Congrats Obama!

January 3, 2007

We have approached the Iowa caucuses with a high level of curiosity. We follow the campaigns closely, but have not seen the candidates up close.. and there has been a certain sense of swaying back and forth here at Old Roads headquarters. So we were interested in the opinions of those who have been in the thick of it. How did the candidates strike the people who listened to them and saw them in person? It now appears that Sen. Barack Obama was quite impressive to the Iowans.. and brought a massive number of people out to the caucuses. I have not previously been convinced by the "believe in me and how I will change politics" line from Obama.. but tonight was certainly one giant step toward making me a believer that Obama can win next year.

There are lots of angles by which these primary battles can be viewed. But it occurs to me that the candidates are caught between the character of a rock star and a businessman. The rock star trades on authenticity and heart. We like our political winners to be able to play the saxophone or guitar.. or even to be able to shoot hoops in a competitive spirit. But rock stars and athletes go on benders and have to check in to rehab. Not so good.. although we recognize all that as a hazard of the rock star trade. So we also want the model businessman who shows up to work everyday and sets about methodically reaching goals. Mitt Romney and Sen. Hillary Clinton are businessmen in the steadiness they exude and their emphasis on hard work. But businessmen lack heart. Tonight was a major victory for the rock star component of the political equation..

Poor Mitt Romney! To the extent that he loses because he is a Mormon I feel bad for him. If he had everything he has now and attended a Baptist church, I am sure his path to the Republican nomination would be more comfortable. But isn't it impressive how a Mormon candidate for governor could have won in Massachusetts? The voters had to be mollified with respect to how he would act on certain issues (like abortion), but they apparently had no issue with his religious affiliation. But now look what happens when he tries to get the support of evangelical Christians.. they spurn him on account of his religious stances! (Something that evangelicals would find intolerable if it happened to them.)