Obama addressed the nation the other night. You should watch if you missed it.
Everyone seems to be talking about whether or not he should run in '08. Many are saying he is not qualified or inexperienced. This bothers me a little bit, and I think people ignore or forget some of the following:
1) You do not accidently become editor of the Harvard Law Review, so the man has a brain. (A contrast to the present)
2) He has been a successful civil rights lawyer and advocate for people without voices. (A nice change from our current president who advocates for Halliburton and oil companies.)
3) Points 1 & 2 also hint at the fact that the man can speak in public, think on his feet, and create an argument. (Again, traits we have not seen in the White House since the West Wing went off of the air.)
4) Obama is often criticized for not having foreign policy experience (which didn't stop Regan, Bush 2, and Clinton), but people forget that Obama's father was from Africa--a continent that will have major political impact (much negative) in the next century. It would be nice to have a president with automatic credibility on that continent.
5) No presidential candidate can be fully qualified for this job. If a C student can be presdient, Obama is more than qualified (not that Bush has set the bar very high). From the days of Kennedy to our present day, presidents have touted the many experts they bring in to run the administration. Obama would be no different.
6) Presidents must be good communicators. They need to direct discussion and bring together coalitions. When was the last time we saw anyone like Obama energize our country?
8:03:20 PM  permanent link Google It!
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