Apparently He Is Ready

Over 14 months ago The Huffington Post ran my article, "He's Ready" describing why Barack Obama would run and why he would do well.

Friends and political experts thought I was crazy, naive. "He's too young." "He has no experience." "He's a Freshman Senator - he barely knows where the men's room is in the Capitol Building." "We're not ready to elect a black man."

The people living in Iowa, the home of "The Field of Dreams" thought otherwise last night and the stirring, Martin Luther King-esque acceptance speech and soulful, confident presence of this Freshman Senator, this first African American to win an American primary, were powerful testaments to their confidence.

The lesson here, I believe, is that voters are not, and never will be, driven primarily by age or experience. They also will not be driven primarily by issues or political party. What human beings crave, in their personal lives and from their political leaders, is to be inspired, uplifted and moved.

That is why Barack Obama, from that first speech in Boston in the Summer of 2004, has been such a "rock star".

The secret in human communication is to leave a person or an audience - through the force of your personality - feeling better than they did when you greeted them. THAT, the non-verbal "feel good factor", (like what one experiences at a good rock concert), is the common denominator of the most popular Presidents we have had in the past century - Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, JFK, Reagan and Clinton. THAT is why yet another man from Hope, Arkansas, with very little money, soared to the top of the Republican pile last night and THAT is why it should really be no surprise that Barack Obama won Iowa.

Now that, at least, the people of the state of Iowa believe he IS ready, the challenge for Sen. Obama is to stay real as the pressure increases. To continue his success he has to stay connected to that refreshing, raw essence that draws in and lifts up people, regardless of their age, ethnicity or party. Consultants, pollsters and focus groups did not create the Barack Obama phenomenon, but they could derail it.

Authenticity and "Authentic Passion" are the indispensable ingredients in the creation of this transcendent kind of relationship between a leader and the lead, a formula that Sen. Clinton, Gov. Romney and others have not yet learned. To paraphrase Tip O'Neil, "All politics is human" and no amount of paid political ads will ever replace what transformational speakers and leaders like Barack Obama bring to the arena.

Comments

[larry278]

You told us so. Some people in Iowa agree with you.

[ProudLiberalDan]

"Now that, at least, the people of the state of Iowa believe he IS ready, the challenge for Sen. Obama is to stay real as the pressure increases."

Interesting that BOTH major parties had winners who's voters at least perceived as "real".

In a system where the Head of State and the Chief Executive and Commander-in-Chief are all merged, and there is a good argument for splitting up the Head of State and Chief Executive functions as many democracies do.

As Head of State, the President has the power of the bully pulpit to inspire the country to move forward and think big. Reagan and JFK are revered for how they acted as head of state by many people who disagree with their policies as Chief Executive.

One thing Iowa did settle is that the American people want to look forward and not back, and they want to be led by a genuine person. Romney's defeat is significant in this regard too.

[oafishcad]

Feelings, nothing more than feelings. I want more than feelings from my candidate. Sorry Obama, you should have waited until you had some real credentials beyond giving good feel-good speeches.

[whimsicalpig]

Aside from all the dreamy talk about "change" and uplifting rhetoric,

I hope this guy has a well-thought out plan for the impending depression he will inherit.

I realize everyone is desperate to come out from under the trauma of an unethical, tone-deaf bunch of self-absorbed elitists, BUT....

Getting all the good "stuff" that everyone is anticipating out of an Obama administration may not be possible while we try and heal this crippled economic situation brought on by

1) a war that is in the trillions and funded through loans to China,

2) less income then outlay in our government budget.

3) the continuing decline of our middle class due to economic principles beyond the scope of our congress to effect.

this list could go on and on just read the economic news with regularity

Was this serious and not easily fixed info in the Obama speaches?

The pipe dreamers that flocked to the poles have hamstrung the democratic party leaving us with the 3 most easily defeated candidates come next november.

Just because obama and hillary were so well funded by the special interests, as to allow them continued access to the media, doesn't mean they were the best candidates.

If madison avenue has been able to convince us to eat all the fast food and pre-packaged salt infested glop that passes for food these days, then...

I am not surprised they sold us these undigestible pawns of the corporate world, hillary and obama

[DudeUnit23]

Dear Mr. Greene,

With all due respect, considering your credentials I find it astonishing that you can write "this first African American to win an American primary" when this is not even CLOSE to the truth. The facts are as follows:(from http://meteor-blades.dailykos.com/)

"In 1984, the Rev. Jesse Jackson became the second black person to seek the Democratic nomination. Jackson won primaries in Virginia, South Carolina, and Louisiana, garnering 3.15 million votes nationwide (a fifth of the total). However, he only received 8 percent of the committed delegates, coming in third behind Walter Mondale (6.8 million) and Gary Hart (6.2 million). Only 20 percent of Jackson's total was from non-blacks, and he won 77 percent of the black vote. He got 1.5 percent of the vote in the Iowa caucuses.

In 1988, Jackson did far better, for a time becoming the front-runner after winning the Democratic caucus in Michigan. He went on to victory in 11 primaries, including five in the South, capturing 6.6 million votes and, eventually gaining 1200 delegates at the Democratic Convention, second to Dukakis (who won 9.7 million votes). That year, 31 percent of Jackson's vote came from non-black voters, and he got 92 percent of the African American vote. In Iowa, he came in fourth, with 11 percent of the vote in a field of 13 Democratic presidential contenders."

Please do your homework before you hand in your essay.