A man with a message
By PHILIP GAILEY
Published January 21, 2007
I guess anything is possible given the public yearning for a break with the rancid politics of recent years, so imagine the president-elect taking the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2009.
"I, Hillary Rodham Clinton, do solemnly swear ..."
Or -
"I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear ..."
Either would be a historic event and a transcendent moment in American politics - the first woman or the first African-American to be elected president. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is two heartbeats away from the presidency. Colin Powell was the first African-American to serve as secretary of state, and Condi Rice the second. But so far neither a woman nor a black has reached the vice presidency or the presidency.
Ordinarily, presidential politics doesn't stir much interest a year out from the first caucus or primary. But we have entered a fascinating political season in which race and gender could shape the outcome. The two leading Democratic presidential hopefuls at this stage of the contest are a 60-year-old former first lady who stood by her man in a White House sex scandal and a 45-year-old African-American - his white mother was from Kansas, his black father from Kenya - who has admitted smoking marijuana and even trying cocaine in his youth (these days he smokes an occasional cigarette).
Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York has experience, money, organization and a famous political name going for her. Voters will have to get used to the name Barack Obama, but the senator from Illinois has rock star appeal, a compelling biography and an inspirational message that is likely to resonate with voters who are fed up with politics as usual. He promises "a new kind of politics" that draws energy from the grass roots.
"Politics has become so bitter and partisan, so gummed up by money and influence, that we can't tackle the big problems that demand solutions," Obama said last week in announcing that he was forming a presidential exploratory committee.
He walks into a room and owns it. His book is at the top of the bestseller list, and his biggest fan is Oprah. For now, he is the darling of the news media and political junkies. Democratic pollster Peter Hart calls him the "most electrifying" candidate since Bobby Kennedy.
His swooning fans have not disconnected Obama from reality. "I am new enough on the national scene that I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views," he wrote in his book The Audacity of Hope.
In the real world of politics, Obama probably has nowhere to go but down. He has yet to face the kind of unrelenting scrutiny and testing that presidential candidates endure. His Senate race was a cakewalk. He must know that today's political phenomenon can become tomorrow's also-ran.
His opponents will say he is long on charisma and short on experience - he was a law professor and state legislator before coming to the U.S. Senate two years ago. Obama's response is, "Look what experience has gotten us in Iraq." He spoke out against the Iraq war as a state legislator and has been steadfast in his opposition, unlike Hillary Clinton, who refuses to renounce her vote for the war, much to the anger of antiwar Democrats.
We will know soon enough what Obama has to offer beyond his promise to lift national politics to higher ground. There is plenty of time down the road for him to flesh out what he would try to accomplish as president. The policy papers can wait. For now, his uplifting message and his strong appeal across generational and racial lines satisfy a hunger for something new.
Obama may well turn out to be a lousy candidate who crashes early, but for the moment he is the only one stirring excitement and speaking to Americans' desire for a different brand of politics. So far, he is saying the right words; we'll know in time if he has the right stuff.