Ashton Ellis
Staff Writer
Less than a week remains until the 2006 mid-term elections Nov. 7, which will reveal whether the United States Congress will stay Republican or switch to Democratic control. Whichever party finds itself in power will make it that much easier (or harder) for members of Congress to reach the ultimate prize: replacing President Bush in 2008.
Come Nov. 8, many suspect that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., will announce his intention to become the first African American President of the United States. Before he can do that, however, he must show the American people that he possesses some substance to go with his meteoric rise to national prominence.
At first blush, Obama seems like an ideal candidate. He is the biracial son of academic parents raised to tolerate others and condemn injustice. Educated at Harvard Law School he became the law review’s first black president after emerging as the only candidate acceptable to both liberals and conservatives. His soft-spoken pragmatism helped him deliver the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, prompting supporters to lobby for his inclusion as John Kerry’s vice-presidential running mate.
But while Obama has a glittering resume and bipartisan appeal, he seems to come up short on where he would take the country. In the two years since he was sworn in as the junior senator from Illinois, he has filed no major pieces of legislation, nor has he spoken deeply about his vision for tackling issues such as abortion, gay marriage, immigration, terrorism or taxes.
His voting record is solidly liberal and includes “no” votes to confirm Supreme Court candidates John Roberts and Samuel Alito. Apart from partnering with Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., to publish every government contract (the better to spot waste and fraud), his lack of action is beginning to speak louder than his eloquent words.
My guess is that Obama knows that good looks and a great personal story may be enough to get elected senator, but it takes a clear vision to become president.
The next president must deal with whether to end military occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan, extend the Bush tax cuts, get serious about alternative fuel investment, fix a hemorrhaging Social Security system and rekindle America’s fascination with space exploration. Each of these issues has the potential to reignite Americans’ belief in their ability to shape history in a way that benefits mankind.
Does Obama have it in him to challenge the United States the way Kennedy did to put a man on the moon in under a decade, like Johnson when he declared war on poverty, like Reagan when he said individual initiative, not government, is the solution to man’s problems? In a word, can Obama be transformative?
To answer that question Obama will need to consider carefully his next step. He could heed conventional wisdom and jump into the 2008 presidential fray within days of Tuesday’s elections.
Should Democrats take control of either house of Congress he is likely to find a receptive audience to his proposals, transformative or otherwise. If Republicans retain power, he may yet find it advantageous to pursue innovative solutions knowing that successes offer their own benefits, and failures provide talking points for a national discussion with him as chief spokesman.
If Obama truly wants to move from the Senate to the White House, he must first prove that his candidacy is founded on more than a need to see the other side of an argument.
It may turn out that for all his thoughtfulness the idea of Barack Obama is better than the reality.
11-02-2006