Why is Barak Obama supposedly a Presidential Contender?
In a sane world I do not think that Barak Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, would even be mentioned in the same sentence as the presidency. If Wikipedia can be trusted, he was a fairly effective state senator, but he was lucky to win the US Senate gig. His major primary opponent was hurt by domestic abuse allegations, and his initial Republican opponent withdraw after being embarrased by a mild sex scandal, leaving him with a carpetbagging right-wing nutcase who he beat handily.
So why is Obama second only to Hilary Clinton in name recognition among Democrats? Some people might cite his 2004 Democratic Convention keynote, which was undeniable a fine piece of speechifying. But let's face facts. If he was a white guy from Illinois, nobody would know who he is. Because he happens to have a multiracial heritage that would give Tiger Woods a run for his money, he is suddenly a contender. The only real difference is that Tiger has actual accomplishments. His racial background is completely irrelevant to his golf game, it just makes him more marketable. Obama seems to the the reverse I don't see any evidence that Obama is being touted for any reason other than his background, which is an odd sort of reverse racism by the Democratic Party.
I can certainly see why some people want him to run - he's a great speaker, is somewhat popular across party lines, he doesn't have years of negative political history that can be dredged up, he's not Hilary, and oh yeah, he would practically guarantee that the minorities who are the main bulwark of the Democrats would turn out in force. I just wish he had some more substantial credentials. Of course, on the other side of the coin (literally) there was once a pretty good President from Illinois whose credentials were often derided, so maybe I should drop it.
So why is Obama second only to Hilary Clinton in name recognition among Democrats? Some people might cite his 2004 Democratic Convention keynote, which was undeniable a fine piece of speechifying. But let's face facts. If he was a white guy from Illinois, nobody would know who he is. Because he happens to have a multiracial heritage that would give Tiger Woods a run for his money, he is suddenly a contender. The only real difference is that Tiger has actual accomplishments. His racial background is completely irrelevant to his golf game, it just makes him more marketable. Obama seems to the the reverse I don't see any evidence that Obama is being touted for any reason other than his background, which is an odd sort of reverse racism by the Democratic Party.
I can certainly see why some people want him to run - he's a great speaker, is somewhat popular across party lines, he doesn't have years of negative political history that can be dredged up, he's not Hilary, and oh yeah, he would practically guarantee that the minorities who are the main bulwark of the Democrats would turn out in force. I just wish he had some more substantial credentials. Of course, on the other side of the coin (literally) there was once a pretty good President from Illinois whose credentials were often derided, so maybe I should drop it.