One thing living in a red state has taught me is how to speak about politics with those who do not share very basic assumptions with you. Having lived in overwhelmingly liberal places like Evanston, IL and Washington, DC in the past, it took some time to learn how to discuss politics with conservatives. Granted most folks I speak to here in East Tennessee are Democrats like myself. But I have plenty of casual conversations with those outside my liberal bubble. And I mean WAY outside my liberal bubble. We’re not talking conservative intellectuals I used to argue with in college, or even my very right-wing father-in-law.
And so I’ve discovered in these conversations just what Barack Obama’s greatest strength is: his temperament. The first major conservative pundit to highlight this was Andrew Sullivan over a year ago. Obama, to him, represented a conservative thought process, even if his policies were quite liberal. Obama was comfortable in a world of doubt. He had no qualms about admitting what he didn’t know, and surrounding himself with experts who were smarter than him – even if they disagreed with him.
The campaign season has only reinforced this preternatural calm. Far from the celebrity, Barack Obama has shown himself to be an intellectual comfortable in his own skin and at ease around ordinary people.
The Washington Post highlighted this strength of his this morning:
But Mr. Obama’s temperament is unlike anything we’ve seen on the national stage in many years. He is deliberate but not indecisive; eloquent but a master of substance and detail; preternaturally confident but eager to hear opposing points of view. He has inspired millions of voters of diverse ages and races, no small thing in our often divided and cynical country. We think he is the right man for a perilous moment.
The final debate captured this eerie calm better than any other moment. Unlike the infamous final debate with Clinton when a barrage of character questions clearly left Obama feeling exhausted, this latest debate only reinforced his strength on defense. Utterly unruffled by McCain’s various charges, Obama played rope-a-dope to perfection and let McCain wallow in rage. The dual-camera shots were lethal.
But conservative columnist David Brooks may have made the case even more compelling. After all, in order to win in November, Obama will need the support of those beyond the steady liberal voices of the Washington Post editorial page. As Brooks points out:
There has never been a moment when, at least in public, he seems gripped by inner turmoil. It’s not willpower or self-discipline he shows as much as an organized unconscious. Through some deep, bottom-up process, he has developed strategies for equanimity, and now he’s become a homeostasis machine.
Even more important, this temperamental sanity – contrasted with McCain’s often bizarre lurches into gimmickry – could make Obama a great President.
This was not evident back in the “fierce urgency of now” days, but it is now. And it is easy to sketch out a scenario in which he could be a great president. He would be untroubled by self-destructive demons or indiscipline. With that cool manner, he would see reality unfiltered. He could gather — already has gathered — some of the smartest minds in public policy, and, untroubled by intellectual insecurity, he could give them free rein. Though he is young, it is easy to imagine him at the cabinet table, leading a subtle discussion of some long-term problem.
I find in my own conversations with skeptics that this line – about Obama’s temperament – is Obama’s strongest argument. Americans want leaders that look comfortable being in charge. All the bogeyman charges about radicalism and sleaze just roll off him once voters see him in action. We know what sleazy politicians look and sound like. We know what extremists sound like. Obama reassures with his presence.
I refuse to get overconfident about this race. I predicted after the second debate that this race was essentially over, barring a crazy outside event. I still think that’s true. But I will not be complacent as a supporter of him. Above all, I will take notice of his calm and follow his example the best that I can.