At this time, the Democratic Party has only one genuine progressive star — Barack Obama. But no one wants him to run for President. The conventional wisdom is that he needs more “seasoning” in the Senate before he develops the gravitas to be a Presidential contender.
But history doesn’t support that view. As we saw with John Kerry last year, long time Senators tend to be pompous, overly oratorical, and out of touch. The only Senator who has won the Presidency in recent time was another very young, junior Senator who hadn’t become stultified by the institution — John Kennedy.
Barack Obama should run for President in 2008. It is his best chance to win. He has the smarts and the charisma and the leadership qualities. I see no reason for him to spend additional years in the Senate becoming more wooden and out-of-touch.
