It's common for a Presidential nominee to replace the chair of his
party with one of his own people. Although Barack Obama's recent
decision to keep Howard Dean as the DNC chair was minor news at best, I
think it's much more important than the media has made it seem. I think
the foreshadowing is undeniable; this will tell us a lot about what a
potential Obama presidency would be like. Here are some things that
jump out at me:
Obama did not install one of his cronies, which would be a huge
change over past Presidencies. In fact, some people at the University
of Chicago (whose law and economics programs are among the best in the
world) are worried that Obama will steal all of their best professors
and put them into his cabinet.
Howard Dean (a licensed physician) and Barack Obama (a
Harvard-educated lawyer who was offered a tenure-track faculty position
at one of America's best law schools) are both highly intelligent and
highly educated. This gives me hope that we're approaching an America
where politicians work together and make intelligent decisions for the
benefit of the country instead of trying to benefit their own
respective political campaigns.
A lesser-known fact: Obama and Dean have both strayed substantially
from their parents' life views, which suggests to me that they embrace
change and positive development. Howard Dean grew up in a conservative
family and Obama has written (among other similar things) that "my
mother's confidence in needlepoint virtues depended on a faith I didn't
possess... In a land [Indonesia] where fatalism remained a necessary
tool for enduring hardship... she was a lonely witness for secular
humanism, a soldier for New Deal, Peace Corps, position-paper
liberalism."
I'm hoping that this is a positive sign for Obama's campaign and,
eventually, his Presidency. It's no secret to my regular readers that
I'm a bit biased (I've supported Obama ever since Ron Paul fell into
oblivion and McCain started to turn into another Bush), but am I wrong?
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Shan-ul-Hai, the chief author of Globally Rational, is a self-described cosmopolitan scientist. His articles typically involve the application of evidence-based logic to some of the world's most interesting and thought-provoking affairs. His background as a Pakistani-American supplements his training as a scientist and his skill as a writer, leading to a myriad of of unique perspectives.
» left by Avis Ward(8,750) Avis Ward (83 days 5 hours ago.)
A very interesting perspective and an excellent read. Perhaps you will be proven correct. The future holds the answer. Thanks for sharing your view.
» left by Shan-ul-Hai(136) Shan-ul-Hai (83 days 4 hours ago.)
Well, I don't usually write optimistic articles, so I hope I turn out to be right the one time that I do take a crack at it... Respond to this comment
» left by James P Krehbiel(1,391) James P Krehbiel (83 days 3 hours ago.)
Shan-ul-Hai, We finally have a presidential candidate who understands how to build a coalition and he will surround himself with intelligent people when he governs. Most people on this site ruled out his candidacy after Reverend Wright appeared and now there is a deafening silence. Great article about a candidate who proposes real change who will build a winning team. With a disasterous foreign policy and economic situation, the time for change has emerged.
» left by Shan-ul-Hai(136) Shan-ul-Hai (83 days 2 hours ago.)
Yeah... I'm hoping that people can look past the random distractions (i.e. Reverend Wright) and start looking at the essence of Obama's message, they'll see that he's really genuinely better than the other candidate. Honestly, I think the only reason why Wright became a big deal is because people couldn't find any other legitimate mud to sling at Obama (although they tried many times... i.e. "he's Muslim", "his middle name is Hussein", "he wore a Somalian garb once when he was visiting Somalia, etc.). Respond to this comment
» left by rtm (81 days 4 hours ago.)
p until this commnet you had me. This gives me hope that we're approaching an America where politicians work together and make intelligent decisions for the benefit of the country instead of trying to benefit their own respective political campaigns. Yes work together but for whose gain, agenda ideology? yes another good article though. You write well. Best wishes.
» left by Bruce Horst(654) Bruce Horst (80 days 11 hours ago.)
I certainly don't understand all of the political issues of today, but I think that, like most people, I have a small subset of issues that I believe that I really do understand. On those issues it seems to me that Obama is making " intelligent decisions for the benefit of the country instead of trying to benefit their own respective political campaigns."
Very interesting article, Shan.
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