President Obama: The Preview?

[question everything]

President Obama: The Preview?
By JON KELLER
May 3, 2008; Page A9

"Sen. Obama and I are long-time friends and allies. We often share ideas about politics, policy and language."
-- Deval Patrick

There may not be two politicians on the national stage more alike than Barack Obama and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. Both went to Harvard Law, are African-American politicians with mass appeal, and use soaring rhetoric to promise a bold new postpartisan politics.

(snip)

Mr. Patrick, 52, was swept into office in a landslide in 2006. He won because Democrats were energized to capture the governor's mansion and because he presented himself as an historic candidate. Having never held elective office before – though he was assistant attorney general for the civil rights division in the Clinton administration – it was easy for him to claim that he wouldn't be beholden to special interests or outmoded orthodoxies. Baby boomers, eager to make a permanent mark on the political landscape, also found the idea of electing the state's first black governor appealing. What the Bay State got, however, is a pedestrian liberal governor who is remarkably quick to retreat in the face of pressure from the status quo.

Mr. Patrick's first cave-in came just weeks after he was elected, and before he was even sworn into office. On the campaign trail he promised to cut $735 million in wasteful spending from the state budget. But when the Democratic Senate president rebuked him for it, the governor-elect backpedalled. The Boston Globe summed it up this way: "Patrick backed off and said he didn't really mean it." Another retreat came on a common sense issue that likely might have marked him as a true reformer had he made even a losing fight of it. Massachusetts is the only state that mandates that cops, not flagmen, direct traffic at road-construction sites. Earlier this spring, Mr. Patrick proposed loosening the requirement as a way to save taxpayers millions, but quickly recanted when the police union flooded the capitol with lobbyists. Within days, Mr. Patrick told listeners of his monthly radio show "the more I think about this, the less certain I am that we can fix this top down."

(snip)

One characteristic of the Obama-Patrick brand of politics is the assertion that they can personally persuade disparate political leaders to reach a consensus. Mr. Patrick's biggest test of this claim came this year when he proposed bringing jobs to the state by allowing casino gambling in Massachusetts. The proposal angered an odd alliance of liberals and social conservatives because gambling is a highly regressive (if voluntary) tax. And it ended in defeat for the governor. Rather than use the bully pulpit to create public pressure in favor of his proposal – Mr. Patrick told me in late March "I don't think that the way to advance most of our agenda is to do it through the media" – he lobbied lawmakers behind closed doors, using data that proved flimsy and skewed. In the end, his bill went down to a crushing defeat and, on the day of the legislature's vote, he skipped town to ink a $1.35 million book deal at a Manhattan publishing house.

What should trouble Mr. Obama the most is that the stirring rhetoric of Mr. Patrick's 2006 campaign, now being recycled by the Illinois senator (at times, word for word), is no longer connecting with Massachusetts voters. A mid-April poll found that 56% of the state's voters disapprove of the governor's performance. Even among left-leaning Democrats, more than four in 10 disapprove of Mr. Patrick. Voters in Massachusetts had hoped Mr. Patrick's reformist promises and appealing style would mean a makeover for a tired political culture that has long since stopped producing satisfactory results. Instead, they, along with voters in southern New Hampshire and northern Rhode Island (which receive Boston news), now seem wary of the Obama-Patrick connection. These areas turned out heavily for Hillary Clinton in the presidential primaries and helped her carry all three states.

(snip)

Mr. Keller is political analyst for WBZ-TV in Boston and author of "The Bluest State" (St. Martins, 2007).

URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120977620145164219.html

[hokies4ever]

1. Cliff Notes version: All black politicians are alike

Save your time reading this folks. If it doesn't turn your stomach, then you've become immune to these types of political attacks from the GOP and Hillary's camp.

[question everything]

2. Of course, if this artilce were praising both

you would have been basking in the accolades, embracing "one of our own."

[mcctatas]

4. Or, it would still be ridiculous n/t

[VolcanoJen]

8. Your purpose in posting this was totally to praise Obama

And we totally get it. :eyes:

[hokies4ever]

9. Another stupid theory

'one of our own': Suggests that blacks only vote for Obama because he's black. MSM is inundated with this 'white working class' message and nary a peep about the Clinton campaign's race 'gaffes' that have hurt her long-standing support within the black community.

[question everything]

30. Do you think that Oprah would have come out "our time has come"

rally had Obama not been black?

Do you think that Jesse Jackson would have hesitated for a second in supporting Edwards, whose plan to fight poverty he admired, had he not "waited" for the campaign of black Obama to lure him with its plan?

What about, early in the game, when Jesse Jackson Jr. bullied superdelegates members of the Black Congressional Caucus "not to stand in the way" of electing the first black President?

What about so many African Americans on DU and in general, being proud that "our time has come?"

Both Edwards and Hillary were well known and loved in South Caroline. Many were not even aware that Obama was black until a (white) campaign worker opened his laptop and showed the skeptics a photo (it helped that Michelle has a darker skin, too). Yet, all of a sudden Obama swept that state. Are you trying to tell me that his skin color had nothing to do with this?

He has been getting 80% or so, of the black votes. Are you trying to tell me that this has nothing to do with his skin color?

[Justitia]

5. No shit. Wall Street Journal, no surprise. Gotta lump all those black guys together into one mold.

[Texas Hill Country]

12. that is not what the article states at all.

[hokies4ever]

16. Here's what the article states

Obama and Patrick are alike because they are black, eloquent, Harvard lawyers. Obama has praised some of Patrick's ideas. Therefore, let's make this 'obvious' leap in logic to imply that Patrick's experiences as governor will be Obama's experiences as President.

After all, we know that all black Harvard lawyers think alike, right?

[question everything]

35. Both lack executive experience but ran on charisma and on inspiring

phrases that, at least with Patrick, has shown to be lacking.

Can we afford a President who gets training on the job?

[Secret_Society]

18. Obama supporters once again injecting race

[Justitia]

20. LOL! That is what the entire hit piece was about, silly. -eom

[hokies4ever]

23. the article injected race

by saying that Obama will be like Patrick because they're both black lawyers. You think it's a coincidence the author just happened to mention that they're alike because they're both black? The original poster injected race into this topic.

Don't hate because your candidate is out of this race. He can't even choose who to endorse. The worst kind of decision is indecision, because you're content to let someone else make important decisions for you. :rofl:

[VolcanoJen]

24. No need to when the OP does the dirty work for ya

Shorter Secret_Society: When we post WSJ links about the first-ever, first-term black governor, we are not drawing attention to his race. At all. Please.

[Leopolds Ghost]

37. No, he's criticizing both for being liberal. Telling, isn't it?

Interesting, I never hear the media criticize someone for being conservative.

It's the right-wing Democrats who bought into the lies.

In large part because they associate "liberal" with "black people and their allies".

Just like white, "salt of the earth" Americans used to hate "city folk and those Jews" back in the old days.

[Neshanic]

3. I don't think he will get the chance, given McCain will be sitting there.

[FrenchieCat]

7. Over where you live maybe.......in

[Neshanic]

17. Yes, the famous Obama episode. The one where everyone thought he would win.

[FrenchieCat]

25. Not....that episode is called,

AND IT'S FUCKING REAL!

What else you got?

[hokies4ever]

6. Deval Patrick's political stances closer to Hillary Clinton

especially on important issues, e.g. health care mandate. Also, Patrick's overspending on his campaign and afterwards sounds strikingly similar to the money problems Hillary has had this campaign season. Searching for this in the article. . .not finding it. . .moral of the story: black politicians are alike.

[Justitia]

10. How about the next Thurgood Marshall? He was a pretty prominent black dude too.

Or Hillary Clinton as the next Margaret Thatcher?

[hokies4ever]

14. that doesn't fit into the narrative

of classifying Obama as an inept black politician though, so that's why he dug further for this article

[Justitia]

15. Ahhhh, I see now. Gotta work on sharpening my myopia! -eom

[VolcanoJen]

11. Shorter question everything: Any minute now, I'm going to post an article...

... about a successful first-term governor who isn't an African-American. Because that's how I roll.

[cliffordu]

13. When backed up against the wall, and the kitchen sink has been tossed already,

just reach down into the drain pipe and grab some of that sewage floatin' around down there and put a suit and tie on it and call it "insight" from the Wall Street Journal...

[hokies4ever]

19. Agreed!

The author doesn't even try to make his argument credible All he has is that they're both black lawyers who speak well and Obama has praised him before. Obama praises just about everybody on certain issues. He even praised Bush on his HIV/AIDS international work.

[FrenchieCat]

21. Stop insulting sewage! Please!

[cliffordu]

26. Oh, alright, I'm sorry. I won't do it again....

:rofl:

[NanceGreggs]

27. I am now seeing the Clinton campers ...

... as characters from 1950s B-movies - the ones where the guy runs out of bullets, so he throws the gun, figuring that will actually kill the bad guy carrying the machine-gun.

[cliffordu]

29. Yep - the attacks around here lately REEK of the desperation

typical of a last stand.......More seem to be getting TS'ed over losing control and posting the most egregious stuff...people who I thought would be here forever, who'd come around after Herself steps down....

There are deep divides here, and I was not -really- aware of how bitter they had become.

Too bad. Some very sharp individuals are gone.

Maybe they'll get some rest and come around.

[GoesTo11]

22. Clinton appointee Deval Patrick

When he does worst, it's because he's applied the lessons of the Clintons.

[tishaLA]

28. he's on WBZ? Isn't that station as RW as

KABC in LA? Like, a constant RW hate fest?

[The Ghost]

31. not really, but Jon Keller sure is. hes a real

sensationalist piece of shit. really annoying weasel he is

[The Ghost]

32. The problem

with Patrick, as much as I like him as a governor, is he didnt have the political experience when he started as governor. Hes learning it and getting better, but didnt have it to start with, for which both Barack and Hillary have. The comparison is weak, and really is only made due to race. This isnt an Obama supporter bringing up race, its Jon Keller.

[question everything]

34. Not much of a national experience, Barely two years in the Senate

I think that this is the point he was making: lack of executive experience, relying on charisma and on inspiring speeches that, in reality, cannot be translated so quickly to actual governing. The Presidency, and the Governor position, cannot be a place for training on the job.

The race issue came because both of them are proud to think in a similar fashion and to have similar concepts, and, I think, Obama and many in his campaign have pointed to the success of Patrick election as an indicator. After all, Axelrod has been running both.

[The Ghost]

38. Political experience is political experience

doesnt matter if its national or not. what NATIONAL experience did Bill have? huh? less than Obama! cause he is a US senator.

[Dyllyn]

33. Here we go again more KKK comments .

That's like saying "Ya know Hillary has alot in common with Barbara Bush" so she must be shit....

[Leopolds Ghost]

36. OH NO, question everything says Deval Patrick is a TYPICAL LIBERAL and Obama may turn out the same.

And we are supposed to question that. Interesting.