Is Obama like Adlai Stephenson?

I did not follow politics in the 50s but have heard about cerebral intellectual Stephenson who lost the voters - even then.

As I watched Obama on Meet The Press, I was wondering whether he is repeating the same path.

I don't know who is claiming that he did great yesterday. I did not think so. He was hesitant, was - gasp - thinking before talking instead of a rapid fire of sound bytes.

Oh, and I did not think that Russert was mean and unfair to him. He raised former quotes which, if Obama is the nominee, will be raised by others.

:crazy:

"They" will say anything.

No, Obama is not like Adlai Stephenson, that's the dumbest thing I've heard this primary. Somebody is DESPERATE.

*

and thought that it was the same spelling.

Obviously it is Stevenson.

It was too bad because he really was on their side. For all his intellectual prowress, he couldn't articulate what he stood for to the people whose vote he needed the most. I don't find a big similarity between Adlai and Barack myself other than both being Democrats as well as being educated and articulate. Of course the latter two points used to be important in politicians until our recently annointed King/President taught us it wasn't important after all. :sarcasm:

and was fighting an uphill battle against "Democrat fatigue" brought on by 20 straight years of Democratic presidents and the low poll numbers of the incumbent.

Not to be rude, just the way it is. Obama needs many more years of experience that will give him the wisdom of an Adlai Stephenson.

people that America ever produced - twice. He also represented a party that had been in power for 20 years and was the party that got the country mired in a 'police action' in a far off country.
Eisenhower's little campaign ditty - "I like Ike, they like Ike, everybody likes Ike" was more truth than slogan.

You said the same as I, and better.

In 1952, or 1956, no one, but absolutely no one was going to beat war hero Ike, General of the Army Dwight D Eisenhower. Say anything about Adlai, it wouldn't have mattered. Today's American voters can not understand the mind set of most voters in that era. I remember a few things about the election of 1952. The democrats had been in power since 1932. There was a somewhat unpopular war(Korea) going into its third year. News of the war just moved off the front page of my local paper. Ike was going to bring an end to it. "I will go to Korea." He promised after winning the election. It did end with an armistice in July of 1953.
The thing not many remember about the Eisenhower years is that there were three separate, identifiable recessions during Ike's eight years in office. Another thing bandied about, but of course, can't be proved was that but for the 22nd Amendment, Ike could have won reelection after reelection, remaining in office until he just got tired or died.

against the cold war, the Berlin Wall, the Cuba Missile Crisis, the whole presence of a Soviet-tied country so close to our shores.

From what I've heard, he, like Bush, just liked to play and enjoy his life in the White House.

(Not that he did not deserve some R&R after WWII).

and I remember Adlai Stevenson. He was brilliant beyond words but he was also dull beyond words. There is no way Adlai Stevenson could have given a speech that would even be considered in the same ballpark as Obama's speech in Des Moines Saturday night. If Adlai had possessed some of Obama's charisma and ability to actually connect with common folks he may actually have given Ike a run for his money but then again Ike was the war hero of all war heroes and it is doubtful any Democrat could have defeated him.

It was unlikely he was going to win that race either time. Also Stephenson was very much the outpsoken center-left progressive, proposing to advance the New Deal with a new set of social programs, unlike Obama who is a cautious center-right candidate.

for giving an anti-colonialism speech that Steveneson felt would jeopardize the profits of his corporate law firm's clients who did business in Africa.

He was sort of contemptuous toward average people. Truman thought he was weak, and Eleanor Roosevelt shared that opinion. Obama is a self made man. Adlai was a child of priviledge.

Even FOXnews of all people who are Hillary diehards!?!

Did Gov. Stevenson ever welcome, coddle then defend bigots into his campaign?

No?

Good....Adlai Stevenson was ten times the candidate (and ten times the man and Illinois representative) that Obama is.

Stevenson was not very big on civil rights as an issue and had a segregationist as his first running mate (that's welcoming and coddling a bigot, fyi). A little research might help here.

When the Stevenson-Sparkman ticket ran in 1952, the Democratic platform included a committment to fight racial discrimination.

When Stevenson ran in 1956, he picked liberal Senator Estes Kefauver as his running mate.

Stevenson wouldn't have had the unmitigated gall to oppose bigotry in one breath while welcoming a clownish bigot to headline his campaign fundraiser. He had more respect for Democrats, unlike Obama.

Here we are now.... entertain us.

:sarcasm: