2008 Woodie Awards
Obama Hopes for Presidential Success
Glenda Ganung
Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: Opinions
Barack Obama's presidential campaign supporters have cleverly targeted one word in his lexicon - hope. Well, they've actually spotlighted another equally vague and inconclusive word from said vocabulary - change, which is not at all new to the political marketing machine, but we're talking about hope here. Webster's defines hope as "to cherish a desire with expectation of fulfillment". Senator Obama desires a lot.
Hope has long been an Obama theme, one he developed from childhood living in multiculturally diverse communities like Hawaii. He writes, "The opportunity that Hawaii offered - to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect - became an integral part of my world view, and a basis for the values that I hold most dear."
What a wonderfully Utopian concept. Unfortunately, with human nature as unevolved as it is, the concept of mutual respect, in actuality, remains an anomaly on the world stage. Obama published his hopeful political commentary in his 2006 New York Times best-seller, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, which quickly became the feel-good, political hit of this young cen-tury. While enthusiastic crowds at book signings and grass roots approval of conceptual ideology do make for great ego boosters, they do not necessarily warrant a run for the White House.
Liberal columnist Michael Tomansky credits Obama with the potential to "construct a new politics that is progressive but grounded in civic traditions that speak to a wider range of Americans." Tomansky also pans Obama's book as lacking any "boldly innovative policy prescriptions that will lead the Democrats out of their wilderness."
Gary Hart, a 1988 Democratic Party presidential also ran, calls Obama's book a "thesis submission for the U.S. presidency." High ideals and exemplary writing skills may be catalysts for the change that our society so desperately seeks
from its political advocates, but they do not a viable president make.
Hope has long been an Obama theme, one he developed from childhood living in multiculturally diverse communities like Hawaii. He writes, "The opportunity that Hawaii offered - to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect - became an integral part of my world view, and a basis for the values that I hold most dear."
What a wonderfully Utopian concept. Unfortunately, with human nature as unevolved as it is, the concept of mutual respect, in actuality, remains an anomaly on the world stage. Obama published his hopeful political commentary in his 2006 New York Times best-seller, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, which quickly became the feel-good, political hit of this young cen-tury. While enthusiastic crowds at book signings and grass roots approval of conceptual ideology do make for great ego boosters, they do not necessarily warrant a run for the White House.
Liberal columnist Michael Tomansky credits Obama with the potential to "construct a new politics that is progressive but grounded in civic traditions that speak to a wider range of Americans." Tomansky also pans Obama's book as lacking any "boldly innovative policy prescriptions that will lead the Democrats out of their wilderness."
Gary Hart, a 1988 Democratic Party presidential also ran, calls Obama's book a "thesis submission for the U.S. presidency." High ideals and exemplary writing skills may be catalysts for the change that our society so desperately seeks
from its political advocates, but they do not a viable president make.
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