Monday, January 07, 2008
'It’s inspirational to talk of change and hope but ...'
The best case yet for not getting swept up by the Obama phenomenon:
Obama will inevitably disappoint, whether or not he wins. But change -- as overrated and flawed as it is -- is still better than someone who just recently based her appeal on '90s nostalgia. I know Hillary meant George W. Bush when she said today, eyes tearing up, and sincerely so, "I just don't want to see us fall backward as a nation." ... But I don't want us to fall back to pre-George W either. I'll take the future, thank you. ...
The best case yet for not getting swept up by the Obama phenomenon:
One of Barack Obama’s big boosters is our own governor, Deval Patrick, who, like Obama, based his campaign on the soaring oratory of change, hope and better days ahead. Yet in the last year, he has seen initiatives stalled, especially in the House, which, with the Senate, is its own power base.
Should Obama or the other leading change agents, John Edwards and Mike Huckabee, manage to get to the White House, he will learn what all presidents, governors and mayors have learned, that it’s inspirational to talk of change and hope but often impossible to bring it about.
Obama will inevitably disappoint, whether or not he wins. But change -- as overrated and flawed as it is -- is still better than someone who just recently based her appeal on '90s nostalgia. I know Hillary meant George W. Bush when she said today, eyes tearing up, and sincerely so, "I just don't want to see us fall backward as a nation." ... But I don't want us to fall back to pre-George W either. I'll take the future, thank you. ...
