One thing I think is kind of odd, but not really surprising, is how much more savvy the African-American community seems about American politics than the general population of the blogosphere. In my experience, African-Americans have a keen awareness that Barack Obama’s ‘style’ is dictated by outside contraints. Obama’s success is dependent on him passing the race test. He can’t appear too black. He can talk about racism, poverty, crime, predatory loans, sentencing disparity, and other issues that are disproportionately important to the black community. But he has to be careful. He can’t come off as a black-identity politician. He can’t sound like Jesse Jackson. And that means he can’t be angry and confrontational in the style of Howard Dean or John Edwards. The moment he adopted that style he would frighten people away. His success is dependent on people looking past his race.
In saying this, I do not at all mean to suggest that Obama’s positive, inclusive, bipartisan, hopeful message is insincere. I think, fortunately, Barack Obama’s wants to campaign this way. But the fact remains that he didn’t have an option.
In fairness to Hillary Clinton, she has been operating under her own constraints. In vying to be the first American female commander in chief (in a time of war, no less) she needed to prove her toughness. If she had taken Dennis Kucinich’s positions on foreign policy she probably would have disqualified herself in the eyes of enough people to doom her campaign. Anyone that discounts these threshold hurdles for Obama and Clinton just isn’t cynical enough.
Some, like our very own Arthur Gilroy, insist that deep down Hillary Clinton is a progressive that is playing the game the only way it can be played if a woman is going to take control of the Pentagon. I don’t disagree that she had to do it this way (at least, substantially this way). But I don’t judge Hillary by some kind amateur psychoanalysis. I judge her by her friends and advisers. And on that count, I think her expressed policies are a fair indication of what she wants to do as president. I could be wrong.
I could also be wrong about Obama. I think deep down he is an activist and a progressive, and that he will take a fresh look at our foreign policies. But maybe he is naive and soft, and will get easily rolled once he gains office.
Regardless, I haven’t written anything (that I can remember) bashing Obama for his tone or style or lack of combativeness or partisanship. Many people I really respect, like Chris Bowers, have been almost obsessed with these aspects of Obama’s campaign. It’s surprised me. Obama and Bowers are like twins separated at birth, but Bowers has struggled to get past discordant rhetoric from the Obama campaign. In my view, Obama’s rhetoric has been finely calibrated to reassure white people, the media, the Beltway, the business community, and the Blue Dogs and moderates. He took the progressives a bit for granted because, frankly, he had that luxury.
In fairness, I guess I shouldn’t leave Edwards out of this analysis. Edwards’ populist pitch was dictated to some degree by the playing field. Ask yourself…if he didn’t go for anti-corporate populism, what other niche could he have used to rise into a three-way tie in Iowa? His options, too, were limited. But he has been consistent. His 2004 campaign was based on the Two Americas of haves and have-nots. He’s been at it long enough to convince me he’s serious about winning and serious about having a mandate for change.
What I am trying to say? Politicians combine sincerity with pragmatism with cynicism. Their positions are often dictated by the particular electorate they are trying to attract. Al Gore and Dennis Kucinich were pro-life when they had only state or local aspirations. Poppy Bush and Mitt Romney were pro-choice when that was possible and beneficial to their campaigns. They’re pro-life now. It doesn’t get more cynical than that. To see what the candidates really believe, deep down, you have to look past what they say, or even what positions they espouse.
I think the blogosphere has been holding Barack Obama to an impossible standard. But all three of the frontrunners have been victims of a lack of savvy from the purity trolls.
