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Title: On Obama's steadiness
Source:
jamesfallows.theatlantic.com
URL Source: http://jamesfallows.theatlantic.com ... 08/10/on_obamas_steadiness.php
Published: Oct 19, 2008
Author: James Fallows
Post Date: 2008-10-19 00:26:20 by Ferret Mike
Keywords: None
Views: 324
Comments: 12
18 Oct 2008 11:05 pm As mentioned yesterday, what struck me most, in reviewing Barack Obama's oratorical and debate performance since the first cattle-call, Gravel-equipped televised debate early last year, was his unchanging nature. He got better as he went along, but as an improving version of the same thing. I said I couldn't be sure whether Obama's consistency arose from deliberate strategic choice, flawlessly executed over a very long time, or whether it simply reflects the way he is. Odds favor the latter. Reader D.M. writes about the way this trait has worked in the general election campaign: Second, by being bland, consistent and totally straight, any tactical changes by opponents makes them look erratic, scheming and without integrity. Had Obama joined in the personal mudslinging, he would have slipped his tether, and would have looked just like McCain. He's a mirror against which we view the opponent. He's a survey marker against which all territorial changes of opponents can be measured. It really is a new kind of politics. And in a related post here, Michael Batz argues that through the course of the debates, Obama has won the argument for "argument" -- that is, for a calm and reasoned approach to issues, not by going with emotion, anger, and the gut. He wrote to me: As always, I give the time-battered caution that we can't know how and whether these traits will work in office until we get a chance to see. But in making it likely that we will get that chance, the campaign approach has indeed been remarkable. And, as a subject for a later day, I remember how often, how vehemently, and with what certainty Obama's detractors during the Democratic primaries said that he could not, possibly, in any way, in any real world, withstand the onslaught of GOP negative campaigning once it geared up against him. That he's been seriously underestimated twice -- by the Hillary Clinton camp, and now by McCain -- doesn't prove his potential in office but is interesting.
I'm hoping it is a deliberate calculation on Obama's part, or else it is genuine and not a calculation at all, because it is brilliant. By being a rock- steady, unflappable, boring (according to some commentators) - Obama accomplishes two things. It's a lot harder to find any personality hooks for passionate dislike. See, e.g. Hillary's dynamism, Bush's feigned Texas dialect, McCain's temper.
In short, McCain is going for emotion and Obama for reason. Ordinarily, I'd go with emotion, but crazy times flip everything on its ear. I also am amazed, honestly, that Obama has used these debates to UTTERLY reverse his public persona from the great lofty orator with few specifics to the down- in-the-numbers reassuring policy wonk at the same time he practically destroyed McCain's leadership mantle by baiting him into anger and carefully pushing the message of McCain as erratic and unpredictable. It's pretty remarkable.
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#1. To: Ferret Mike (#0)
Thanks, Mike. Good article. His unflappability is remarkable, and I'm glad I'm not the only person who thinks Obama is brilliant... (October surprise thread) and it increasingly looks like we may have the opportunity to see how he does as President. GOBAMA!
I recall the same rhetoric about Clinton when he was the Golden Boy. I guess it'll all be different this time, eh?
I disliked Clinton. He rubbed me the wrong way so many times in the election year the first time he ran I never went to his appearance in Eugene, Oregon and I didn't vote for him either time time he ran. My same intuition that warms to Obama range three alarm bells when I was figuring Clinton out.
I dislike politicians. I also mistrust the impulse in people that has a need to seek "Der Leader". That impulse has been the cause of millions of dead innocents and untold suffering. Obama might well be a nice guy. That won't make him immune from the crimes of the State for which he'll be culpable. Mark my words: Obama or McCain - no matter who wins, one of them will be blamed for the Great Sorrow that's coming.
No kidding. Check out THIS article, it will truly blow your mind.
you're correct. that is a mindblowing article. wadosy, this is one that might interest you because of reference to peak oil in USSR prior to its collapse.
kinda hard to say what's going on with the russians... during the 1987 US stock market crash, the market was behaving pretty much the same as it is now. at the time, it seemed possible to me that there was some battle going on between the US and the soviets... and it seemed possible to me that the russians won, and, out of a position of strength, finally had enough breathing room to rid themselves of their empire, which they could no longer afford... ...all this being possible... not too awful probable. . anyhow, russian liquids production peaks in 1988, at maybe 11.5 million barrels a day, despite the propagandists' bullshit about russians' abiotic oil... and production crashes to about half in a couple years. so russia struggles out of its crash... which was duck soup because russia has its own oil, enough to export millions of barrels a day, and the price of oil was skyrocketing. i'm still suspicious of the whole chain of events, from the US stock market crash of 1987 onward... it is just barely possible that russians saw all this bullshit coming for years, at least since the early 70s, when american production peaked, and they did a rope-a-dope, sucked israeli american support into their oil industry ---by more-or-less giving russian oil, gas and pipelines to israeli russians--- and got back on their feet. once russian production started upwards again, putin began reclaiming his oil, to the dismay of the israeli americans who had been counting on israeli russians' participation in the PNAC project. ASPO oilwatch monthly small pdf lately, it looks like russian production is peaking again, a little lower than the 1988 peak, but on the other hand, it could be that russians are in no big hurry to pump the stuff right now... they may wait until israeli america collapses. all they have to do is sweat out the possibility of israel going nuts and starting world war 3.
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#2. To: salemguy, Ferret Mike (#1)
I'm not the only person who thinks Obama is brilliant...
#3. To: bluegrass (#2)
#5. To: Ferret Mike (#3)
I disliked Clinton.
#6. To: bluegrass (#5)
(Edited)
#9. To: Elliott Jackalope, wadosy (#6)
#10. To: christine (#9)
Replies to Comment # 10.