Obama Admits Considering Running For President
Good news for a lot of commenters here at TMV (quite some people seem to think highly of Obama): Senator Barack Obama admits considering a run for president in 08.
The Illinois Democrat said he could no longer stand by the statements he made after his 2004 election and earlier this year that he would serve a full six-year term in Congress. He said he would not make a decision until after the Nov. 7 elections.
“That was how I was thinking at that time,” said Obama, when asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” about his previous statements.
“Given the responses that I’ve been getting over the last several months, I have thought about the possibility” although not with the seriousness or depth required, he said. “My main focus right now is in the ’06. … After November 7, I’ll sit down, I’ll sit down and consider, and if at some point I change my mind, I will make a public announcement and everybody will be able to go at me.”
The main problem, it seems to me, he has is that he is a Senator, not a governor. That might prove to be quite an obstacle to him. A terrific VP? Yes. But President? Perhaps too early.
On the other hand, experience is important, but it does not guarantee success, just as a lack of experience doesn’t guarantee failure.
28 Responses to “Obama Admits Considering Running For President”
Obama hasn’t really tested his mettle. Most of the legislation he has been involved in, so far, has been mostly soft stuff like college Pell Grants and government transparency. That is the kind of stuff that nobody is going to crucify him for. He also worked closely with McCain in the last attempt to pass the “Open America’s Borders to the Third World/Amnesty for Immigration Criminals Bill” (but call it a “banana,” not an amnesty, please). Dems are, by and large, cool with such things, so that isn’t a huge liability for Obama. To date, he hasn’t really had to do slug it out on a seriously divisive topic. Political virginity is probably a good thing for election efforts. Whether he will prove to be a very competent leader is less clear.
I agree with some of the comments made by the talking heads that he is “too green� right now, but he did impress me. He pointed out the Medicare was still filling out paper work for billing rather than using computers, so he does have a handle on the nuts and bolts of government and where improvements can be made. He will have a huge appeal to moderates.
Yes, but being seen as an ‘outsider’ with good name recognition may not be a bad strategy, especially given the polling number for Congress in general. The longer he stays in Congress before he runs, the more he is ‘one of them’.
And besides, running on a Congressional record hasn’t worked for anyone since Kennedy. Any and all votes and legislation sponcered by him would just be ammo to be used against him. Look at Hillary for an example. Her voting record seems to be either ammo for primary foes from the left, or for a general election foe from the right.
That has to be playing into his thought process.
It’s too early, for sure.
Daniel – but for the reasons I stated above, there is good reason for him to run now, even though he would almost certainly neither get the nomination or win a general election.
What he could very likely get is the VP slot. Now that IS the historical ticket (or State Governor) to the WH for most of the past 100 years.
On Charlie Rose, Obama seemed to suggest that if the Dems win the congress, you’ll see his prowess as a legislator. Paraphrase: ‘I’ve got a stack of bills in my office, yea big, ready to go.’
I’m divided on this one. On the one hand, I think he should ride the wave of popularity his book tour and campaign appearances are producing and make a run for it. Its actually good to have less experience in a strictly political sense, because you can’t be nailed down on positions that you have already taken.
OTOH, he may be buying into the enormous amount of positive attention that his appearances have generated —-like Bill Clinton he is treated like a rock star wherever he goes. Of course, unlike Bill Clinton, he doesn’t yet have the baggage that dragged down the Democratic party after the impeachment hearings. I could see where all of the hoopla could easily go to his head. Also, Alma Powell didn’t want Colin to run -even though he was wildly popular in ’96, because she was worried about death threats from white supremacists. That makes me ashamed of my race, BTW.
I like this guy but he really is just another boy wonder on a book tour. I’m not hating on the guy but it is what it is.
These are serious times and we need serious people. I’ll be damned if I’m interested in another popularity contest. I’m just not interested. PERIOD!
Russell Feingold is better informed; has more experience; and knows his foriegn policy. But he’s not getting much attention at all. I don’t understand why. It makes no sense to me.
I think we need someone with foreign policy experience. Someone who understands the military, and even the conduct of war. And someone familiar with the way the government–and Washington–works.
Colin Powell fits this description quite well. So, I think, does Al Gore. Wesley Clark does, too, although the fit’s a little rougher. And while I wouldn’t want to have a beer with Hilary Clinton, I admit her experience is relevant.
I am kind of interested in Chuck Hagel, although I am disappointed in his vote on the anti-habeus corpus bill. And I’m very disappointed in the panderer John McCain has turned out to be this year. Just loved him in 2000, though.
If these are serious times, we ought to have a serious discussion of what to do. But for the true believers, the ends will always justify the means. Just as every election seems crucial, every campaign season seems strewn with nonsense and bad faith.
Mikey:
This man is evil. He says politics is a positive thing. We can only trust politicians who are against politics.
Feingold is a real Librul so his chances are ZERO. Feingold walks, votes and talks like a Liberal. Those two moderates don’t walk and talk like Russ.
Well, JFK was a Senator who became President without having done much of anything in the Senate. And, yes, the inexperience counted against him during his first year in office, with the Bay of Pigs fiasco. But he learned real quick.
Senators rarely become Presidents because being a legislator involves developing a skill set very different from being an executive. Senators don’t actually run anything except Committees; they rarely propose legislation unless a large (or loud) enough constituency (or lobbying group) calls for it. In a nutshell: they “advise and consent,” they don’t initiate. Executives initiate.
If you’re in the Senate long enough, you lose your edge. That was one of Kerry’s problems: he was too used to the slow-paced, rather chummy way the Senate operates, and not at all prepared (or able) to be incisive and decisive on the campaign trail.
Obama, being a smart fellow, has likely figured that out. I don’t blame him for looking higher already. He’s not only thinking he should run while he still has “star quality,” he’s probably thinking he should run before he’s subsumed by the Senatorial mindset.
Now, against that is the fact that he’s already a sail-trimmer. He’s done some fine things. He has a good pre-Senate record of accomplishments and choices made. But he has yet to champion anything meaningful and fight the good fight to achieve it (or even not achieve it: the fight is what counts).
The Democrats aren’t expected to take the Senate, but are expected to whittle down the GOP majority there. If that happens, let’s see what Obama can accomplish in terms of coalition building, persuading GOP Senators to oppose Bush, and helping Reid keep Democratic Senators united on vital issues (e.g., protecting Social Security; opposing Bush’s extremist judicial appointments).
If he wants us to take him seriously as a Presidential candidate, he needs to show us he has the chops. Anyone can push legislation when the odds are in their favor (as Obama says he’s ready to do if there’s a Democratic majority); it takes leadership quality to push for legislation when the odds are against you. Leadership quality is what we look for in Presidents.
Usually when a politician is getting old and has one foot in the grave he’s ready to be honest about what he thinks and what he sees. I wish McCain would give up wanting to be president, because I think he has something to say that needs to be said; but ambition is a powerful thing.
I think McCain and Powell are alike. Guys who had a chance to walk away but threw their towel in with the wrong bunch. A bunch who are ambitious, vain; and who see the country’s well being through the prism of their own political legacy. Every move in Iraq was made with an eye to politics —
Once Iraqis were saying ” thank you Mr Bush” its understandable this White House thought the primary mission was accomplished. ’cause its really all about one man and the belief that what’s good for him is great for America.
The Iraq government had to be turned over to the Iraqi people on June 2004 (ready or not) because to do other wise wold be bad for the GOP in November. ’cause its really all about one man and the belief that what’s good for him is great for America.
It doesn’t mattter if Leave no child behind really works; it only matters that the PResident can say it exists and claim it works. ’cause its really all about one man and the belief that what’s good for him is great for America.
It doesn’t matter if the policy in IRaq changes; it only matters that for the next days there’s a picture of the president sitting at big table with all his generals looking very very serious. ’cause its really all about one man and the belief that what’s good for him is great for America.
It doesn’t matter if soldeirs actually get proper armour; what matters to this White House is the President giving a state of the Union address (in Feb2004) and claiming money has been made available to provide it. ’cause its really all about one man and the belief that what’s good for him is great for America.
It’s the one thing everyone (Republican and Democrat) should agree on. Thiss White House staff and the people around the President know who they serve and what’s most important: PResident Bush. And I do mean that fact is MORE important to them than EVERYTHING else. and I do mean everything.
CaseyL, good insights, I think you are correct that it would be good to see Obama in action in the next Senate, good point on building a coalition.
Michael:
I think you’re absolutely right about Obama’s 2008 prospects and have written about it several times in recent days
Mark Daniels
http://markdaniels.blogspot.com
Obama is one of the most popular politicians in America, period. His DNC speech was cited by Democrats and Republicans as one of the best convention speeches in modern memory. Is he too inexperienced? I doubt it. With Warner out of the race, I’d love to see Obama run.
As of now I like him, but there’s two years to go and the race is just getting started.
if the senator stays on course…speaks and acts as himself, not as pollsters tell him too…then he can and will win the dem nomination for 08
can he win the presidency? i dont know…but I would love to see him run
To those who think America will elect a black president are sorely mistaken. Unfortunately, the climate in this country will prevent that from happening in the foreseeable future at least. However, if he ran, I’d vote for the man. Rather a “newbie” than someone who’s been in the throes of Washington for a long time.
Whether or not he runs or not, I would like to see more Demcrats adopt his message of pragmatic solutions and his low-key style. It obviously is striking a chord with middle Americans who are tired of gridlock and uber-partisan battles. The Dems should go with what works for the sake of the future of their party. I believe people are sick of the poisonous, fear-filled politics we have today, and are open to a hopeful, more progressive message. Fighting terrorism is important, but its become our national obsession. The Republicans see it as their strong point, and so have continued to keep it front and center.
CPrez
My prediction: If Harold Ford wins in TN, Obama definitely runs. If not, depends on how close Ford comes.
Like I said previously, Obama has only soft accomplishments to his name. I would like to see how he fares on more difficult issues. It all reminds me of Bill Clinton talking about school uniforms or Arnold Schwarzeneggar’s afterschool programs initiative he campaigned for prior to becoming governor. It is all nothing more than fluff.
I want to know if Obama can handle the more intractable issues. Until then, we can’t tell if he is an effective leader or just an empty suit. Adopting his style at this point would mean adopting little more than posture and nice talk.
I think his inexperience in higher office may actually be a good thing – it means that he will have spent a lot less time being insulated or even corrupted by power.
Tommy- Right now both parties would improve 100% if they adopted his style. I agree that he needs more experience at dealing with intractable problems, but he seemed to have a very good grasp of the issues in the interview on “Meet the Press.” I actually thought he was all style and little substance before I watched it, but was very favorably impressed.
Everyone thought Kennedy was too young but after making an initial blunder with the Bay of Pigs, he handled the Cuban Missile Crisis with mastery. His foreign policy and domestic leadership, was in my opinion, superior to a lot of older presidents with more experience who followed him.
I like Sen. Obama’s style and charisma. He hasn’t been a Governor, and that is a huge strike against him from my POV. I want someone who has had to take calls from convicted criminals seeking clemency: I want someone who has had to make life or death decisions before, so that when the decision “do we go to war or not” comes, it isn’t the first time…
David B,
We have a former governor in 1600 Pennsylvania right now. If you ever wanted proof of something being overrated…
Jim S- Maybe “Bush’s brain made the life and death decisions for him when he was governor, too. Or he could always just pick up the phone and ask Dad.