OQUALMA


rasa redux.

Eight months ago, after reading yet another chapter in the mainstream media's ever-expanding epic of Barack Obama hagiography, I finally snapped and wrote a post that, comparing the junior Senator from Illinois to the current President from Texas, suggested our political priorities, and perhaps our whole political culture, were now so intellectually bankrupt that many Democrats were, after suffering the dire consequences of a two-term, blank-slate Presidency, scrambling to invest the audacity of their hopes and votes in one of their own. Eight months later, after reading an Associated Press story published today on MSNBC.com, it's apparent that little has changed. And that even less matters...

It is hard to fathom Obama’s meteoric rise in politics.

This could, of course, be a critical sentence. It is not. In context, it is written with the same awe and reverence usually reserved for profiles of rookie quarterbacks who lead their teams to the playoffs. Except, of course, for the minor detail that those quarterbacks have actually been out there on the field, taking hits and making plays and putting up points, not just donning a uniform and then running around the sidelines, trying to get the crowd to start the wave.

Two years ago, Obama gave the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. Since then, he has:

• taken a high-profile trip to Africa.
• campaigned vigorously for congressional candidates.
• published a second, best-selling book.
• acknowledged that he is considering running for the White House.

Take a look at that list again. Consider it. Contemplate it.

To make that task a little easier for you, I've reduced the list to its essence, to the very core of all that Barack Obama has accomplished in the two years since he came to national political prominence. The new version looks like this:

• traveled.
• stumped.
• written.
• considered.

These are the fruits of Barack Obama's two years in the Senate. Of his twenty-five months as the Democrats' new golden boy. Of his 100+ weeks in the pre-presidential-election spotlight: to have ridden some planes, written some sentences, delivered some speeches, and dallied with his supporters.

Now. To be fair, as the AP article notes, Obama has done at least one other thing -- a lot -- during that time:

Obama is a proven fundraiser, amassing nearly $15 million in his 2004 Senate race and more than $4 million for his political action committee.

So, to that long and impressive list of achievements we can also add:

• solicited.

All of which means he will have the exposure, the popularity, the fame, and the funds to run for President. What he will not have, and what both the press and the public, much like his wayward party, don't seem to think he needs, are the experience and the accomplishments:

Obama, 45, clearly benefits from his rapid rise. He is not burdened by a lengthy Senate voting record.

Because goodness knows we wouldn't want our candidates, much less our Presidents, to be hindered by a history of public service or real, live, legislative achievements. It's one thing to support a statesman; it's quite another to sell a celebrity. In the age of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, when success is measured by notoriety and credibility is inseparable from popularity, maybe Barack Obama is the perfect Presidential candidate after all.

Posted: Sat - November 18, 2006 at 08:17 PM          

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