best I can do on recall. My point is all the hoopla surrounding Barack Obama and his charismatic ability to engage an audience as well as controversy raised by some over his personal history is more of a distraction than anything addressing the facts about a candidate.

I have called attention before to the Democratic party’s reliance on their four-letter word, mantra of ‘hope’. And I mention it again because it is the single most frequent focus of Senator Obama’s Presidential campaign. The effort to stay on a carefully crafted message and avoid specifics is a common characteristic of political campaigns. When forced to address specifics, candidates often resort to dodge and weave or succumb to making promises they can’t keep. The other avenue frequently applied is bashing the incumbent or other competitor for office. Thus far, Senator Obama has bashed the incumbent and relied on the hope mantra. But specifics on what he would bring to the table are lacking.

Recent example headlines display typical campaign topics and vague references with no specifics

Obama addresses violence of many kinds
Obama raises spirits, questions
Obama launches campaign initiative aimed at women
Obama takes message of change to Atlanta
Obama flawlessly spouts out 6.3 cliches per minute

The above examples are good for name recognition but are too vague and typical of an empty campaign.

Senator Obama’s careful use of heartstrings messages is nothing new as the following indicates:

from Obama’s Senate website:

He brought thousands to their feet at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, delivering an inspirational message of hope and optimism. People from all walks of life are drawn to him, crossing age, economic, gender and color lines. And, his name has people seriously thinking aloud, “The next US president may be Black.”

Here is a recent comment about Senator Obama,

a quote from Obama’s wife

Michelle Obama, who introduced her husband, said he knows what women like her are going through as they juggle careers, family and their own well-being.
“The reality is that my husband is a man who understands my struggle and the challenges facing women and families,” she said. “He actually listens to me and has the utmost respect for my perspective and my life experience.”

If a campaign stresses the hope and dreams of citizens, one can only be curious as how electing the candidate would fulfill those hopes and dreams. The quote above from Michelle Obama would seem more genuine and sincere if it were not that what she describes as struggles and challenges, at least for the Obama’s, have not been addressed in terms of personal success demonstrated by financial gain. The financial disclosure below suggests that this campaign shares much in common with all the others. The candidate’s hopes and dreams have been realized to a point substantially further than the citizens for whom he crafts the message.

Obamas’ 2006 income put at $991,296

More than half of finances comes from best-selling book royalties

WASHINGTON - The annual income for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and his wife dropped about $680,000 in 2006 from the nearly $1.7 million they took in the prior year, according to documents released Monday.

Their 2006 income of $991,296 included Obama’s salary of $157,082 and his wife’s administrator’s pay of $273,618 from the University of Chicago Hospitals and $51,200 in director fees from a food distributor, TreeHouse Inc.

Beyond the cold, hard cash, the first thing that stands out is the suggestion that Senator Obama includes improving health care while his wife earns $157,082 as a hospital administrator. How serious can they be about health care reform when one of them is in the business?

The Obama’s have no doubt worked hard for their success as indicated by their financial disclosure. And the Senator’s luck of not being in office for the vote to authorize military force in Iraq allows him to criticize the rest of the field and the President. But there is nothing within the Obama campaign that indicates what would happen if he were elected other than there would be hope and winds of change. This is a typical Democratic candidate who offers much stage presence but no specifics.

The bottom line is Hillary Rodham Clinton is not a good choice based on her past history and that of her husband. John Edwards caved to the party in 2004 and all but insured a loss. Clinton, Edwards and Obama offer nothing new or tangible. Biden, Dodd, Gravel and Kucinich are other ‘official’ Democratic candidates but have little chance. That only leaves New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. And Richardson is currently a big question mark.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 17th, 2007 at 6:49 pm and is filed under Bush, wordpress, campaign, Democrats, Clinton, obama, hillary, Edwards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.