Category: Barack Obama

Obama and the Right III

A reader writes:

As an economic conservative, I’ve been wrestling for days with Obama’s appeal to me. The qualities he has that I keep returning to are: honesty and clarity, and therefore a tendency toward transparency of government. As shown in his debate response on the carbon tax issue, the man refuses to condescend to the right by hedging or qualifying his point of view. While I do disagree with Obama on practically every issue (with the noted exception of the Iraq war), I also believe that if he’s elected and manages to see his mandate through, America won’t have been hoodwinked into its future. We will have chosen it with open eyes.

Contrast that to Clinton’s "hard work" — her euphemism for politics as a dirty game in which she must attempt to smuggle in her policies behind our backs. That is the politics she would practice in office, and that is the chief reason she is much less appealing to me and others like me. I’m still not sure whether I would vote for Obama in a general election (I only know that I would vote for any Democrat against Huckabee), but I do like him a hell of a lot for being straightforward with me.

Paul & Obama: Change Mirrors

A reader writes:

The country, these past seven years in particular, has seemed built upon a foundation of arrogant exceptionalism. We’re the damned best country in the world and we know it and it’s going to be shoved in everyone else’s face. Unilateralism. And the left has responded that we are most certainly NOT the best damned country in the world, look at this problem and that problem and everything’s wrong.

Paul says, we may be the best damned country in the world but that doesn’t mean we are morally required to export this excellence, and at what cost to us if we attempt it? And Obama says, we may be the best country in the world, but let’s be thankful for that, let our nation’s public face be one of humilty and magnanimity.

Both represent a restoration of faith, a clean break – though there’s a danger in investing too much faith in the idea that politicians can bring about this kind of sea change in the national outlook. I think, rather, that they exemplify the change that has already taken place in many people’s heads and hearts.

Bainbridge Asks

Some good questions. I answered some of it here. But let me deal with them specifically:

How can a Tory like yourself embrace someone running as a change agent?

Because societies need to change, as Burke understood. The question is whether the change is organic, drawn from the traditions within the society, and responding to felt needs, rather than ideological abstractions. So a Tory could support Thatcher and Reagan – as radical change agents who sought to restore their societies to forgotten principles. It is the greatest canard that conservatives never seek change. They are cautious, yes, but sometimes the right kind of change is necessary.

What specific changes in law, society, or polity, if any, that Obama supports do you also support?

I support a fresh start in foreign policy, a willingness to negotiate where necessary, a new outreach to allies, and prudent, expeditious withdrawal from Iraq. I favor an end to poisonous partisan polarization. I favor strong measures to innovate new energy sources. I favor a restoration of the Geneva Conventions.

Why are those changes “necessary”?

Because the war is draining massive resources, and, despite recent tactical success, is clearly a historic mistake. Because the U.S. is extremely isolated and needs more support in the world, and especially a new appeal to moderate Muslims worldwide. Because the red-blue divide has poisoned our polity to the detriment of practical problem-solving. Because dependence on foreign oil is both environmentally fatal and dangerous for our future security. Because torture gives bad intelligence and is un-American.

What evidence is there, if any, that Obama would be prudent in effecting such changes?

Obama’s legislative record, speeches, and the way he has run his campaign reveal, I think, a very even temperament, a very sound judgment, and an intelligent pragmatism. Prudence is a word that is not inappropriate to him.   

Rhetoric Still Matters

Huckabeestephaniekuykendalgetty

One aspect of this race that has not been given enough notice so far: Obama and Huckabee and Edwards are easily the best public speakers in this race. They won last night in part because of their ability to connect with people in large settings. You hear in Obama and Huckabee the cadences of the churches they come from –  "the holy places where the races meet" – but you also hear men who have honed their rhetorical skills over the years, and actually connect their own thoughts into words. Contrast these skills with Romney and Clinton, who are competent but programmed like a salesman and a focus group respectively.

In the television and internet age, old-style rhetoric is sometimes regarded as an anachronism. It isn’t. Huckabee’s brilliance in the debates gave him this opportunity. Obama’s public speeches have been the best in a candidate since Reagan and Kennedy. As someone who was trained in and loves debate, it’s good to see this old skill gain new salience. Lincoln would be proud.

(Photo: Stephanie Kuykendal/Getty.)