Barack Obama’s premise for his presidential candidacy is his “judgment to lead.” He may not have the same experience as his opponent, but he has what it takes to make the right call.
The examples we’re given of Obama’s insightful judgment include his opposition to America going into Iraq back in 2003 — when he was a state senator and had no real political stake in taking either position — and … anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
Obama is a charismatic speaker when the words are right there in front of him. Heck, I can be too. In fact, I serve as a lay reader at my church and was told by a fellow congregant earlier this year that I should run for office because I read so well. (She also liked my hair.) It was flattering, of course, but made me wonder what this woman looks for in a candidate seeking to lead our country — and how many more there are like her out there.
Take away the teleprompter and what do you have? Someone who over-utilizes “uh” and “um.” He reminds me of a girl in high school who was a big “ummer” too. It was so bad that I remember a friend and I entertaining ourselves by counting how many times she said “um” while speaking in class.
You also have someone who made a joke that backfired spectacularly. “Lipstick on a pig” may prove to have been the true turning point in this campaign. I agree that it’s a well-known phrase that’s been around longer than Robert Byrd’s corns, but what kind of judgment did Obama show in using it a week after Sarah Palin’s famous joke about lipstick being the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? His “old fish wrapped in paper” gag didn’t go over so well either. In fact, he’s beginning to sound petty and shrill on the campaign trail — something I thought was usually attributed to women.
Maybe there is something to the rumor that Michelle Obama wears the pants in the family.
How about Obama’s first executive decision — his choice of running mate? I don’t know about you, but Bazooka Joe Biden’s penchant for running the gaffe-o-matic on high probably wasn’t quite the gravitas Obama was looking for. It’s hard to have faith in your right-hand man when he tells voters on the campaign trail that “Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America.” Add that to his uncanny ability to insult minority groups, inattention to detail, and inability to use his own words and you have a political powder keg just waiting to blow.
Is this the kind of judgment to lead we’ve all been hearing so much about?
Now imagine Obama in an intense negotiation with one of America’s enemies — only in an Obama presidency we won’t have enemies, we’ll have “countries with opposing viewpoints.” Any-hoo, just imagine the scene: tea and cakes have just been served on the official Oval Office tea set — festively adorned with Obama’s personal seal — and Obama, in an attempt to lighten the mood and relax his guest, says to Kim Jong Il, “Hey, I just added a great song to my iPod. It’s called ‘Short People’ by Randy Newman. Remember that one? It goes like this: ‘Short people got no reason to live … they have little hands, little eyes, they go around telling great big lies.’ … Hey, where are you going? You didn’t finish your tea!”
Gross exaggeration? Of course. But considering how The OneTM has unraveled on the campaign trail in just a matter of weeks since the entrance stage right of Sarah Palin, Americans have reason to be concerned how he would react under the very real pressures of the presidential office. What tough decisions has he made that illustrate the judgment to lead that he’s been claiming for the past 19 months? Surely it can’t be day-to-day campaign decisions, as much as he’d like us to think that, because that’s his campaign manager’s job.
Another saying that’s been around even longer than “lipstick on a pig” is “caveat emptor” — “let the buyer beware.” It’s one that American voters would do well to heed in November, regardless of what our more enlightened European betters think.
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