Well, I don't usually watch Meet the Press, (full text here, via RCP) but I made an exception this time to see if Russert would ask any good questions and if Obama would answer them.
There were some good questions.
Obama waffled on Iraq, North Korea and Darfur, and did a John Kerry on the vote for Supreme Court Justice John Roberts (voted for it before I voted against it). In his book, Obama describes the President as being filled with a "messianic certainty" and implies that he is taking his marching orders from God. But what Obama is uncomfortable with is someone who has a consistent core position and is passionate and committed to it. No wonder, because we have yet to see Obama lay out any strong core beliefs and follow them through.
Obama presented himself as NOT a baby boomer, talking about the Democrat party being stuck in the 60's, and their outsize influence on our society. Much as Bill Clinton positioned himself as the next generation in his first run for the presidency, Obama is suggesting it's time to move on. Hey Hillary, you are over the hill.
While Obama didn't announce, he as much as announced, with the caveat that he will decide after the election on Nov. 7th. After saying nice things about President Lincoln, FDR and Reagan, he was then asked to respond to what President Clinton said about him, that he had the "intelligence and the toughness" to be president, but should be careful about running too soon.
Obama responded that you can't pursue the presidency out of vanity or ambition--another veiled slam at Bill and Hill.
So if it happens, it should be an interesting matchup between two Dem partisans--one with no defined core beliefs, and the other with a long history of hiding them. And I actually think Obama has more in common with Bill than Hill.
UPDATE: NY Times, "Crowd Pleaser from Illinois Considers White House Run" (well, we know they're not talking about Hillary). Obama's running would provide a "major complication" to Hillary's prospects:
Mr. Obama opposes the war in Iraq and thus could provide an alternative for Democrats who have expressed strong concern about Mrs. Clinton’s support of the war effort. In addition, Mr. Obama, who is African-American, would almost surely cut deeply into Mrs. Clinton’s own political base, black voters, which could be particularly significant because the Democratic Party has decided to move the South Carolina primary to the front of the 2008 presidential nominating process.And a nice little thrust here:
Mr. Obama’s television appearance came as he embarked on a publicity campaign for his second book, “The Audacity of Hope.” Although politicians have been known to suggest they might run for president as a way of spiking book sales, Mr. Obama’s political adviser, David Axelrod, said that was not the case here.Sure. (Let them eat cake, uh, have your cake and eat it too.)
UPDATE: Via RCP, Washington Post. (Note to reruns Kerry, Gore, Edwards, ??Biden, you're over the hill too):
"If he runs and Mrs. Clinton runs, I don't think there's a lot of room for anyone else," said Steve Elmendorf, who was a top adviser to former House minority leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.). "The two of them take up an enormous amount of political space."Party strategists said that, if voters are looking for change in 2008, Obama would symbolize it better than many of the other possible candidates. But having served just two years in the Senate and seven in the Illinois state Senate, Obama has a thin résumé upon which to build a presidential candidacy.But he's already written two books.
UPDATE: How did I miss this? Well, traditionally parties look to their governors for presidential potential, but somehow they have overlooked our Democrat Governor Empty Suit, who has offered his support to Obama. Hilarity ensues at Capitol Fax.
UPDATE: Tom Bevan, RCP blog on the exchange at the end of Meet the Press, and his take.
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