See article below, and: Vote! Make your opinion (or lack thereof) count!! Vote at Adult Christian Forum Thread 132020!!!. (Choices and link also given after article below.)
From a Washington Post article, That Was the Obama We're Still Waiting For:
That Was the Obama We're Still Waiting For [/] By Michael Tomasky [/] Sunday, August 10, 2008; [Page in print edition] B01As the Democratic convention approaches, it's a safe bet that the cable networks will transport us back in time to late July 2004 by showing clips of Barack Obama's electrifying keynote address to that year's gathering. That was the speech that made him a star (and unlike John McCain's ad team, I mean this as a compliment). But I've sometimes wondered in recent months: Whatever happened to that Obama, to that enemy of excessive partisanship and evangelist of national unity?
You will recall the money sentences: "Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America." These phrases were followed by several deftly chosen images designed to skewer the stereotypes that red and blue Americans entertain about each other. "We worship an awesome God in the blue states," Obama thundered. "And yes," he added, "we've got some gay friends in the red states."
These now-famous lines constituted just a small sliver of the speech; the rest was more standard stuff -- his biography, his concern for workers at a Maytag plant in Galesburg, Ill., (he was running for Senate, after all) and, of course, all the marvelous things that John F. Kerry would do as president. But those lines stood out for a reason: They articulated a deep yearning, held by many Americans of varying beliefs, for less polarization and division. This theme was precisely what cata pulted Obama to the front rank of Democratic poli ticians.
Now ask yourself: Have you heard Obama talk like that lately? [/] Chances are you haven't. The grand 2004 theme of post-partisanship seems to have all but disappeared from the candidate's rhetoric. [/] [...] but I also think that Obama will miss an important opportunity if he doesn't use this month's convention to restate this theme -- and remind voters that a purpler America is still a pretty good idea.
Here are four theories about why Obama has moved post-partisanship to the rhetorical back burner.
Theory No. 1: There's only room in a campaign for one big theme at a time, and the Obama team has settled on "change." [...]
Theory No. 2: Post-partisanship is too abstract. Obama has taken lots of fire from pundits and GOP operatives for supposedly being too highfalutin', a propensity he now feels he must guard against. [...]
Theory No. 3: The Obama team may feel that they've already established the purple theme sufficiently. [...]
Theory No. 4: It could be that the post-partisanship theme is simply less resonant now than it was in 2004. [...]So perhaps the Obama campaign has good reasons to move away from the theme that made its candidate famous. The Obama people may know exactly what they're doing. After all, they haven't done too badly so far. [...] [/] Even so, I would like to see Obama return to the post-partisan, one-America idea himself. It's an electoral winner and a governing essential, should he be elected. [/] mtomasky@gmail.com [/] Michael Tomasky is the editor of Guardian America, the U.S.-based Web site of the Guardian.
[Links to] Ads by Google: [/] Free Obama Button [...] [/] [...] Full Story on Jesse Jackson's Crude Remark [...] [/] [...] "Barack Obama Exposed" - Free! [My ellipses and emphasis]
Poll Question: The '04 Obama: Gone Forever?!? | Poll choices:
1. Yes. Hypocrisy now obvious. / 2. Yes. Circumstances have changed. / 3. Yes. Times have changed. / 4. Yes. Slamming conservatives now more important. / 5. Yes. It was all a dream. / 6. Yes. It was all media hype. / 7. Yes. Reality has set in. / 8. Yes. / 9. Possibly. / 10. Possibly. Post-partianship too abstract. / 11. Possibly. One theme at a time. / 12. Possibly. Post-partisanship less resonant. / 13. No. . / 14. No. Purple theme established. / 15. No. Hope implies unity. / 16. No. Change implies unity. / 17. No. All will like Obama's changes. / 18. No. Statism brings unity. / 19. No opinion. Important issues deserve much study.. / 20. No comment. / 21. No opinion. / 22. This poll is worthless. / 23. This poll is of negative value. / 24. Other.
Vote at Adult Christian Forum Thread 132020! Vote!! Make your opinion (or lack thereof) count!!!
