Obama’s Global Full-Court Press
… AND THE PRESS IT’S WINNING HIM
By Mande Wilkes
FITSNews - July 21, 2008 - We were ready to mourn the untimely demise of meritocracy after discovering a little pearl of nuanced dimension (or dementia) in one of the recent Election ‘08 polls.
The crux of our interest was the poll’s finding that respondents overwhelmingly believe that John McCain has more foreign policy savvy, while at the same time favoring Barack Obama to make the right foreign policy decisions.
This curious juxtaposition had us questioning the wisdom of universal suffrage in view of the moribund state of our schizophrenic electorate.
Turns out that our worry was in vain, since Obama - like the “It-man” rock star he is - has kicked off a world tour of Mick Jagger-esque proportions.
In an apparent effort to beef up his heretofore nonexistent foreign relations experience, Obama will travel to the U.K., Afghanistan, Iraq and other destinations throughout Europe and the Middle East.
He’ll be received by heads of state with fanfare fit for a U.S. president, the pomp and circumstance of which will be captured by a love-struck media brigade … also fit for a U.S. president.
Underscoring the media’s over-the-top infatuation with Obama is the fact that McCain has made three such trips in the past year without even a hat-tip from the press.
Anyway, it seem that Obama’s got something to prove - and that’s just the problem with his globe-trotting.
It comes off as contrived, brewed up in conference calls by consultants who find it increasingly difficult to vouch for their candidate’s skills in an are where he hasn’t shown that he has any.
Unable to point to any substantive legislation or initiative, Obama’s international tour de force is, like much of the rest of his campaign, merely gratuitous - a show-stopping series of Kodak moments, the flash of which is meant to render voters dazzlingly blind to the reality that he’s but a fraction of the shadow he casts.
And it works.
In politics as in pop, it is the shadow that we see, not the measure of the man casting it.
In fact, we have little doubt that Obama’s world tour will guarantee that the next Election ‘08 poll shows that he’s the candidate with the international know-how and the one who will make the best foreign policy decisions.
Which makes us feel better … even if the perception is as illusory as the candidate advancing it.
Comments
By rick on July 21st, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Amen
By common sense trumps "political" experience anyday on July 21st, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Well there is something else about Barak on this trip- the Iraqi prime minister seems to agree with Obama’s timetable for troop withdrawal-16months- lets bring them home - the Iraqis want to stand up and let us step down- which will save us 10+billion per month -
It is a shame Bush -McCain can not see the plain common sense in this approach - hmmm fight the terrorists in Afghanistan - remember that is where the 9/11 terrorists trained - focus on Afghanistan - Iraq never threatened to attack us .
It is that type of common sense leadership that does not take much of the kind of foreign policy “experience” McCain and Bush have -
By Crooner on July 21st, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Mande:
It’s clear you would have no idea what to do with a dick.