Obamamania

Two thoughts about Senator Obama.

First, he has the look of a future President, the
brains of a future President, the idealism of
a future President, the talent of a future
President, the charisma of a future President,
he may well deserve to be a future President,
and he may be a future President.

Second, Senator Obama may be the least
qualified person in the history of national
politics to have his name mentioned as a
future President for an election coming in
two years, because he has credible national
experience for a period measured barely in
months.

Senator Obama has close to zero national security experience, close to
zero national
defense and foreign policy experience, close
to zero national political experience, close to
zero national legislative experience and close
to zero experience being tested in the crucible
of brutal national politics.

It is not his fault; it just is.

A word to the wise: the bigger they are, in the
eyes of the national media, the harder they
fall, in the eyes of the national media.

A suggestion: the smartest and most brilliant
move Senator Obama could make, is withdraw
his name from consideration for President in
2008, fairly soon. This would skyrocket his
national reputation, credibility and stature in
ways that would skyrocket his potential for
becoming President, because it would be
based on a wise act, not a media and political
fad.

A prediction: that is exactly what he will do,
because I suspect he does have the judgment
and temperament to someday be president,
and is smart enough to know, that which the
media builds up, the media will crash down.

This goes to a larger question, the shallowness
of American politics, and American media
coverage of American politics. The idea
that someone is "new" becomes the fad
of the month, no matter that commander
in chief experience is a preeminent quality
needed for our next commander in chief.

Obamamania is a rejection of the political
status quo, a time in our history where our
political system is in near universal disrepute
among our people, when a President reaches
disastrous levels of unpopularity, when a
Congress drenched in corruption reaches
disastrous levels of unpopularity, when the
Republican Party is widely seen as fossilized
and corrupt while, in truth, the Democratic Party is not perceived as
much better and
prays to finally be elected as the party of default.

The American people are genuinely concerned
about the future of our country, yet they turn
on the television sets and watch commercials
that are nothing more than a sickening and
depressing spectacle of one party of politicians
spitting venom and dirt against the other party
of politicians.

Obamamania is a refreshing story of a United
States Senator who is a breath of fresh air,
uncorrupted by the process, full of idealism
and intelligence, articulate, uplifing, and a
man who may well be our President and may well deserve to be our
President, someday.

He is that good.

He has that much promise.

But 2008 is not his year.

My hope and prediction: he is wise enough
to know that, and if he is, and takes himself
out for 2008, Obamamania will grow greater
than ever, but for the right reasons.

Meanwhile, voter rolls in Ohio are now being
purged, letters are arriving to hispanics in
California threatening them if they vote,
Maryland has witnessed major problems
with voting machines, and voting problems,
fixes, and irregulaties create the probability
of crisis and chaos on election day.

A subject Senator Obama would do well to
champion with the heights of his eloquence.

A subject Democratic Leaders would do well
to fight far more aggressively in the coming
days.

A subject far more important than the fresh
face fad of the month.

A subject I will return to soon, in brutal fashion
because time is short, the danger is real, and Democrats have still not
learned the lessons of 2000, 2002, and 2004.