I was reading this: NPR : Obama to Attend Selma March Anniversary and was struck by Obama’s willingness to answer questions rather than weasel his way out of them. I’ve hightlighted some of the questions it seems that politicians usually avoid somehow:
Do you try to talk in the same way to a black audience as a white audience?
I think that the themes are consistent. It think that there’s a certain black idiom that it’s hard not to slip into when you’re talking to a black audience because of the audience response. It’s the classic call and response. Anybody who’s spent time in a black church knows what I mean. And so you get a little looser; it becomes a little more like jazz and a little less like a set score.
I don’t know what I would have said, but not that. And could a white person even say that? Also a question about him not being black enough:
There’s no doubt that in the history of African American politics in this country there has always been some tension between speaking in universal terms and speaking in very race-specific terms about the plight of the African American community. By virtue of my background, I am more likely to speak in universal terms.
March 1st, 2007
Robert D. Novak talks in the washingtonpost about the void on the right among GOP primary candidates. He speaks of a push poll in which Jim Gilmore of Virginia would win the nomination. It was obviously a manipulated result, but it demonstrates how uneducated and wide open the GOP nomination is. Novak states:
The most commonly mentioned potential void-filler is not Gilmore but Newt Gingrich. A straw poll by the right-wing organization Citizens United of its political contributors showed Gingrich leading with 31 percent (followed by Giuliani at 25 percent, Romney at 10 percent and McCain at 8 percent). But based on his actions as speaker of the House, Gingrich’s conservative record is far from flawless.
Gingrich has really demonstrated some resilience over the past decade. He’s done really good work on the issue of health care and is such a persuasive orator. He is to the democrats, though, as Clinton is to the republicans. An object to be loathed, embodying the worst sterotypes of their party. I doubt he’s electable, but he’d do great in a debate.
UPDATE: 3/5/2007
Rather than a whole new post, I figured I’d add to this one as it’s the same topic. Ann Coulter was questioned about the best candidate for conservatives and had the following to say, per csc:
During a question-and-answer session, Coulter said she believed Romney “is probably our best candidate.”
She described Giuliani as “very, very liberal,” and said that despite doing good things in New York, he “has a list of negatives that makes [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi look like the rational middle.”
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, she said, like 1980s music, was not likely to come back into style.
March 1st, 2007