January 29, 2008

All The Way With LBJ

So a Kennnedy or two endorses Obama. This seems almost pre-ordained: a lot of commentators have compared Obama to the original JFK because of his youth, his enthusiasm, his vision (you know, the whole Camelot thing again). And it's tempting to, in turn, compare Hillary Clinton to LBJ; something, I suspect, that a lot of people would take as unflattering or even disdainful. But this skeptical Obamian would caution that (as Hillary herself has hinted) it was Johnson who got things done, Johnson who changed things for the better (mostly, anyway), it was Johnson who went beyond the Kennedyesque rhetoric (and attendant hypocrisy), it was Johnson who had the greatest real impact on politics. And not just because of the circumstances of LBJ's ascendance to the presidential throne.

(Incidentally, the sight of Ted Kennedy, of all people, standing in front of a series of "Change We Can Believe In" signs while endorsing Obama is, for me at least, brutally funny in a cynical sort of way. This one image alone has to be a real godsend to campaigning Republicans…).

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2 Comments:

At 1/31/2008 9:23 am, Blogger Angela Natividad said...

$5 on Hillary versus McCain for POTUS.

Obama's a nice dream, but nice dreams don't beat the GOP. Strong arms, a track record and an aggressive sneer do -- all of which Hillary has.

In the last stretch, the Dems -- like most rational people, for better or worse -- will ditch the dream. They'll remember Hillary's decade-long struggle, and the way she cried in New Hampshire, and she'll look like Jeanne d'Arc.

 
At 1/31/2008 10:32 am, Blogger Jimmy Little said...

You won't get me betting even $5 against you on this one — I'm on your side, dammit. I privately predicted the ultimate Old School showdown (McCain v. Clinton) some time ago, but without much conviction (you never know, it still might be otherwise…). I think I'm only really a strategic Obamian; and only weakly at that.

And I'm such a pessimist, I wonder if even Hillary can beat the GOP. I've seen too many sure things go sour over the years. We shall see.

 

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