The Unknown; Is Obama Ready

Ask those who served with him in the Illinois Senate whether Barack Obama is ready to be president, and they will tell you he is a dogged consensus-builder known for his empathy, intellect and unbounded ambition.

They will call him cautious and calculating, a disciple of shady patrons, a liberal lawmaker and conservative poker player.

snip-

"Obama has a great intellect and the leadership characteristics of our great American presidents," said state Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Republican who befriended Obama in Springfield. "But the unknown is the administrative and foreign policy experience."

While Dillard expects to support the GOP presidential nominee, "I would not lose a night's sleep worrying about my young children's future if Senator Obama were my president because I know he would probably surround himself, like Ronald Reagan, with exceptionally experienced people."

snip-

Sen. Kimberly Lightford, who entered the state Senate shortly after Obama, recalls walking into Obama's law office and asking for advice after winning her Democratic primary. "I'm, like, very naive and think I can fix the world _ come here and change things overnight," she said. Obama curbed her enthusiasm.

He urged caution, telling her, "Once you get there you might realize it's a bigger picture and you might want to look at one topic and do what you can." On her way out the door, Obama surprised Lightfoot by pulling out his checkbook and writing a $500 check to her campaign.

"This guy is cool. He's gorgeous. And he's giving me money!" she recalls with a laugh. "He's my new big brother.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/16/AR2007061600494.html

and has good mentors around him. i see my earlier post today got a few people upset.....lol

:shrug:

you take the good and the bad with colin powell. according to many, obama has to consul with the angels and has to walk on water to prove his worth.

Perhaps it is. Obama seems to have a "big brother" like cult. Anything that contradicts the official story is deleted from the mythologized account.

that is exactly the point of draft mario cuomo's post.

you have given his argument corroboration.

can Obama's, or Edwards, or HRC's candidacies be addressed critically, by which I mean analytically, objectively, honestly?

I would have thought that is the point of a site like DU.

negative and incessant slamming is one thing - open discussion with a civil tone seems quite another.

can anyone simply point out that Powell is, at very best, a mixed bag...and the Joe's mentorship is not something to be proud of. And can one wonder what the deal is with someone who draws from these two? Maybe there are good answers to that question, but I don't see it addressed.

My guy, Edwards, is not perfect, and though my support is extremely strong, I think there are things to be addressed and honed. How wierd that someone would think their candidate is perfect. That's probably where draft mario cuomo thinks it veers into cultishness.

I want our nominee to emerge as a real person, not as a divine messenger.

and can make his or her own decision. Bush relies a lot on his "mentors" (Cheney, etc.) and look where that has gotten us.

Any political office.