Why can't we be friends?
Dashboard
Jonathan Coley
Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: Opinion
There is a place for criticism in politics, of course – I do it in this column all the time. But, what if for one day, we stopped all the constant bickering and fighting and thought about the positive side of these politicians – the things no one ever really takes time to notice?
Take Barack Obama, for example. Almost everyone who has ever met the senator has remarked about how friendly and authentic he is – even when the cameras are off and even when that person he’s meeting might “just” be the clerk behind a hotel desk rather than a super delegate who is trying to decide whom to endorse.
According to his wife, he’s also a great husband and father who hasn’t forgotten to spend time with his family over the course of the campaign.
Speaking to Larry King last week, Michelle Obama remarked, “This is a guy who, in the midst of this race, hasn’t missed a parent/teacher conference…He took the girls trick or treating. He came home for a day to buy the Christmas tree. He took me out for our anniversary…It’s just his character.”
Or look at John McCain. We all know about his experience as a prisoner of war, making him an authentic American hero. But think about him this way: how many people his age can you imagine traveling and working as much as he does?
As historian Victor Davis Hanson said on National Review’s website, “The attraction of McCain is not just his past, but surely his present as well. Almost forgotten is the notion how anyone 71, wounded and disabled after being tortured for 5 1/2 years, and a survivor of malignant melanoma, is likewise 24/7 out on the stump.”
And, of course, think about Hillary Clinton. Constantly a target on talk radio, the senator has even been made into a voodoo doll so that conservatives can take out their frustration by pushing needles into her likeness.
But why do people hate her so much? She’s remarkably intelligent, always ready to offer up the finer points of policy in the debates. And she’s a great speaker – watch one of her speeches and see how many times she stumbles or says “um” (not many).
Yet, these things so often go unnoticed. As Helena Andrews put it on the Politico website, “No matter how intelligent, how poised, how prepared, how wonky you are, when you’re a woman, only one question seems to matter: Who are you wearing?”
This column probably won’t change much. Heck, I’m not sure if I want things to change.
Sometimes, though, it’s nice to be reminded that running for president isn’t so easy, that politicians are under pressure most of us will never have to face. As the legendary band War put it, “why can’t we be friends?”
Now, back to the fighting.
Take Barack Obama, for example. Almost everyone who has ever met the senator has remarked about how friendly and authentic he is – even when the cameras are off and even when that person he’s meeting might “just” be the clerk behind a hotel desk rather than a super delegate who is trying to decide whom to endorse.
According to his wife, he’s also a great husband and father who hasn’t forgotten to spend time with his family over the course of the campaign.
Speaking to Larry King last week, Michelle Obama remarked, “This is a guy who, in the midst of this race, hasn’t missed a parent/teacher conference…He took the girls trick or treating. He came home for a day to buy the Christmas tree. He took me out for our anniversary…It’s just his character.”
Or look at John McCain. We all know about his experience as a prisoner of war, making him an authentic American hero. But think about him this way: how many people his age can you imagine traveling and working as much as he does?
As historian Victor Davis Hanson said on National Review’s website, “The attraction of McCain is not just his past, but surely his present as well. Almost forgotten is the notion how anyone 71, wounded and disabled after being tortured for 5 1/2 years, and a survivor of malignant melanoma, is likewise 24/7 out on the stump.”
And, of course, think about Hillary Clinton. Constantly a target on talk radio, the senator has even been made into a voodoo doll so that conservatives can take out their frustration by pushing needles into her likeness.
But why do people hate her so much? She’s remarkably intelligent, always ready to offer up the finer points of policy in the debates. And she’s a great speaker – watch one of her speeches and see how many times she stumbles or says “um” (not many).
Yet, these things so often go unnoticed. As Helena Andrews put it on the Politico website, “No matter how intelligent, how poised, how prepared, how wonky you are, when you’re a woman, only one question seems to matter: Who are you wearing?”
This column probably won’t change much. Heck, I’m not sure if I want things to change.
Sometimes, though, it’s nice to be reminded that running for president isn’t so easy, that politicians are under pressure most of us will never have to face. As the legendary band War put it, “why can’t we be friends?”
Now, back to the fighting.
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