The above statement IS a poorly veiled anecdote about age and whether or not John McCain is too old to be President. It is the feeling of this column that age should not be an issue in a Presidential race. However, John McCain himself has made it an issue with his various misstatements, i.e. "Czechoslovakia" and the "Iraq/Pakistan border." Too many confused statements should be worrisome.
Conceding the fact that Senator Obama was sharp in the interview despite the fatigue, what sort of interview was it? As previously stated, our confidence in Tom Brokaw as moderator is not great by any means. This interview was as hard as you'll receive from Mr. Brokaw. His questions with regard to foreign policy and diplomacy all took the tact of looking through the lens of the opposition, giving Senator Obama the opportunity to rebut.
The questions are passive aggressive, which is Mr. Brokaw's style, along with a waits-to-talk sensibility as he sometimes finishes answers for the guest. Despite this, the discussion hit a solid array of topics, with the exception of the VP questions, which we know Sen. Obama was not going to answer (but that's television).
One such example during the program was the issue of the 'surge' and Senator Obama's opposition to it, despite that the consensus is it's working. The USA Today (put up on the screen) stated that by not acknowledging that, Mr. Obama was being stubborn and what does that say about how he would lead the country. Solely judging on what was presenting on MTP, this opinion resides in a bubble of ignorance. Stubbornness has been continually defined and redefined the past seven and half years.
But the senator correctly stated that hindsight is what it is, but that we shouldn't have been there in the first place. To phrase it conservatively, it goes back to that moment of conception. The day the war and ensuing occupation was launched. Should it have been launched? Or should the Bush Administration kept its collective dick in its pants?
Over a trillion dollar bill coming and over four thousand deaths.
Also, Mr. Brokaw and Sen. Obama discussed some polls, namely who the riskier choice was between McCain and Obama, but remember, polls means very little at this point. However, in addressing that one specifically, that particular poll sees Obama as the riskier choice. He's not, it's just that he's black and people can not get beyond that. What's hopeful is that people who have gotten beyond it are growing in majority.
And then there was the speech in Berlin this week, for which Obama received some backlash from the usual suspects - Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post and David Brooks from the NYTimes. This column has clearly stated its disdain for Mr. Brooks opinions and this is another example of why. It comes off as the spoiled kid who picks something apart because he didn't get his way. He compared what Kennedy and Reagan had done with what Obama had done and that the speech was also presumptive. It's an unfair comparison as both those men were President at the time and could speak to specific policy, which Mr. Obama is at a stage in which he can not employ it. What they do have in common is that the three all spoke in Berlin at a moment of critical importance for the United States and the rest of the world.
It's presumptuous if you invite 200,000 people and then turn and say - Can you believe all these people? It's another thing if they just all show up. We, the people of this country, should take a lesson.
Side Note:
Here's an article from the New York Observer Online this week. Talks about David Gregory and his prospects for his own show. Backs up what we were saying earlier this month.
http://www.observer.com/2008/media/david-gregory-nbc-s-lame-duck
David Gregory: NBC's Lame-Duck?
BY FELIX GILLETTE | JULY 22, 2008 | TAGS: MEDIADAVID GREGORYNBC NEWS
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