Chicago Tribune Article:The Obama I know

[PerfectSage]

I admire Barack Obama. :hi:


Natural born leader?

From knowing Obama for many years, I have no doubts about his ability to lead. He knows a great deal, and he is a quick learner. Even better, he knows what he does not know, and there is no question that he would assemble an accomplished, experienced team of advisers. His brilliant administration of his campaign provides helpful evidence here.

But there is some fragility to the public fervor that envelops him. Crowds and cults can be fickle, and if some of his decisions disappoint, or turn out badly, his support would diminish. Some people think it might even collapse.

My concern involves the importance of internal debate. The greatest American presidents (above all Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt) benefited from robust dialogue and advisers who avoided saying "how wonderful you are" and were willing to say, "Mr. President, your thinking about this is all wrong."

Because Obama is exceptionally able, and because so many people are treating him as a near-messiah, his advisers might be too deferential, too unwilling to question. There is a real risk here. But I believe that his humility, and his intense desire to seek out dissenting views, will prove crucial safeguards.

In the 2000 campaign, Bush proclaimed himself a "uniter, not a divider," only to turn out to be the most divisive president in memory. Because of his certainty and lack of curiosity about what others might think, Bush polarized the nation. Many of his most ambitious plans went nowhere as a result.

As president, Barack Obama would be a genuine uniter. If he proves able to achieve great things, for his nation and for the world, it will be above all for that reason.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped0314obamamar14,0,2169730.story?page=1

[City Lights]

1. K&R

[azmouse]

2. K&R

[Coexist]

3. some of my fave snips:

Expect transparency to be a central theme in any Obama administration, as a check on government and the private sector alike. It is highly revealing that Obama worked with Republican (and arch-conservative) Tom Coburn of Oklahoma to produce legislation creating a publicly searchable database of all federal spending.


But Obama is not a compromiser; he does not try to steer between the poles (or the polls). "Triangulation" has no appeal for him. Internationally and domestically, he is willing to think big and to be bold. He publicly opposed the war in Iraq when opposition was unpopular.


Obama wants to know what ideas are likely to work, not whether a Democrat or a Republican is responsible for them. Recall the most memorable passage from his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention: "We coach Little League in the blue states, and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq, and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq."

[me b zola]

4. K&R

[K Gardner]

5. This is one of the most viewed articles at the Tribune website. K&R

[roseBudd]

6. wow, be sure & click thru to read the first several paragraphs

[nsd]

7. Yes. A president who actually listens to other people and takes their arguments seriously.

Wouldn't that be something?

[PerfectSage]

8. It's something called "real" leadership.

I read the "Heart of Business" on leadership. So I know Obama is the superior candidate compared to Clinton or McCain.

[Scurrilous]

9. K & R

Thanks for posting this. :thumbsup: