Stating His Case

October 29th, 2008 at 08:14pm Gary Tiffany

I watched the Barack Obama infomercial earlier this evening, and I must say that he stated his case well. He laid out his vision of the next four years and what he plans to do. Hardly any time was spent talking about how we got into this mess, rather he took the stance that we’re here now and what are we going to do about it.

Much of what he talked about he said could be accomplished without too much additional spending. I’ll have to reserve judgment on that. The current economic situation will certainly temper any major spending program. With the economy in the doldrums as it is, whoever wins on Tuesday will have to initiate some spending to help get things back on track. As Sen. Obama got into some of the other initiatives he proposes, like health care, things got a little fuzzier from the spending standpoint.

Sen. Obama certainly is a convincing speaker. I can only hope and pray that, if elected, he can take charge and stand up to those in his own party – like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid – whose interests are not as straightforward as his. The President is, to a great extent, a figurehead of sorts, because Congress makes the laws, not him. Certainly, he can guide them toward his goals, but at some point he will have to “lay down the law” and keep them in line. His promise at the end of the program to keep people informed and let them know what he is thinking on issues was good. We need more transparency on some of these issues.

Will tonight’s program help Sen. Obama? I believe that it will, in some circles. It may change the mind of an undecided voter because the message was big on hope and the idea that if we all pull together toward a common goal, things will get better. People like that. But for those who have already decided that Sen. Obama is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, I doubt that it will have an impact.

It’s too bad we can’t see the same type of presentation from Senator McCain. I’m not sure what he might say in this forum, but I have to believe at least some of the presentation would be similar. This is the kind of discussion many of us had been hoping for in the debates, but didn’t get.

I look forward to Tuesday night (in more ways than one!). Please, take the time to exercise your right to vote.

 

Gary Tiffany

Entry Filed under: election, Barack Obama, Uncategorized