"There's the Beef"

From my friend Mary - great stuff:

I am trying to find out more about Obama. There was an interesting column in the Post's business section (of all places) about Obama last week. Mark and I were both wondering why more journalists aren't getting to the meat like this (oops - bad pun as I just re-read the title of the column . . . sorry!) and instead are talking about the crazy stuff like the madrassa, the turban photo, the cult of personality, etc. I think our journalism schools aren't doing the American people any favors.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/21/AR2008022102826.html

Friday, February 22, 2008
Washingpost Post
There's the Beef
By Steven Pearlstein

During the course of our endless presidential campaigns, lots of silly things are said by the candidates and the press. But few are more ridiculous than the idea that Barack Obama is just an empty suit.

We're talking here about a former president of the Harvard Law Review. Have you ever met the people who get into Harvard Law School? You might not choose them as friends or lovers or godparents to your children, but -- trust me on this -- there aren't many lightweights there. And Obama was chosen by all the other overachievers as top dog. Compared with the current leader of the free world, this guy is Albert Einstein.

Given his youth and relatively short time in government, it's fair to ask if Obama has the wisdom and experience to be president. But it's quite another to suggest that he has no vision, no program, no specifics.

Let's begin with the fact that he has written two books (all by himself, unlike a certain other candidate). The first offers a compelling personal narrative that, for some reason, is dismissed as puffery by a presumptive Republican nominee who first ran for office on the strength of his compelling personal narrative. The second book is a thoroughly readable, intelligent and well-reasoned discourse on politics and policy that offers a fresh perspective on a wide range of issues.

Obama has participated in 18 televised presidential debates in which he has managed to hold his own not only with Hillary the Wonkette, but also with the Senate's leading light on foreign affairs [Biden], a former United Nations ambassador [Richardson] and a former vice presidential candidate who was a skilled trial lawyer [Edwards]. I watched most of the debates, and while I didn't agree with everything he said, I don't recall thinking that Obama was in over his head.