2008 Woodie Awards
The campaign about nothing
Dashboard
Jonathan Coley
Issue date: 2/13/08 Section: Opinion
After winning a variety of contests on Super Tuesday and nearly tying Senator Hillary Clinton in the popular vote, Senator Barack Obama delivered a victory speech before a crowd of thousands in his home state of Illinois.
“The votes are still being counted in cities and towns across America… But there is one thing on this February night that we do not need the final results to know. Our time has come. Our time has come. Our movement is real, and change is coming to America.”
Our time has come. Change is coming. The crowd members shot to their feet and gave a long applause, but Obama wasn’t done yet.
“Tonight, I want to speak directly to all those Americans who have yet to join this movement but still hunger for change… They know that we can take our politics to a higher level. But they’re afraid. They’ve been taught to be cynical. They’re doubtful that it can be done,” Obama said.
One can picture Americans glued to their television sets, eagerly listening to Obama and thinking to themselves, “Maybe I am afraid… Maybe I am just cynical.” Obama then delivered the biggest applause lines of all:
“We need you to stand with us. We need you to work with us… We are the change that we seek!”
We are the change that we seek. We are the hope…
The crowd then joined in with a chorus of, “Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Yes, we can!”
No, this wasn’t another episode of “Bob the Builder.” This wasn’t some weird cult meeting. This is the hottest campaign in America.
Yet, any astute political observer watching the speech that night had to ask: who is Obama kidding?
Jon Klein of Time magazine wrote that night what I think many of us have been thinking all along.
“(Obama’s) campaign is entirely about Obama and his ability to inspire… The Obama campaign all too often is about how wonderful the Obama campaign is,” Klein said.
I don’t mean to be some Debbie Downer. Obama’s campaign has mobilized younger voters on this campus and around the country in a way we rarely see. His campaign has also given another choice to voters who never believed in Clinton’s inevitability.
Yet Obama’s message could also be self-defeating.
First, are Obama supporters fooling themselves by thinking this is going to be a landslide victory for Democrats this fall? That states like Alabama are magically going to “vote for change”?
Yes, the Democrats have an advantage going into November. But John McCain is running very close to both Clinton and Obama in early general election polling, and things will only get tighter.
And second, do Obama and his supporters really think things are going to magically change in Washington the moment he enters the Oval Office? Does he really think Republicans and Democrats are going to join hands and sing “Kum-by-yah” and then quickly pass his universal healthcare bill?
If I know Republicans like I think I know Republicans, I think not.
Yes, the Obama campaign has fascinated many of us, and Obama gives some great speeches. Yet, in their idealism and excitement, Obama supporters should remember that politics are still politics, and we still have a long election season to go.
To many, Obama’s campaign about his ability to enact change is really a campaign about nothing.
Jonathan Coley is a sophomore political science major from Germantown, Tenn.
“The votes are still being counted in cities and towns across America… But there is one thing on this February night that we do not need the final results to know. Our time has come. Our time has come. Our movement is real, and change is coming to America.”
Our time has come. Change is coming. The crowd members shot to their feet and gave a long applause, but Obama wasn’t done yet.
“Tonight, I want to speak directly to all those Americans who have yet to join this movement but still hunger for change… They know that we can take our politics to a higher level. But they’re afraid. They’ve been taught to be cynical. They’re doubtful that it can be done,” Obama said.
One can picture Americans glued to their television sets, eagerly listening to Obama and thinking to themselves, “Maybe I am afraid… Maybe I am just cynical.” Obama then delivered the biggest applause lines of all:
“We need you to stand with us. We need you to work with us… We are the change that we seek!”
We are the change that we seek. We are the hope…
The crowd then joined in with a chorus of, “Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Yes, we can!”
No, this wasn’t another episode of “Bob the Builder.” This wasn’t some weird cult meeting. This is the hottest campaign in America.
Yet, any astute political observer watching the speech that night had to ask: who is Obama kidding?
Jon Klein of Time magazine wrote that night what I think many of us have been thinking all along.
“(Obama’s) campaign is entirely about Obama and his ability to inspire… The Obama campaign all too often is about how wonderful the Obama campaign is,” Klein said.
I don’t mean to be some Debbie Downer. Obama’s campaign has mobilized younger voters on this campus and around the country in a way we rarely see. His campaign has also given another choice to voters who never believed in Clinton’s inevitability.
Yet Obama’s message could also be self-defeating.
First, are Obama supporters fooling themselves by thinking this is going to be a landslide victory for Democrats this fall? That states like Alabama are magically going to “vote for change”?
Yes, the Democrats have an advantage going into November. But John McCain is running very close to both Clinton and Obama in early general election polling, and things will only get tighter.
And second, do Obama and his supporters really think things are going to magically change in Washington the moment he enters the Oval Office? Does he really think Republicans and Democrats are going to join hands and sing “Kum-by-yah” and then quickly pass his universal healthcare bill?
If I know Republicans like I think I know Republicans, I think not.
Yes, the Obama campaign has fascinated many of us, and Obama gives some great speeches. Yet, in their idealism and excitement, Obama supporters should remember that politics are still politics, and we still have a long election season to go.
To many, Obama’s campaign about his ability to enact change is really a campaign about nothing.
Jonathan Coley is a sophomore political science major from Germantown, Tenn.