Commentators and candidates have drawn many parallels from today’s Democratic candidates to historical figures and elections.
[via reddit]
[digg-reddit-me]Hillary Clinton has been described as Nixon and LBJ, including the latter by herself. John Edwards has been described as a FDR (mainly by himself), William Jennings Bryan and a Bobby Kennedy. Barack Obama’s historical analogues have been far-ranging. Ken Burns has compared Obama to Lincoln. David Horsey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has as well, as seen above. JFK’s top speechwriter has compared Obama to President Kennedy. Before his Iowa win, intelligent pundits saw parallels to failed liberal candidates: Adlai Stevenson, Bill Bradley, and Gene McCarthy.
But it wasn’t until Hillary took a swipe at Obama that the parallels to Barack to Martin Luther King, Jr. became evident. The main theme of the 2008 is, and will be, change. Americans know that we need to tackle many long-term issues:
- global climate change;
- radical islamism;
- the erosion of civil liberties;
- executive overreach;
- the instability of the American economy;
- globalization, the entitlement crises;
- health care reform;
- the inequality of opportunity and the rising gap between the rich and the poor.
Our current politics – based on tears and smears, on the Bushes and the Clintons, on money and more money – is unable to produce meaningful or lasting change.To vote for Clinton or Giuliani or Romney or Thompson or Huckabee (and to a lesser extent McCain ((The McCain of 1999 to 2002 could have changed politics. The McCain of today is still an honorable man – but despite his commendable honesty, I am not sure how much he would be able to, or willing to try to, get done.)) ) – is to vote to continue the politics of the past decades, producing gridlock and negligible progress, even as Cassandras continually point out our impending doom.
There are three candidates who embody three very different approaches to change: Ron Paul, Barack Obama, and John Edwards.
Ron Paul is quite clearly a reactionary – and in this case, I do not mean it to be derogatory. He wants to trim government to a radical extent – back to the period before the Civil War. I doubt the change he desires is possible – and, although I agree with his positions on many contemporary issues, I believe he goes too far in rejecting the American tradition after 1860. I believe there is much to criticize in the American tradition after the Civil War – but also great progress. Ron Paul’s opinions are a valued addition to the public debate.
It is easier to compare Barack Obama and John Edwards to each other, rather than to Paul. They agree on many policies and in their general themes. Their differences are about how they would lead us to the future – how they would accomplish change. When Hillary said that Barack was not Martin Luther King – it occurred to me that the movement he represents, and the figure he projects, recalls the relationship of Martin Luther King to John Edwards’s Malcolm X.
In many ways, the success of Obama is due to Edwards’s harassment of Clinton.
- Obama is trying to bring together people of varying political persuasions and to reach consensus on the major issues America faces. Edwards believes we must fight for them – by extreme measures if necessary.
- Obama calls on Americans to look past their race, gender, class, religion, and other social groupings to the values we share – to build on this consensus to achieve lasting change. Edwards calls on middle and lower class Americans to look to their self-interest, and to their children’s self-interest, and to be forceful in taking what they believe is their birthright.
- Obama focuses on community organizing, bringing new people into the process and the party, and convincing skeptics; Edwards focuses on rallying the base.
Anyone can see the relationship between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X can see the parallels. (Which makes Clinton, unfortunately for her, LBJ again.)
Martin Luther King and Malcolm X’s disagreements about how to accomplish change were more fundamental than the current divide between Obama and Edwards; but both King and Malcolm X recognized in the other the same desire for change, and respected each other as individuals and as leaders. When I saw John Edwards defend Barack Obama against Clinton – this is what I thought of – not that the boys were ganging up on her as she suggested.
Martin Luther King succeeded where Malcolm X did not because King bet that he could bring achieve more by appealing to all Americans, rather than a select group. Barack has made a similar bet. While in King’s day, the Jim Crow laws divided Americans into blacks and whites, our politics today has divided America into Red States and Blue States, liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats. We have been divided into two teams – we on our respective team, often without a clear rationale, adopt positions and defend our teams against all opposition. Many others are turned off from politics by the partisanship entirely. Yet polls show that agreement exists among working majorities on how to tackle some of our major long-term problems; and even larger portions of Americans agree that something must be done to attempt to deal with the major problems we will soon face.
Obama’s bet, like Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, is that with a respectful and intelligent dialogue, he can change our politics; and by changing politics, we can change America’s path together.
It is supremely unlikely that he, or we, can accomplish this. But we owe it to ourselves to try.
Related articles
1,282 replies on “A Dream Deeply Rooted in the American Dream”
financial planners
Get service from the fantastic investment management firms in whitefish currently now available in addition very professional now!
click me
Contract us here for licensed and bonded facility construction that are available for construction projects and ready to do your job with top quality. Ask for a bid today!
read more here
Get in contract here for top quality tenant improvement contractor that’s available for construction projects and ready to go reasonably priced. Ask for a bid today!
click Here
Contract the amazing financial advisor whitefish currently now available and very professional now!
tenant improvement contractor
Get in contract here for licensed and bonded steel building contractors that’s available for construction projects and ready to do your job at great prices. Ask for a bid today!
Enviromental construction
Contact us now for licensed and bonded general contractor that’s available for construction projects and ready to do your job reasonably priced. Ask for a bid today!
HeartStone Advisor
Contract the fantastic financial advisor whitefish mt that is currently available and very honest now!
metal building construction
Contact us now for top quality metal building contractors that’s available for construction projects and ready to go at great prices. Ask for a bid today!
read more here
Contract us here for top quality steel building contractors that are available for construction projects and ready to do your job reasonably priced. Ask for a bid today!
how to use social media for small business marketing
Get Service From the wonderful hotel social media currently now available and at great prices today!
social media marketing for restaurants
Get service from the amazing social media marketing packages that’s now available in addition on sale today!
TI construction
Contact us now for licensed and bonded metal building contractors that are available for construction projects and ready to do your job reasonably priced. Ask for a bid today!
whitefish registered investment advisors
Contract the fantastic HeartStone whitefish mt that is now available in addition very professional now!
See This Now
You must, get today the most professional parenting classes for new parents that are currently now available plus for great prices. Start now!
large construction projects
Get in contract here for top quality tenant improvements construction that’s available for construction projects and ready to go at great prices. Ask for a bid today!
parent coaching near me
See here the best quality parenting classes online you can get, and now available plus on sale today. Start now!
online parenting classes
You must, get today the best quality parenting coaches you can get and currently available and for great prices. Start now!
commercial steel buildings
Contact us now for licensed and bonded steel building erectors that are available for construction projects and ready to go at great prices. Ask for a bid today!
DIY clock replacement parts
Purchase today the top quality where to buy quartz clock movements that are available and in stock today and plus at the best price today only!
clock repair videos
Purchase today best available best quality quartz clock movements that is available and in stock today and are at great prices today only!
financial advisor whitefish
Get Services From the amazing see here that’s currently available in addition very honest now!
metal building fabricator
Contract us here for licensed and bonded industrial construction services currently available for construction projects and ready to do your job at great prices. Ask for a bid today!
see this now
Get service from the wonderful bozeman local seo currently currently available and at the best price today!
read more here
Contact us now for top quality metal building erectors that is available for construction projects and ready to do your job at the top quality. Ask for a bid today!
social media for dentists
Contract the amazing social media marketing linkedin that is now available and at the best price today!
get this information
Contract the fantastic seo services companies currently now available and reasonably priced today!
read this
Get in contract here for professional specialized building construction currently available for construction projects and ready to do your job at the top quality. Ask for a bid today!
small clock inserts
Buy today best available clock kit currently available and available today and are at the best price today only!
get more info here
Buy today the highest quality clock motor wholesale that is available and in stock today and are at great prices today only!
whitefish seo
Contract the wonderful local seo consultant that’s now available and on sale today!
parents coach
You must, get today the best quality parents coaching you can get, and now available plus for the best price. Start now!
parental coach
Buy here the best quality parenting coach near me you can get and currently available and reasonably priced. Start now!
kalispell seo company
Contract the fantastic seo consultant that’s currently available and on sale today!
bozeman seo agency
Contract the wonderful search engine optimization currently now available and at great prices today!
seo bozeman
Contract the amazing seo services firm that is now available and on sale today!
antiques clock Repair
Purchase today best available replacement parts for battery operated clocks that are available and available today and plus at the best price today only!
best parenting coach
You must, get today the most professional parenting class that are currently now available plus for the best price. Start now!
seo outsource company
Hire the the top search engine optimization firms that’s now available and on sale now only!
Missoula SEO Geek
Get service from the amazing local seo services firm that is currently available in addition on sale today!
clock repair videos
Get today the top quality Clock kit parts that is available and in stock today and plus at the best price today only!
tide and time movement
Get today best available battery operated quartz clock movements currently available and available today and are at the best price today only!
gas fire pit burner
Get a great design for my best Logs for gas fire pit that’s available and now in stock additionally currently available for this week only!
click Here
Buy today best available clock parts that’s available and in stock today and plus at the best price today only!
seo outsourcing company
Get a top seo agency that’s now available in addition at reasonable prices now only!
fire pit
Get parts for the best propane fire pit burner currently available and now in stock and at the best price today and tommorrow only!
online marketing
Find the best search engine optimization company that’s now available in addition at reasonable prices now only!
synchronized wireless clocks
Save now the best school bell systems that’s this week available and in stock in addition currently available this week only!
fire pit parts
Get a top fire pit bowls currently available and in stock and at great prices today and tommorrow only!
synchronized wireless clock systems
Save now a high quality wireless pa system for schools that is this week available and in stock and reasonably priced this week only!
facebook chatbot
Learn the new technology chatbots agency service now available reasonably priced now!