Monday, October 23, 2006

News flash

Hey! Barack Obama is considering a run for president in '08.

He's a little late (like, by eight years), but who knows? Maybe he can help turn things around.

What do I mean? Well, of course there's the "buzz" that surrounds his career. But he really earned my admiration when he appeared on Sacha Cohen's Ali G show a year or two ago. Unlike most of the other (unsuspecting) guests, Obama came out of his interaction with Cohen pretty much unscathed -- that is, sans embarrassment or frustration. I guess when you don't have to protect a gargantuan ego from mischievous deflation, you do better in that sort of scenario.

Yeah, Obama seems to have all the old school "good guy" qualities: integrity, an ability to speak articulately, a sense of optimism, an identification with the little guy, a pretty wife... compare that with someone like Dennis Hastert, who, with his lumbering frame and his constantly-slobbering mouth, seems (like some modern-day Roman overlord) to physically embody the rot that infests Washington.

Wow, I really want to see how this movie ends...

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

See Kevin Drum's post on this from yesterday, including comments, which suggest that he's more likely to go for VP, and that this might be a better idea in any case.

Anonymous said...

...looking at Kevin's post again, I just want to add that, if you continue reading, you'll find that not all the comments are stupid.

Andrew Durkin said...

That's a really interesting article -- a nice overview of the evolution of black politicians through the last fifty years. And if Obama really does have the knack for gracefully but firmly delivering unpalatable truths, then look out.

Of course all of this political prognosticating is real premature (albeit real hard to resist), but my take on the possibility of a VP candidacy for BO (now there's an unfortunate set of initials), is that, as John Edwards (unfortunately) demonstrated, it's a role that can't really help a ticket (only hurt it, perhaps). The success or failure of the team depends upon the other guy (or gal), the one running for pres. And at this point, it's hard to imagine who else in the Democratic party is charismatic enough to fill that top slot. (Though it's easy to see who is planning on running, alas.)

Anonymous said...

Another good post from somebody who'd probably agree with a lot that you say.

Andrew Durkin said...

Better and better...

basmati said...

Which episode would this be in reference to? As much as I'd like for this to exist, I must say I don't ever remember Barack Obama appearing on Da Ali G Show.

And neither does tv.com, nor imdb.com.

Andrew Durkin said...

And neither does YouTube, alas...

I'm certainly open to the possibility that I might be mis-remembering this.

But I think it's more likely that the interview was not a "full on feature" of the particular episode. Perhaps it was more of a transitional thing -- perhaps even an "outro" after the credits? (That might explain why it doesn't get billing on any of the episode-guide sites.)

But this is a question that's annoying me (especially now that it's become more relevant), and I'd really like to see the bit again. I'll dig a little more -- if my research turns up anything I'll let you know here.

I may just have to break down and buy the complete DVD set...

Thanks for writing.