An Idea Whose Time Has Come…?

“They said this day would never come…”

So Obama took his first step towards a presidential nomination easily outdistancing his rivals in winning lily white Iowa’s inaugural caucus, something political experts would have deemed virtually impossible barely 8 weeks ago. And he gave what many considered to be a presidential caliber post-victory speech (although his brief anti-lobby diatribe probably tripled his chances of getting shot...), as the momentum for the Barack campaign steamrolls onto its next challenge in New Hampshire. Although it is far to early to extrapolate anything significantly defining the outcome of the race to become the Democratic nominee, not only is it clear Obama is the front-runner, but the Iowa voter turn-out demonstrated a trend towards a mass abandonment of Republican support. Needless to say, conservative political pundits are less smug than ever…

Back to the days of greener pastures...

In the current U.S. political climate, with the Bush administration leaving public morale at an all time low, charisma and vision could be seen as superfluous qualities in a leader whose job will be to dig the world’s defining superpower out of large holes on the international and domestic fronts. The Clinton campaign was running on a platform of experience and competence, using its primary resources (the re-banding of Bill’s political machine) to underline Hillary’s alleged suitability for the top job. But a funny thing happened on the way to relaying that message: the public starting growing cold to the idea of dynastic politics and the thought of another four years of establishment leadership, regardless of which realm of the political spectrum it comes from. The real problem with the Clinton campaign is that they come off as de facto Republicans, which is why the GOP is salivating at the prospect of facing a Hillary nomination in ’08. How Hillary runs her ship now may have as much to do with how the public responds to Obama’s idealistic message for change; as much as they may not want to vote for a black man, the Clintons may not give them a choice. One thing is certain, you can be sure that the Hillary’s people will not refrain from negative campaigning to achieve its ends: it will be interesting to see how the Republican playbook plays on the other side of the fence.
Speaking of Republican playbooks, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my braising hope that the Gulliani’s strategy of ignoring smaller states backfires with complete totality. He represents the worst of all American politics; a corrupt lawyer/politician that attempts to run on the high moral ground. You would figure even the conservative voting segment of the American public would see through that level of transparency and blatant hypocrisy. You would think…