10.23.2006
Barack Obama's Star Will Shine Beyond 2008 (IHT.com)
By Albert R. Hunt Bloomberg News
Published: October 22, 2006
WASHINGTON If American politicians were stocks, Barack Obama would be a Warren Buffett investment: great long-term value.
The 45-year-old senator from Illinois started a national tour for his new book last week with almost unprecedented fanfare - his picture on the cover of Time magazine with a boldfaced "The Next President" as the headline and two dozen appearances from coast to coast, ranging from the Oprah Winfrey and Larry King television shows to an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," the granddaddy of gravitas.
In this election season no one is in greater demand to help the Democrats win back control of Congress. Obama will campaign in 30 states all over the country, in Republican and Democratic districts alike.
The most talked-about question in the top echelons of American political circles is this: Will, or should, the only black person among all senators and governors run for president in 2008?
"Obama has a series of unique gifts," said Andy Stern, head of the Service Employees International Union, which represents 1.8 million workers. "He understands what is happening to people who work in this country and has an unusual willingness to think differently about how to solve problems."
"There are a few public officials, like John Kennedy and Reagan and Clinton who are more than politicians, they are cultural phenomena," said Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, who is supporting Hillary Clinton for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. "Barack is one."
Obama revels in all the presidential speculation. He is teasingly noncommittal when the subject arises and acknowledges it has gotten his ideas, and book, "The Audacity of Hope," more attention. "This is a good problem to have, not something I complain about," he said in an interview last week.
Yet there are compelling reasons for Obama not to run in 2008, a conclusion I suspect this very smart and very careful politician will ultimately reach.
(More ... International Herald Tribune > Letter from Washington: Barack Obama's Star Will Shine Beyond 2008)
Published: October 22, 2006
WASHINGTON If American politicians were stocks, Barack Obama would be a Warren Buffett investment: great long-term value.
The 45-year-old senator from Illinois started a national tour for his new book last week with almost unprecedented fanfare - his picture on the cover of Time magazine with a boldfaced "The Next President" as the headline and two dozen appearances from coast to coast, ranging from the Oprah Winfrey and Larry King television shows to an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," the granddaddy of gravitas.
In this election season no one is in greater demand to help the Democrats win back control of Congress. Obama will campaign in 30 states all over the country, in Republican and Democratic districts alike.
The most talked-about question in the top echelons of American political circles is this: Will, or should, the only black person among all senators and governors run for president in 2008?
"Obama has a series of unique gifts," said Andy Stern, head of the Service Employees International Union, which represents 1.8 million workers. "He understands what is happening to people who work in this country and has an unusual willingness to think differently about how to solve problems."
"There are a few public officials, like John Kennedy and Reagan and Clinton who are more than politicians, they are cultural phenomena," said Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, who is supporting Hillary Clinton for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. "Barack is one."
Obama revels in all the presidential speculation. He is teasingly noncommittal when the subject arises and acknowledges it has gotten his ideas, and book, "The Audacity of Hope," more attention. "This is a good problem to have, not something I complain about," he said in an interview last week.
Yet there are compelling reasons for Obama not to run in 2008, a conclusion I suspect this very smart and very careful politician will ultimately reach.
(More ... International Herald Tribune > Letter from Washington: Barack Obama's Star Will Shine Beyond 2008)
Labels: 2008 election, IHT, Obama, Opinion
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