Obama Inspires

One of the reasons I like Barack Obama so much is that he is his own person - he's not a political functionary of back room bosses, not a tool of special interests, not a slick poll-reading, blow-with-the-winds kind of politician.  No.  He's a self-made politician. 

After working on the streets of Chicago for a few years, he went to law school to affect bigger change in the lives of our society's most downtrodden.  At law school, Obama become the first African-American President of the Harvard Law Review.  A few years later he was elected to the Illinois State Senate, where he served for eight years.  His election to the United States Senate and his success in the presidential race reflect his hard work, his vision, and his ability to inspire others to affect change in their communities and in our nation's politics.  Obama's policies, Obama's popularity, Obama's organization . . . it is something that he has developed, that he has inspired, that he has made happen as a result of his leadership.  This is impressive.

I find Senator Clinton, though a perfectly capable senator, to be much less impressive.  She benefits immensely from her husband's legacy, popularity, and (most importantly) the Clinton political machine that has been honed over 20 years of politicking.  Her campaign is largely the same operation as her husband's two presidential campaigns, but with a different Clinton as candidate.  She speaks in the first person plural so often when describing her past accomplishments that I have a hard time seeing where Bill Clinton ends and Hillary Clinton begins.  I can't help but agree with Senator Obama when he quipped in a debate a few weeks ago that he isn't sure who he is running against.

To that end, I found the following comments about Obama's fundraising and organization interesting.  Despite her huge advantages - a former President on the trail for her 24/7, an established political machine, and a very popular brandname - Obama is still in the thick of the race.  Why?  Because Obama inspires.  (From Obama to Clinton: About That Loan, from The Caucus, the NY Times' political blog.)

In January, Mr. Obama raised $32 million for his Democratic presidential bid, the vast majority of which came from online contributions. At the same time, Mrs. Clinton was issuing her campaign a loan to remain competitive in the Super Tuesday states and beyond.

“I think there’s no doubt that she has not generated the kind of grassroots enthusiasm that we have,” Mr. Obama said. “It’s not for lack of trying. She’s got a former president actively fund raising for her as well as people like Terry McAullife, but what we’ve done is created this base where people send $25 checks, $50 checks on an ongoing basis.”

Call it political tithing, where contributors send money to the Obama campaign as though it was the cable bill or the telephone bill.

“That is an enormous advantage to our campaign, something I’m very proud of because as I said, it comes up from the grassroots,” Mr. Obama said.

Asked again whether he intended to accept Mrs. Clinton’s invitation to participate in a series of debates, Mr. Obama said, “I’ve got to spend time with voters.”

“We’ve got seven primaries in seven days. Senator Clinton is better known in a lot of these states,” he said. “I’ve got to do more work on the ground.”

Obama offers an inspiration for tomorrow, not the politics of yesterday.  Please consider voting for Senator Obama when the primaries come to your state. 

Thanks.

Comments

[Rachel]

I absolutely agree! And I find it amazing how many first-time voters (whether they've been eligible to vote for the last twenty years, or this is their first time) are suddenly at the polls and supporting a single candidate.

The Black Eyed Peas take on Obama in a video that brought tears to my eyes:
http://www.dipdive.com/

Enjoy!

[John Petty]

Dang Chris. You've got it bad. :)