I want to periodically post responses to some of the anti-Obama talking points that are being circulated by a variety of sources. These aren’t going away, and Obama supporters don’t do themselves any favors by disregarding them and focusing exclusively on his optimism. his charisma, and his facility with oratory. His compellingly articulated message of “hope” and “change” may very well get him the nomination and it will certainly help him in the general election but, if we want to win the “working majority” Obama is striving for, we will need to be able to respond to the genuine questions and concerns from those who understandably need more than “momentum” and soundbite-sized clips from speeches featured on the nightly news.
Following are my thoughts on the question of Obama’s…
Legislative Accomplishments
As has been widely noted, it was cringe-inducing to watch Kirk Watson (D-Texas) unable to respond when Chris Matthews asked him to name a single “legislative accomplishment” of Obama’s:
The Clinton campaign has, understandably, been trumpeting this as evidence of Obama’s lack-of-accomplishment. Some Obama supporters have objected, blaming Matthews for an unfair question but in truth the question was entirely fair and, if anything, Matthews has tended to exhibited a pro-Obama bias.
Harding University professor Mark Elrod provides a brief bullet-point list of Obama’s accomplishments in the first year of his time in the U.S. Senate:
In his first year in the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama authored 152 bills and co-sponsored another 427. These included:
- The Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006 (became law)
- The Lugar-Obama Nuclear Non-proliferation and Conventional Weapons Threat Reduction Act (became law)
- The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (passed the Senate)
- The 2007 Government Ethics Bill (became law)
- The Protection Against Excessive Executive Compensation Bill (in committee)
Since entering the U.S. Senate, Senator Obama has written 890 bills and co-sponsored another 1096
The Obama campaign has supplied a longer response, drawing from both Senator Obama’s time in the US Senate and his time in the Illinois Senate. It’s worth a read but it’s more than you’ll probably absorb in preparation for cocktail banter. Still, the list is divided into the following categories:
- Ethics/Transparency
- Foreign Policy
- Health Care
- Energy
- Education
- Military Issues/Veterans
- Justice
- Working Families, Workplace Protection, and the Economy
- Women
- Homeland Security/Disaster Response
If any of these issues is particularly close to your heart and likely to stick in your memory, I’d give an extra close read to those paragraphs.
If the person asking you what Obama’s “legislative accomplishments” is a Clinton supporter, it’s also worth asking what Hillary’s are. Don’t be snarky about it. Be curious. I think Clinton has been a good Senator for New York and she has an impressive grasp of policy and process, but I don’t think her supporters are any more informed about her accomplishments than Obama’s are about his. Ask them about it. And don’t let them off with “She has 35 years of experience.”
A similar tactic can be useful with McCain supporters, though many of them will at least have heard of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance stuff (which, ironically enough, is part of what “consevatives” don’t like about him.) Still: don’t let them off with “maverick” or “straight talk” stuff. That’s no more substantive than “hope.”
Coming soon (if time allows): my thoughts on experience, symbolism, electability, plagiarism, and substance.
BlogMarks
Furl
Newsvine
Rojo
Email This to a Friend
If you like this then please subscribe to the
1 response so far ↓
1 Michael Fleming // Mar 3, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Quite right. The anti-Obama antagonists are perpetually spouting the “inexperience” of this candidate, without spending the time to research his very impressive accomplishments during his time in the Senate. It’s also impressive when you consider what he accomplished BEFORE he won the Senate seat, working with the impoverished and economically desperate citizens that needed help. And you’re right; the only way we can show others that he actually has had a great deal of impressive experience is if we actually speak up and stop being the quiet citizens that hunker behind “hope”.
Leave a Comment