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Barack - I love you, you’re perfect, now change! |
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Mr. O-Bam-ma! Brother Barack! Senator from the great state of Illinois! At this moment, know that you have my vote. Know that you have my admiration, my adoration, and my undivided attention. Heck, you even have my Seminal endorsement. But!!!!! You no longer have my heart, my mind, or my unquestioned loyalty. That should worry you, Senator, for I was BORN to support you. Father from Africa, childhood west of the Mississippi, education east of it, and a strong affinity for the windy city.
Much of my support for you is drawn from the personal guidance and inspiration your life provides me, for in many ways you represent both where I’ve been and where I hope to be. After hearing you speak at a Northwestern graduation ceremony I remarked to myself how unique you seemed to be, a capable and charismatic person who was also in a position to bring about sorely needed change. I felt as though you called me to arms that day, reminding me that there’s a whole lotta crap to clean up and a million places to start. You talked the talked, having walked the walk: organizer of communities, driver of voter registrations, advocate of civil rights, and professor of all things constitutionally legal. That day, I saw a man captivate a crowd rich with ethnic, economic and political diversity. I saw a man whose love for the people seemed deep and unwavering. I was ready to view you as the next great orator in American politics. I was ready to listen to you, eager to follow the man from Chicago (by way of Kenya, Kansas, Hawaii, Indonesia, and New York City). I’m still ready, and still waiting.
My how you’ve changed, Barack. Within 16 months you went from being a source of inspiration to a source of embarrassment. You’re running a piss-poor campaign, so pathetic in fact that I’m finding it increasingly difficult to back out loud and proud. Over the last five months I’ve made excuses for your campaign’s inability to build on the swell of popular support and media coverage you received following your announcement. “Where has Barack gone?†they asked. “What are his big plans for the country? What has he been saying recently, and why isn’t he fairing better in the polls?â€Â
While routinely downplaying these and similar questions regarding your campaign’s effectiveness (or lack thereof), I myself began to lose confidence in the very candidate and campaign for which I advocated. Whether it was on the stump, during a democratic debate, or in a newspaper article, you failed to move your candidacy beyond the vague notions of hope and change. You refrained from manipulating the conversation in order to outline well-crafted and nuanced policy proposals. This failure of communication led many to ask, “where’s the beef,†in regards to your plans to bring about “change†and to justify “hopeâ€Â. The tipping point for me was the most recent Democratic debates. Everyone seemed ready for you to meet Hillary head-on; its what we wanted and needed. Instead, you chose to punt the ball to Dodd and Edwards, allowing them to further distinguish themselves while you remain reticent. Nice going!!
Barack, I know you and your team have spent a great many hours outlining your policy proposals, however, know that these need not reside solely in the pages of your personal website. Why aren’t you highlighting your congressional record with more thoughtfulness and consistency? You sponsored and co-sponsored bills pertaining to Congressional pork, care and services for wounded veterans, voter deception, nuclear and conventional arms proliferation, and automobile fuel efficiency. You introduced a decent legislative plan regarding an Iraq pullout, and you have advocated ameliorating the political and economic situations in Sierra Leone, the Congo, and Sudan. Without a doubt these are laudable achievements, worthy of being woven seamlessly into your stump speeches and debate answers. You need to become a better salesman of Barack Obama. Like John and Bobby Kennedy, you must challenge the American public, while at the same time displaying the compassion, charisma, and political acumen upon which Bill Clinton ascended to the presidency. You need to start leading this country, not just legislating on its behalf.
How is it that a Southside community organizer and civil rights lawyer has failed to engage in, much less monopolize, discussions on urban education, poverty, law enforcement, the penal system, employment discrimination and health care? How are you not a national leader of any of the aforementioned issues? More importantly, how will you set out to tackle these problems in an effective manner? I may go to your website to figure these things out, but most voters will not. In loving and caring for the people, you must educate them, which requires you to do that which you have yet to realize – prioritize substance over style and policies over politics. You fail to realize that, in portraying yourself as above partisan politics, you appear to be a candidate profoundly ignorant of our country’s widening social and economic cleavages. I know you to possess this knowledge, however, you seem increasingly incapable of expressing your platform cogently and convincingly in public settings.
You need to figure out how to deal with, and by deal with I mean criticize, the Clintons. According to many, Bill remains the Democratic Party’s most popular figure – and he’s actively campaigning for your chief opponent. You need to neutralize his ability to consistently command the media’s attention. Getting someone like Gore or Oprah to campaign visibly and vocally on your behalf is paramount. Also, you need to figure out how to attack Hillary directly. Understand that attacking her doesn’t mean your abandoning your “politics of hope.†Instead, assert that you are questioning HER “experience,†which is so conveniently bottled up in her husband’s presidential archives. Get offensive, not defensive; show Democrats how she’s moderated her policies since 2000 in order to appear more “electable†and mainstream. She’s a sheep in wolves’ clothing my friend. Explain to voters that you can appeal to the majority of Americans without compromising your beliefs and policies.
You need to develop a compact policy platform to give to people during debates and stump speeches. Think of a tripod or a table – what area needs the most fixing in order to keep America from tumbling down? Education + environment + Iraq? Legal system + diplomacy + health care? People need to start associating you with more important and specific plans than hope and change. Furthermore, you need to put forth some sort of visionary public welfare program. Think “Peace Corps,†think Johnson’s “Great Society,†think “Teach for America.†Heck, think even “Contract with America†if it gets the creative juices flowing. The kind of change you’re advocating requires sweeping changes, so get crackin’!!
Finally, you need to find some media consultants who know how to play hardball…fast! I’m taking about doctors who spin truth, directors of communication who know when, how, and to whom press releases should be spread in order to maximize effectiveness and minimize casualties. When CNN reports on Hillary’s misgivings about the State department’s diplomatic efforts, the article directly below it can’t be about how you refused to put your hand over your heart during a pledge of allegiance several months ago. You need to start making some news.
Barack, its time for your to start righting to your ship. You need to step outside your unconvincing shell of self-assuredness and level with the American public. Whether on a stump or in a debate, you need to speak as if there was only you and one person. Revamp your approach to communication in public settings. Your have good ideas and endless media exposure – these constitute key ingredients for a recipe for success. Mr. Obama, you’re the best we’ve got here – you can’t continue to let us down.
Matt Martin lives in Washington, DC where he works as a paralegal in an international alw firm. He graduated from Northwestern University in June 2007, where he studied political science and jazz.
I feel the same way. I’ve heard some comment honestly on Obama’s disappointing campaign but not as effectively as the above author.
Great article, Matt. If you haven’t already submitted it to his campaign directly, I think you should. I’ve been really disappointing seeing his bonfire fizzle into a sparkler these last few months. He still has my vote, but he needs to get his publicity into high gear!
Superb analysis, but its tragic. There is a certain level of shallowness in politics in America that does not allow moral and truthful thoughtfulness to get through. Instead a nation as great as this still relies on spin, spam and yes, entertainment to carry the day. Meanwhile Obama preaching Idealism appears fizzled out.
I agree with Joe Klein (Oct 31/2007 Time Magazine)
I don’t know if this sort of quiet, unsolicited honesty can work in our rude, noisy politics, but it certainly is far more presidential than the dodging and fudging that you get from most candidates. It has been argued that Obama’s style is too cerebral, too élitist. That may be true. He assumes a maturity in his audiences, and in the press, that simply may not exist. But given the stakes in 2008, perhaps it’s time for all of us to grow up and meet the challenge of a difficult moment for our country.