The very fact that North Carolina is now seemingly hanging in the balance is incredibly refreshing to me. As it the fact that Obama has really had a couple of bad weeks press-wise. It feels like the political playing field might just be looking a bit more level now.
It’s not that I loathe Obama (I don’t, I just don’t think he plays the game well enough to be president) but I wanted the press to turn a bit. The media have put him on such a pedestal that he to take a tumble and tumble he has.
He may still win, but now we see a bit more of the real issues coming through with Barack and the main one is beyond big speeches and rallies – he doesn’t cope well in debate. Although we say this through the lens of CNN – isn’t debate a critical asset of democracy? Should the American president be at the top if his or her game in this crucial category? And if he’s about hope and a new beginning, why wait so long to condemn the people and influences on his life that he has refused to do so for so many months?
And Guam, dear God I never thought I’d right about Guam, gave Obama a win by 7 votes. Hardly the touted landslides and ‘movement based politics’ of last year. And Guam aside, Pennsylvania was a good win for Mrs. Clinton.
Hillary – on the other hand – seems to fail a bit at public speaking, she seems distant, or exhausted or just aloof. I think she’s got to watch that. However, I think her relationship with real Americans seems to be more ‘real’ and ‘earned’ than the highly managed, single stump speech based Obama. That’s not to say that she’s down with the kids – her tax returns certainly show us how privileged her life is – but maybe because Americans trumpet success, living the “American Dream” as it were – they applaud her for her wealth.
I’d rather have someone in the White House who could work the internal machinations of America government than someone who can fill a stadium; I’d rather vote (remember, I can’t so these views are already irrelevant) for a candidate who’s been there and mostly done that.
You know, I’ve worked in radio, news and PR most of my career – there was such a momentum behind Obama at the beginning that it looked like a one horse race and yes, I was excited – Democrats are gifted with such brilliant candidates. But things change, the media has changed and it seems that those in the know might be starting to put experience and empathy above hope and haughtiness.
And those in the know seem to be real Americans.
