
 |
|
March 16, 2010
JWisdom.com How to perform a miracle
with Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair (4 minutes)
Anne Bayefsky: Behind Obama's Dangerous Overreaction on Israel
March 15, 2010
JWisdom.com Moody, Grumpy, Irritable Children
with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes)
JWisdom.com Manufacturing mediums
with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (4 minutes)
Glenn Garvin: Conspiracy theories, why people believe them and how they spread
JWisdom.com For Yourself, Not By Yourself
with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
Paul Richter: Biden promises 'viable Palestine' is in the offing
March 10, 2010
JWisdom.com How To Get A (Real) Life
with Rabbi Warren Goldstein ( EXTENDED EPISODE)
Paul Richter: Israel exerts soverign right to its capital as Biden looks on astounded
March 9, 2010
JWisdom.com Free To Be (Responsibly) You and Me!
with Rabbi Naftali Brawer ( 8 MINUTES)
David G. Savage: Supreme Court to rule on free speech in case of soldier's funeral
March 8, 2010
JWisdom.com Finding or Losing Yourself? Here's How!
with Rabbi David Aaron ( 5 MINUTES)
Steven Emerson: America must learn from the UK about the future of Islamist subversion
March 5, 2010
JWisdom.com The Limits of Eternity
with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 4 MINUTES)
March 4, 2010
JWisdom.com Using Things, Loving People
with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff ( 7 MINUTES)
March 3, 2010
JWisdom.com Grasping The Name of Your Life Game
with Rabbi Warren Goldstein ( 8 MINUTES)
March 2, 2010
March 1, 2010
JWisdom.com Whole in One
with Rabbi David Aaron ( 5 MINUTES)
Michael Muskal: Hillary meets with Israeli official, discusses gefilte fish dispute
Feb. 26, 2010
JWisdom.com A Biblical Secret for a More Powerful You
with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 5 MINUTES)
Feb. 25, 2010
JWisdom.com The Second Most Important Question in Your Life
with Rabbi Yehoshua Karsh ( 5 MINUTES)
Seema Mehta : U.S.-Israel relations raised in California's Senate race --- by conservatives
Feb. 24, 2010
Feb. 23, 2010
JWisdom.com The Last Laugh of Enlightenment
with Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair ( 5 MINUTES)
Feb. 22, 2010
JWisdom.com Esther and the third Truth with Rabbi David Aaron ( 9 MINUTES)
Feb. 19, 2010
JWisdom.com Olympic Faith
with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 5 MINUTES)
Caroline B. Glick: Israel and the West are perpetrators of a myth that endangers the Jewish State
Feb. 18, 2010
JWisdom.com A Wedding Disaster to Remember
with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein ( 3 MINUTES)
Feb. 17, 2010
JWisdom.com Think your life is messed up?
with Rabbi David Aaron ( 11 MINUTES)
Greg Logan: 'Greatest Jewish sporting event of all time since David versus Goliath' may be postponed because of bar mitzvah
Feb. 16, 2010
JWisdom.com Feet On The Street Spirituality
with Gavriel Aryeh Sanders ( 8 MINUTES)
Marty Peretz: Let Europe Mind Its Own Business. It Brings Nothing To The Table Save For Mischief
Feb. 15, 2010
JWisdom.com Are Our Children Really Ours?
with Rabbi Mordechai Becher ( 5 MINUTES)
Susan King: 'Wolf Man' reflected writer's wartime Jewish experience
|
| |
Jewish World Review
May 1, 2008
/ 26 Nissan 5768
Carter, Hart ... and Obama?
By
James Klurfeld
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The political question of the day is why Sen. Barack Obama can't close out the Democratic nomination. He missed the opportunity in New Hampshire, and then again in Texas and Ohio, and now in Pennsylvania.
In a race that has gone on for this long and with the demographic profiles of the two candidates so different, it would be foolish to single out just one reason Obama can't put an end to the race. But it's possible to place it in a historical context. That is, it's not at all unusual for a political newcomer to bolt out of the gates and shoot ahead of the field early, only to come down back to earth as voters take a closer look at somebody they don't know that well and who doesn't have much experience.
Obama is on a flight path similar to Jimmy Carter's in 1976 or Gary Hart's in 1984, or even Bill Clinton's in 1992. The underlying truth is that Americans feel more comfortable with their presidential candidates when they know them well. There are myriad reasons Obama hasn't put the nomination away, but they all revolve around this issue of familiarity, and, especially, a lack of national experience.
The Republicans, going back to Richard Nixon in 1960 and 1968, have generally nominated the most-experienced candidate. And, by and large, it has served them well.
This time around, it was inevitable that someone would emerge as the anti-Hillary Clinton candidate. She just has too much baggage, and there is too much antipathy toward her within the party, for Democratic voters not to have looked for an alternative. And that Obama turned out to be as articulate, charismatic and unique as anybody who's emerged from our system in years just added to the drama.
But once he made his initial impression and soared to the top, it was just as inevitable that voters would take a second look. That's what's happening now, and Obama has not done particularly well. But a lot of the questions center around his not being well known or having much experience. And Clinton has been dogged, if not downright vicious, in pressing his weaknesses. That is, after all, what campaigns are about.
A similar thing happened to Carter when his campaign stalled about halfway through the primaries. He was too far ahead to be caught, but even late-entrant Jerry Brown, then California governor, started beating him in primaries. Carter's road to the White House was bumpy after that, and he almost blew a big lead over President Gerald Ford. And that was in the wake of the Watergate scandals and Ford's pardon of Nixon.
But the more relevant point might be that once Carter became president he proved largely unqualified for the job. His early promise, "I will have a government as good as its people," had resonance at first. But when he blamed the American people's "malaise" for the failure to get things done, and then saw the Iran hostage rescue mission blow up in the sands, he was finished - even though his defeat by Ronald Reagan didn't become apparent until the closing days of the campaign.
I suspect that one reason older Democrats have shown much less enthusiasm for Obama is the memory of Carter. To young voters, all that is ancient history.
Gary Hart's 1984 run offers another instructive comparison. He came out of nowhere to win the New Hampshire primary over former Vice President Walter Mondale and seemed to be surging ahead - especially with support from young, college-educated voters (sound familiar?). But he didn't fare so well in the inevitable closer look, when it was discovered he had changed his name from Hartpence and couldn't articulate an answer to Mondale's "Where's the beef?" question.
I'm not making any predictions here. We've seen too many be wrong this year. But I do believe Obama has to deal with the question of experience and familiarity in a more effective way - if not against Sen. Clinton, then certainly in the fall, against Sen. John McCain.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment by clicking here.
James Klurfeld is a professor of journalism at Stony Brook University.
Previously:
04/12/08: Election year politics and the cost of war
04/02/08: Time for a '30s-style government mortgage role
03/11/08: Power rightly belongs to Dem superdelegates
03/04/08: A neophyte looks like a pro, and vice versa
02/22/08: The allure of Obama for young people
02/19/08: Obama sounds good, but words aren't enough
© 2008, Newsday Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Michael Barone
Dave Barry
Tony Blankley
Andy Borowitz
David Broder
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
John Fund
Frank J. Gaffney
Lloyd Garver
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Lewis Grossberger
Victor Davis Hanson
Froma Harrop
Betsy Hart
Nat Hentoff
David Horowitz
Laura Ingraham
Cheri Jacobus Jeff Jacoby
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ed Koch
Ch. Krauthammer
Michael Ledeen
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Dick Morris
Bill O'Reilly
Jim Mullen
Clarence Page
Kathleen Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Jonathan Rauch
Celia Rivenbark
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Pat Sajak
Debra J. Saunders
Culture Shlock
Roger Simon
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Bob Tyrrell
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
Lisa Benson
John Branch
Gary Brookins
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holber
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Ranan R. Lurie
Jimmy Margulies
Rick McKee
Michael Ramirez
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Ed Stein
Danna Summers
John Trever
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters

How 2
Lori Borgman
Elder matters
Fixit
Dr. Peter Gott
GET A JOB! by Marty Nemko
Richard Lederer
Tech Maven
Every Monday Matters
Nutrition Myths
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
How Stuff Works
|