The complexity of the Afghanistan situation revealed itself in Obama’s speech on Tuesday. You could tell that through the months of internal deliberation and analysis, Obama reached a decision that he is not, himself, completely comfortable with. When you have to fight a war on multiple fronts that are so drastically different, you know that you’re undertaking a battle that could potentially end in failure. The fronts: defeating the Taliban, building trust with the Afghan people, establishing a legitimate Afghan government, improve the states infrastructure, hunting down al qaeda, re-committing to relations with Pakistan, helping the Pakistani’s keep al qaeda out of their mountainous regions, and to bring the international community back into the fight. I’m sure I am missing a few important aspects of the fight also, but as you can see, the challenge that we face may be near impossible.
I do not envy Obama at all, but what he is doing, is keeping true to his campaign promises, fighting the war that he feels is the “just,” war, a war that actually effects our national security. I had a serious problem with his speech however, and this is a problem that chose me to support Hillary Clinton during the campaign. Obama is a beautiful orator, and his rhetoric has the potential to change minds and energize the world. But Obama toes the line between intellectual and preacher far too often for me. Don’t preach to me about the moral imperative that we have as a nation, or the shining beacon of hope that America is. We have not even come close to realizing a true democracy, we have our own failings, and who is to say that our form of government is the only successful one? So I ask the question, what do you want in your president? What personal characteristics are most valuable to you?
For me personally, I don’t want, or need my President to try and inspire me and light a fire from within. I can understand how millions of Americans want this, and how valuable it can be however. This is one of the reasons Obama was elected, and his election, hopefully, has inspired countless Americans to set goals that were once seen as only dreams. But this is not for me, I don’t need my President to speak to me like a minister, this type of rhetoric has a tendency to frighten me. Whether your message is correct or not, “evangelical speak,” can be manipulative…Its power cannot be understated.
However, I do want my President to be a great public speaker, but I want him to be an intellectual speaker. I want my President to be so much smarter then me that it’s scary. I surely would never vote for the candidate that I’d most like to have a beer with. What does that have to do with anything? There’s no reason we should dumb down our candidates to a level of ignorant folksiness. Our President should be allowed and expected to use language that we might not be able to comprehend. I don’t want my President to be a “real guy,” someone that middle America can relate to and want to bake a pie with, like Sarah Palin. I don’t care if I like the person or not, I just want them to be able to get the job done. To be so brilliant that they will see things that the normal person cannot, a President should be exceptional, not a “real American.”
Does Obama fall into this category? Yes, I think he does. He is a genius of a man, and as we have seen throughout his first year of office, the international community has already rallied behind his Presidency. His style may not have been what I need in my leader, but I do think that it is what this nation, and the rest of the world needs. We desperately need a transcending figure like Obama. Do I think Clinton would have been a successful President? Of course, but she would not have had the glory, respect and revolutionary nature that Obama brings to the table. But maybe this would have been a good thing?
It’s still early, but Obama has an image that he created, an image that was so powerful that he must live up to. I think he has succeeded in maintaining that image thus far, even though many people have labeled him as a failure already. There is a major problem, or challenge, that comes about when you paint yourself as a “spiritual, cultural, and ideological” figurehead for a movement. Anything short of a dramatic paradigm shift will be seen as a disappointment, and can cripple your party and your beliefs for multiple election cycles.
Filed under: Political Pondering
I know next to nothing about the war or if his decision is a good one or not. However, his decision does tell me one thing.
Obama doesn’t seem to be making decisions (on any issue) to make other people happy. I feel he is doing what he thinks is the right thing to do for the country, not what his supporters want him to do or whether its going to get him reelected or because of any other factors. That is a quality that I think everybody should want in their president.
Dan,
You must be a huge fan of George W. Bush then, huh?
He had that crap down cold.
Um . . . no . . . I think you missed my point haha. I guess maybe he thought he was doing things that were best for the country. I think that was clearly not the case though.
you can respect bush’s determination and resolve I guess, but you need to have a bit of humility and realize when you mess up and need to make some adjustments. his stubbornness was his flaw.
Jonas,
Interesting post; well written. I agree that most citizens want a President of exceptional nature. In fact, a professor at Johns Hopkins (Ginsburg) once said in a course of ours that “Americans will only vote for someone they percieve as better than themselves. Otherwise, they would do the job themselves.” Part of leadership is having someone to look up to and to emulate.
That being said, I find it odd that you want a President who is exceptional but not a country that is exceptional. Do you not agree that America should be the “City on a Hill?” I know this has been a point of contention in liberal circles–Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize drew ire from many on the left, as it spoke greatly about American exceptionalism:
“There will be times when nations — acting individually or in concert — will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified…Evil does exist in the world. A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda’s leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism — it is recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason….Whatever mistakes we have made, the plain fact is this: the United States of America has helped underwrite global security for more than six decades with the blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms.”
Aside from his words, here’s some from other famous Democrats:
Woodrow Wilson: “Right is more precious than peace and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts.”
John F. Kennedy: “Any hostile move anywhere in the world against the safety and freedom of peoples to whom we are committed . . . will be met by whatever action is needed.”
…and from his innagural address: “In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility—I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it—and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.”
From (Republican) Abraham Lincoln: “We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We — even we here — hold the power, and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free — honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.”
The world, like all great organizations, groups, and teams, needs a leader. Despite many mistakes, America has been that leader on the most important of fronts: Democracy; Freedom; Liberty; Justice; Human Rights. I certainly don’t jump forward to say that we should impose cultural or religious values on the world, nor do I say our nation is perfect. But certain imperitives exist that we ought to champion.
I’d be interested to read your thoughts on this and American exceptionalism generally.
-Matt Benchener from TruPolitics.net