Ronald Reagan was famously able to deflect the attacks of his detractors until they wisely gave up or jumped on his bandwagon.
Mr. Obama has cleverly taken a page from that playbook and adopted it to his personal style. The barrage of lies, accusations, innuendo, direct attacks, etc. spewing from the McCain camp has been appalling. Yet nothing seems to ruffle Mr. Obama’s focus. If any thing he seems to flourish under such scurrilous maneuvers to demean his credibility and besmirch his character because no matter what they sling, nothing sticks.
Instead of platforms and policies, McCain pours meager campaign resources into negative disseminations—and expensive duds for his running mate. Often the desperation to win is palpable. It must really gall them when Obama’s responses are so measured, even respectful. As he has said repeatedly, this is not a time to trash talk the opponent when there are so many terrible things hitting the American people.
This contrast in substance gives one a sense of the candidates’ priorities. Obama is offering solutions and clarifications to the nation’s downturn. McCain wants to win and to do so he will go as low as necessary, blithely resorting to the kinds of dirty tricks that sabotaged his own 2000 run against George Bush.
Senator Obama best demonstrated confidence and supreme coolness in the 30-minute infomercial televised on several national stations days before the election. The name John McCain or references to his campaign never once come up. Mr. Obama focused on getting his core message out, demonstrating to American voters that he is above petty partisanship and ready to lead. The health of the country is more pressing than taking swipes at a recalcitrant opponent.
McCain periodically revives the fact that Senator Obama flipped on an earlier agreement to accept only public campaign financing. Obama realized he needed a much bigger war chest if he was to have a fair shot at winning. The truth of the matter for McCain was his campaign never raised the kind of money Obama has, and short of hitting wife Cindy’s bankroll, taking public money was a way to save face. Let’s face it, before the Palin surprise, McCain’s public appearances were Spartan affairs. Palin brought the kind of star power to the McCain bid he had earlier derided Obama for fostering.
Barack Hussein Obama is a phenomenon the likes of which this country and the world has never seen before. His words have given me goose bumps and moved me to tears. The synthesis of his mixed racial heritage is a legitimate reflection of America’s unique legacy of miscegenation. Somehow, given this truth, it seems fitting that the offspring of a Kansan woman of European descent and a native-born African should one day rule the most powerful democracy on Earth. It might also be a first step in resolving the two continents’ shared history.
Perhaps four hundred years of bad karma resulting from this country’s bloody, treacherous rise to prominence and prosperity is absolved by the popular election of an unlikely favorite son to the pinnacle of power and influence.
Barack Obama freely admits that the United States of America is the only place where his story would be possible. For me, and so many others, the prospect of his taking office as the 44th President is exhilarating!
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