Dowd to Obama: ‘Brush It Off’
While I can’t say I’m a huge fan of Maureen Dowd’s, I agreed with a lot of what she had to say in her column in today’s NYT, in particular, this:
[Obama] can create an uplifting new kind of politics if he becomes president, but first he’s going to have to get past the shallow and vicious old politics he says he disdains (even if his campaign knows how to dip into the Clinton toolbox).
The thorny questions Obama got in the debate were absolutely predictable, yet he seemed utterly unprepared and annoyed by them. He did not do well for the same reason he failed to outmaneuver Hillary in a year’s worth of debates: he disdains the convention, the need for sound bites and witty flick-offs and game-changing jabs.
He needs to be less philosophical and abstract, and more visceral and personal. Some of the topics he acted dismissive about are real things on the minds of many Americans.
Many of you will disagree with those statements — just as you disagreed yesterday, when I highlighted similarly critical analysis from two writers at Politico. But the facts of the matter stand: If Obama wants to transform “old politics,” he must first prove he can face and prevail against “old politics,” with something more than annoyance.
As before, I’m reaching and repeating this conclusion as an Obama supporter.
5 Responses to “Dowd to Obama: ‘Brush It Off’”
Pete — Maureen Dowd is the most vapid non-thing in existence. Does anybody, anybody, please, anybody else (who by definition has a near 100% probability of having more substance) have something to say about this, instead?
The tone of her column was much different than Politico's. She was merely commenting that he needs to do a better job of confronting reality (which is true) while theirs was a self justification of the media's role in perpetuating the system. Obama should be serious about confronting the system by actively engaging people that have concerns while also doing a better job of defending his competitors against inane blather as well. I thought his answer about the Bosnia thing in the last debate was a good start.
Pete,
I also have high regard for Dowd's style, humor and insights.
And I agree, as an Obama supporter, that he needs to improve his political Aikido.
He has to win if he wants to change things.
My Hero Lincoln was an aggressive politician who had superb instincts of what to say and when to say it. It got him elected and a relatively rare second term.
Obama was surprisingly flat in dealing with the petty attacks leveled against him by ABC and Clinton during the debate. But blaming the target and not the attackers is counterproductive.
How would you feel after being asked about Wright's love for America or flag pins?
Dowd's tome is different than Politico's was, and that's why I'm more receptive to her thoughts on the matter.
I was surprised that Obama seemed to be surprised by the stupid part of the questioning. Like it or not, a politician has to expect that.
I remember JFK's response to LBJ's making much of his experience. JFK answered by saying that Johnson was doing such a good job in the Sanate, he should continue doing waht he was so good at, while he, JFK, moved on to the WH.
With that bit of witty humor, he avoided a long exchange about experience or the lack thereof. and came out on top.
This brings me to reflecting on what we, the Obama supporters, expect of him.
So many hopes have been pinned to his candidacy, that I wonder at what point we fail to see the man (who is not a superman but has his natural limitations),who lives inside the candidate.
Well. I believe even old dogs can learn new tricks. I only hope Obama will learn the right lessons to be able to handle attacks and stupidities more gracefully and effectively. I hope against ahope that he won't be drawn into negativity.
While we wait to see how Obama evolves I think it's perfectly legitimate, even necessary, to criticize the press and news commnetators.
They are part of the problem and should not be blandly accepted as inevitably stuck in their current postures. They, too, should learn a few lessons..