Obama vs Clinton

[snorky]

heres a theme to get the colonials involved

As an ex student of Merican Politics ( you know what I am on about Mockney Piers ) , I am still at a loss at the popularity of Obama - Skimmed thro his policies but still seem to think he is getting the Anti Clinton vote with a bit of novelty value / PR in the mix - I really cant see why he should be so apparently popular, given the vapid nauture of his agenda

anyone ?

[HonaloochieB]

snorky Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> heres a theme to get the colonials involved

>

> As an ex student of Merican Politics ( you know

> what I am on about Mockney Piers ) , I am still at

> a loss at the popularity of Obama - Skimmed thro

> his policies but still seem to think he is getting

> the Anti Clinton vote with a bit of novelty value

> / PR in the mix - I really cant see why he should

> be so apparently popular, given the vapid nauture

> of his agenda

>

> anyone ?

Can't ignore the fact that he's a man of dual racial heritage who might be POTUS (thanks West Wing), would the 'vapidity' of his agenda be a way of appealing to the broadest and most inclusive lot of voters.

A black man in the White House? I'm up for it.

[Asset]

Americans are caught between a rock and a hard place, woman? or black man? if they don't watch it McCain will slip in quietly while no ones looking.

[SimonM]

To me, Obama comes over on TV as very calm and in control of both himself and his material - truly a TV age candidate.. But he is very raw and inexperienced. I suspect McCain's lot would much rather their man faced him than Hillary and are working hard to achieve this result!

[gerry]

I think that Obama's popularity has a lot to do with his platform of "change" and there is no doubt the Americans need change and hope. There is something about him which also seems like a safe pair of hands, a quality which JFK had in abundance. In addition, he is tackling the race issue which JFK managed to do with the help of his brother. Let's hope he surrounds himself with good foreign policy folks (he should ask Hillary to take on that role but you know what the answer would be!!!) There is still huge support for Hillary because many Americans feel that a win for her would also put Bill back in the driver's seat.

[mockney piers]

You don't want to go reading manifestos and policies Snorky. You know as well as I that damned few* vote for anything sensible like that. There may be almost no daylight between the clinton and obama platforms, but it's all about presentation and sound bites and of course Iraq.

In Clinton you have a classic hard bitten politician, she's prevaricative and evasive. Not that Obama's entirely free of that, but he feels fresher, less in hock to those vested interests. When he speaks of change its believable.

While ill the other day and flicking through the purgatory that is daytime tv, I somehow got as far as BBC Parliament that was showing a full obama speech. He's a very good orator, he's earnest, as I say believable and speaks of hope rather than of fear.

I found myself quietly impressed by the man.

Aaaah forgedaboudit...the Daily Mash as ever says it best. http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/international/clinton-slump-shows-u.s.-still-not-ready-to-vote-for-a-harpie-20080104634/

*well, in the US and UK, the likes of Spain and France are very different.

[Moos]

I hate to think it, but I reckon the Obama/Clinton battle, Homeric though it is, will leave both candidates bloody and bowed, and McCain will sail in. He is less terrifyingly Right than Bush on the social agenda, but really pretty conservative generally.

Sorry Snorky, to return to your actual thread - it seems a common phenomenon that people vote for just for change when they're fed up with the status quo, regardless of what the change really means. Could we argue Blair and New Labour were just that? - a young, charismatic new leader, one in the eye for the Tories, etc etc? I might be stretching a point here using the wisdom of hindsight...

[mockney piers]

I think that's a very fair comparison moos, lets hope for the US's sake, that he can offer more than sound bites, spin and change for changes sake, whether or not it does any good :X