Obama at the Helm

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Presidents tend to govern the way they campaigned. Jimmy Carter ran as a moralistic outsider in 1976, and he governed that way as well, refusing to compromise with a Washington establishment that he distrusted (and that distrusted him). Ronald Reagan's campaign looked harsh on paper but warm and fuzzy on TV, as did his presidency. The 1992 Clinton campaign was like the Clinton administration: brilliant and chaotic, with a penchant for near-death experiences. And the 2000 Bush campaign presaged the Bush presidency: disciplined, hierarchical, loyal and ruthless.

Of the three candidates still in the 2008 race, Obama has run the best campaign by far. McCain's was a top-heavy, slow-moving, money-hemorrhaging Hindenburg that eventually exploded, leaving the Arizona senator to resurrect his bankrupt candidacy through sheer force of will. Clinton's campaign has been marked by vicious infighting and organizational weakness, as manifested by her terrible performance in caucus states.

Obama's, by contrast, has been an organizational wonder, the political equivalent of crossing a Lamborghini with a Hummer. From the beginning, the Obama campaign has run circles around its foes on the Internet, using MySpace, Facebook and other Web tools to develop a virtual army of more than 1 million donors. The result has been fundraising numbers that have left opponents slack-jawed (last month Obama raised $40 million, compared with Clinton's $20 million).

But the Web is the political equivalent of gunpowder: It can mow down your opponents, but it can also blow up in your face. In 2004, Howard Dean's campaign also raised vast sums online, but it spent the money just as fast. By embracing the anarchic ethos of the liberal blogosphere, Dean generated enormous excitement, but he couldn't harness it. Within his decentralized, bottom-up campaign, a thousand flowers bloomed, but not at the right time and in the right place. "You cannot manage an insurgency," said Dean's Web guru, Joe Trippi. "You just have to ride it."

The Obama campaign has proved that adage wrong. It has married Web energy with professional control. It has used the Web masterfully but, unlike Dean in 2004, sees it as a tool, not a philosophy of life.

At the top, in fact, the campaign is quite hierarchical. There's no question who's in charge: David Axelrod, a grizzled Chicago street-fighter whom Obama has known since he was 30. Axelrod and his subordinates believe their guy represents a new kind of politics, but they're not above using old-school, hard-ball tactics -- even against his own supporters -- to help him win. Last spring, for example, when the Obama campaign realized it couldn't control a popular Obama page on MySpace, it persuaded the company to shut the page down.

It is this remarkable hybrid campaign, far more than Obama's thin legislative résumé, that should reassure voters that he can run the government. As president, he'll need to keep his supporters mobilized: It will take a grass-roots movement, breathing down Congress's neck, to pass universal health care. But in dealing with those very supporters, he'll also have to be ruthless so as not to get caught up in the kind of side skirmishes, such as gays in the military, that weakened Bill Clinton early on. Obama's experience whipping up support on MySpace while simultaneously tamping it down is exactly the kind he'll need in the Oval Office.

Peter Beinart, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, writes a monthly column for The Post.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...id=opinionsbox1

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Very interesting.

[mawilson 2,133]

the political equivalent of crossing a Lamborghini with a Hummer.

Speaking of Hummers, have you seen the new Hummer HX?

It's pretty damn cool!

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

oooh, smooth hijack attempt

[Dan J 277]

If anything, its the campaign style that attracted me to Obama over Hillary. Because that is the closest we will get to seeing what type of leadership style they may have while in office.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

If anything, its the campaign style that attracted me to Obama over Hillary. Because that is the closest we will get to seeing what type of leadership style they may have while in office.

...and to that Hillary has shown us a very scary scenario of cronyism and backdoor deals.

[no name 1]

Leadership style over experience?

[Dan J 277]

Leadership style over experience?

Bush had alot of experience, did you like him?

I dont think experience is a solid indicator of how good a leader the person is going to be or not be. Especially since that experience has not translated into a solid campaign.

[HAL 9000 96]

Experience is a great indicator of what could be. Look at HC. Enough said.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Leadership style over experience?

[Peikko 1,575]

Cool? I think I need glasses...

[no name 1]

Leadership style over experience?

Bush had alot of experience, did you like him?

I dont think experience is a solid indicator of how good a leader the person is going to be or not be. Especially since that experience has not translated into a solid campaign.

Oh it hasn't? McCain?

He will beat Obama's a$$ in November & I will laugh.

----

Interestingly, the author is an editor-at-large for The New Republic.

'Nuff said. Check out their homepage, you can barely see the page thru all the anti-HC articles....

Edited April 9, 2008 by illumine

[Dan J 277]

Leadership style over experience?

Bush had alot of experience, did you like him?

I dont think experience is a solid indicator of how good a leader the person is going to be or not be. Especially since that experience has not translated into a solid campaign.

Oh it hasn't? McCain?

He will beat Obama's a$ in November & I will laugh.

----

Interestingly, the author is an editor-at-large for The New Republic.

'Nuff said.

With your help no doubt.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Leadership style over experience?

Bush had alot of experience, did you like him?

I dont think experience is a solid indicator of how good a leader the person is going to be or not be. Especially since that experience has not translated into a solid campaign.

Oh it hasn't? McCain?

He will beat Obama's a$$ in November & I will laugh.

Are you going to change your Party too?

[no name 1]

Leadership style over experience?

Bush had alot of experience, did you like him?

I dont think experience is a solid indicator of how good a leader the person is going to be or not be. Especially since that experience has not translated into a solid campaign.

Oh it hasn't? McCain?

He will beat Obama's a$ in November & I will laugh.

----

Interestingly, the author is an editor-at-large for The New Republic.

'Nuff said.

With your help no doubt.

Cart, horse.....

I never told you how I would vote. Seeing as I myself don't know.