What has made Obama such a political juggernaut?

Forget if you are for him or against him - I'm not interested in all that at the moment. Just looking at the magnitude of what we've seen recently - double the Democratic outturn in Iowa, upset win by Obama, and opinion polls that are moving overnight to support Obama.

I've never seen anything like this before. Never have I seen anyone catapult so quickly as Obama.

What does it say about us as a country?

Obama represents a lot of what people want - something completely different than the Bush-Clinton-Bush years and a personality and natural leader that people can rally behind.

It's weird about Obama. He's been on the national stage only a few years, but I feel like I know him better than Clinton, who has been on the national stage for the past 15.

I think she helped Obama a lot, I like Oprah even though I think Obama is a lightweight and not presidential material.

Also, Obama has been packaged well to appeal to the MTV crowd and young people. You don't need substance if you have good advertising.

You can't make this shit up

Lightweight is not among them.

Obama himself has written about how he recognizes that he is a canvas upon which many different people project many different ideas. The American public is so hungry to see an African-American obtain this level of success that, when it comes to Obama, I think they just see the good. They remember the inspiring speeches and forget the boring debates. They remember the key phrases he talks about about, like hope, but forget the inexperience.

Don't get me wrong, Obama is an incredibly gifted individual, but those gifts don't explain the Obama phenomenon. It goes deeper than Obama himself to what the American people hunger for.

That's quite false and you'd know it if you actually watched or read his speeches in whole.

"The American public is so hungry to see an African-American obtain this level of success that, when it comes to Obama, I think they just see the good."

So he's getting a pass because of his race?

:eyes:

Obama isn't "getting a pass because of his race".

That's like saying, "He's incapable, but he's black, so let's vote for him." That's not what I said at all. I think he's very capable, but that alone doesn't explain the phenomenon around him. It runs deeper than just what Obama has to offer in terms of governing ability -- it's a hunger that America has to verify for themselves and the world that yes, America is more about opportunity than racism, and yes, an African-American can even win the presidency in this country.

As for the experience question, well, I think Obama is wise enough to know who to ask for counsel when it's warranted. But he doesn't have the experience of, say, a Biden. That's just a fact. I think he has other gifts, and some of them are gifts the country sorely needs at this point. Obama isn't defensive about his lack of experience -- he makes it a point of pride. He's talked about Michelle's statement that, if they wait until Barack is thought of as 'experienced', they won't have the fire within them to give them the push to make new things happen.

Might help you in the future to be a little less defensive about Obama and the experience question, because you'll (we'll?) be asked about it often in the future, and getting angry isn't going to change the minds of the people who ask the question.

What he makes a point of pride of is that his expierence is rooted in the "real lives of real people," not in a Washington resume.

I think there is perhaps some of that going on among liberal politicos, but not among the primary voting public. I think there are substantiative differences between the candidates and that the voters know this and know what they are and that goes beyond race and gender.

I'm not angry. I'm just not accepting the dismissal of the Obama movement ala the Dean movement in 2004.

There's more going on here than just: "The American public is so hungry to see an African-American obtain this level of success that, when it comes to Obama, I think they just see the good. They remember the inspiring speeches and forget the boring debates. They remember the key phrases he talks about about, like hope, but forget the inexperience."

Most voters don't watch the primary debates, and especially this season since there are so many of them. Voters watch T.V. ads and read the newspaper, and when they find a candidate they like they turn to the speeches. I think that some people speak all to often of expierence as some generic quality and not as a question of human character.

His gifts really do explain his effect on people.

He's extremely intelligent, by all accounts he's played this campaign masterfully so far, which, with an honest critique, you could not say the same about Hillary.

But, even though he's gifted, there's his oratorical skills, his ability to connect and most importantly, his authenticity.

This is important. Picking up on someone's authenticity, it's a gut feeling, it's the way you can tell if someone's lying to you, even about the tiniest thing. We all use this instinct on a daily basis and when we watch politics we've all gotten adept at steeling ourselves against the obvious b.s. that we know is going to come out of their mouths. In fact, we've become jaded to the point that we expect them to lie, and we don't hold them to it.

So, when Obama comes out, looking like all those other politicians, it's Extremely surprising to hear him, because you immediately, relax, he draws you in. You find yourself not arguing with him in your head but instead thinking, Yes! And, it's just a very pleasant, heart-warming experience all around.

About his experience, as the president of the Harvard Law Review and as a professor of constitutional Law, I think we can assume he's very intelligent and very capable. By contrast, and remember you're the one that brought experience up, Clinton failed her first attempt at the bar exam.

Also, if by lack of experience you actually meant he's younger and has spent less time in Washington, I have to tell you, that actually makes him much more credible in my eyes.

How many times does a senator sell them self out to a special interest, lobbyist, etc. over decades, all the while worrying about records and polls? To say that his lack of time in Washington is a negative is just to say he's more trustable to the American public. Really, it was a bad move on her campaign's part, and I hope after tomorrow they fire that guy!

I don't believe that race is the non-factor that you think it is. Lots of intangibles come into play when people are running for president, and if they didn't, Dennis Kucinich would be doing a lot better than he is. :)

But the rest of what you say, I'm pretty much in agreement with. And after the anti-phenomenon that was John Kerry's 2004 run, where people felt dragged into voting for him, I gotta admit that the opposite sure feels a lot better.

But it sure was something the way he got the young people out to vote, huh.

I find it kinda creepy, frankly. But then I'm not much of a crier.

What was he saying?

They kept saying he was so inspiring, it's a "new day", etc. And people were in tears. I was scared by his rhetoric, they were moved to tears. I must be really out of touch.

The whole country has been traumatized for 8 solid years (almost). There is something a little weird about it all, but we are coming out of dark times (hopefully) so it's understandable I suppose.

cause I end up driving and waiting a lot. It helped me decide that I can trust this guy to do the right thing. While I like the guy and will vote for him, my students are truly inspired by him.
Amazing.
And they haven't had anything to feel good about for a while so that may be something to the boom.
A lot of the young voters really want to give a damn, and he gives them a chance to care again.

Now, it could also be a bit of fatigue with the other candidates. John Edwards is a good man and would be a good president. Hillary Clinton would too. But perhaps some folks are sick of the Clintons. And some might already be bored with Edwards after 2004. So perhaps, Obama wins by default as the "none of the same old, same old" candidate.

And as Iowa has demonstrated Obama also draws in folks who are not usually politically active, independents, etc. Is this a new governing coalition? A national movement? Or just a lot of folks desperate for anything else? I don't know.

Welcome to DU!

Curious, what do you teach?

:hi: :dem:

And believe it or not some of my students even care!
Not many....but some! And that's all it takes.

3 years down, 1 to go for my B.A. History.

"Not many....but some! And that's all it takes."

True.


:applause: for historians!

Keep at it! And enjoy the senior year. Unfortunately I can't remember much of mine. But apparently I had a blast.

at home watching it on DU political videos. 8 years of nightmares and there's a glimmer of hope for change..you betcha. And I feel the same about John Edwards, too.

But that's me.

'ol same ol' politics as usual anymore.. with Obama and Edwards.

Edwards calls himself a Progressive Populist, which is how I've always described myself. Obama doesn't seem able to come down clearly anywhere.

sick and tired and scared and used and abused and lied to; that we want someone to tell us we can, instead of we can't. It's America trying to become America again.

destroy him as president.. and the rethugs will take back the congress, and we are screwed.

they are stealing this election in the primaries.. that is why they Have 'Disappeared' edwards and when they mention him they shit on him

did you know that the "Dean Scream" was EDITED.. yes they removed all the background noise and probably altered the pitch to make it annoying then hammered it into the news over and over and over.. if you listen to the original tape you can barely hear him there was so much noise in the room.

this time the silence of edwards is deafening.. you wouldn't even know he was running if it weren't for Cspan. but obama is all over the news.. they are selling obama for a reason.. they can destroy him later at will

The media was giving him barely any attention for a Long time! Also, Fox came out with a now debunked story about him being a muslim and having attended a muslim terrorist school!

Luckily, CNN, for some unknown reason, sent a reporter immediately to Kenya to the school to prove that this was a lie.

The media, are now in part just responding to what Obama is creating! The coverage was Not biased towards him before the Iowa caucus, I can say with certainty because I've been keeping track myself!

However, Kucinich and Paul and a number of other have been treated very unfairly.

article on cnn about hoe the polls were affected by his being on the air all the time.. and announce.. obama 1st and hillery 3rd bashing her with a rude comment, disappearing edwards altogether like he isn't even a candidate.

they are stealing the election in the primaries this time.. pushing a candidate who will later be destroyed for smoking crack and other indiscretions.. the republicans are realty good at this wake up

I can remember back to the late 50s, and have never, NEVER, seen the media so obviously back a candidate. Every other word out of Wolf and Tweety's mouths has been Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, for the past year.

If you think about which party owns the media, this should tell you something about who they want for our nominee, and why. It ain't rocket science.

over change. A lot can happen between the primary and the eneral election. When the current administration pulls another scare tactic befor the election, experience will win. Repugs will vote for experience i.e. McCain, according to KO. Meaning if Obama is the nominee, he will lose! and I wouldn't be surprised, Repugs have managed to outsmart us on several occasions in the past.

it is to go negative on Obama. It's harder to do to him what gets done to the others. I don't know if it's his projection of positivity and the fact that when others go negative, it just feeds into his message to folks that we are all better than that.

It's actually a pretty ingenious message, and true, that a majority voting block works best when one is living in a democracy.

You get it, it is ingenious.

The only way to beat hate is with love, more hate just perpetuates it. Also, you can't react, and he's doing a great job of that! The Clinton campaign is just constantly trying to egg him into a fight, it's kind of sad that that's all they have in terms of strategy.

not count out the tactics of dirty Tricks Master, Karl Rove. In the end the GOP will try to do anything to save the day. Maybe even a fake attack, and I wouldn't put it past them. Sorry to say that the American public isn't too smart and will buy into it. Read this..
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Report_reveals_Vietnam_War_hoaxes_f_01082008.html

people like fresh faces, inpirational speakers, winners. Right now Obama looks good on all three. I still think he has some big weaknesses in a GE but in a primary race he looks pretty good. What is amazing to me, is that he has out Clintoned the Clintons to this point with his bringing the country together stuff. Bill C even said he gets a kick out of watching him.

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I have alerted your post.

I didn't know the U.S. was roaming around Kurdistan. So are you a CIA hitman or a Navy SEAL?

:sarcasm:

:rofl:

extreme opposite. That's Obama. He's unlike bush in EVERY way.

Uniter, not divider kind of crap. That's what scares me.

and the people "got" it. The other campaigns were playing off the same old playbooks (not matter how progressive or populist), and Obama kept hammering away at this new vision. And the people really wanted a new vision. He is to be credited entirely for defining the theme that is so powerful in the nation that even the Republicans are trying to glom on to it.

He's not talking about change like just changing this thing that the Bush administration did wrong or that thing (all the Democrats would do that) but changing the entire paradigm of politics in this country.

It's like what Thomas Kuhn talked about in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions: it's a paradigm-shift. These things don't happen very often, where the very lens through which we see things is shifted entirely, like a flash of lightning. And the world changes.

It's fascinating to watch.

Because you're so fucking smart?

Because I AM the devil :evilgrin:

:evilgrin:

:sarcasm:

Red-i for a big fuckin' change.

It's what I call our fascination with shiny objects. We're easily beguiled and it will probably cost the Democrats the election...again.
"You're the wave, and I'm riding it." Sen. Barack Obama. I mean, come on.

never seem to grasp the fact that nominating a candidate is just halfway - if even that. If we do not WIN the general election, then nothing the nominee said or did will matter on Jan 20th. This is so elementary, but many apparently do not get it.

Remember the repuke's Smear Machine! Which of our guys is most vulnerable to it?? That should be obvious.

And I feel like I'm totally missing something. I've seen his interviews, watched him in debates & not been particularly impressed. His speeches are long on platitudes & short on specifics. But now he's just exploded - and I honestly truly don't understand it. It's really incredible. The only thing I can figure is that voters are so totally desperate for hope & relief from the Bush Ad. that that suppressed energy & anger at the establishment has been channeled into Obama's candidacy.

The man has a message that is powerful...and now it is getting out. That's it.

Hope? Change? Motherhood and apple pie? Sorry, I don't get it.

Just accept everything superficially, say change, and hope, and smile.

Those with an INQUIRING MIND need not apply for Obama fandom.

Comprehension problems are a tough thing to deal with. Good thing is...the majority of other Democrats are 'getting it'.

Thanks for clarifying.

what used to be called expansion of the welfare state, and now you know why he talks about hope.

Edwards' message is the direct descendant of the New Deal. Not that the media want you to know that.

Not sure what it says about our country...but as far as Obama, I think it's all momentum and the fact that people like to jump on the bandwagon.

People want to be on the winning side and they see that as Obama.

that the media manufactures whatever it wants: horseraces and celebrity.

And the people don't recognize it; can't see the forest for the trees.

confidence--people respond to that. They are looking for a 180-degree contrast to GWB.

and he's got it. Thank God he's not a puke.

Friday night my husband and I went out to a Hibachi Restaurant with another couple, We were seated at a 24 person table with the two cooking surfaces.

It was really interesting that for the first time in my adult life, people were actually talking politics. Not only that, but they were excited about it.

I heard the comparison "That Obama...man..he's just like Tiger."

"Tiger?" I thought..."You mean...Tiger Woods?"

Then it hit me...He IS like Tiger Woods. I knew I had read it before, heard it before, but I think I discounted it at the time.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phil-trounstine/the-new-tigerobama-calcu_b_72217.html

I don't know a single person that looks at TW and thinks "That black guy's good" ...I know that I don't. I just think of him as "Tiger"

He's an American Icon, transcending race.

I think that is what BHO has become, the ultimate symbol of what America is. All races, all creeds. The melting pot that walks and talks.

I want Edwards to win, I really do. But I can't ignore the fact that BHO is doing what I thought couldn't be done, motivating our youth, soccer moms and people who normally sit out to WANT to be involved in the future of our country.

I still want Edwards to win though, I just wish he wasn't eclipsed by this.

He's got good policies, he's written a lot of good legislation, and he's a hell of a candidate.

in so many ways. Americans like that commodity.

because for a partisan, like those at DU, it's all about vilifying the other side and winning against the other side no matter what. For Obama, and those like him, he views the chief problem as a partisan attitude that puts the interest of the party ahead of the good of the American people. He sees the problems of Washington, the problem that most people see, and speaks truth. The young people of America get it. They've haven't been in the partisan trenches for that long.

It's no wonder, the people at DU, don't get him. They're old and dogmatic. All they want to do is fight corporations, and the republicans. Obama wants to reform the structures that make such entrenched interests possible.

after 2000 and 2002 and 2004 we've become shell shocked. Yes, 2006 helped to give us hope....and I think the favorable results where we really could believe we're not stuck in this cruel and evil dystopia forever is instrumental in this year's hope.

Once hope blooms...it begats POWER...and ENERGY!

Obama is tapping a great vein of discontent and a need to move away from the calcifying and paralyzing effects of partisan rancor.

He's not bumbling, mean-spirited, corrupt idiot.

Because he's easy to beat.

I don't think scrutiny will be a problem.