Obama

I heard Barack Obama speak from Houston after securing the Democratic primary victory in Wisconsin. He was energized by his win and the crowd seemed excited too. It is hard not to be attracted to such a feeling of possibility and, here's the buzzword, hope.

But in truth, I feel that, to paraphrase Keith Whitley,

Obama says it best when he says nothing at all.

By that I mean that when Obama is giving his usual stump oration about hope and bridging divides and looking to the future rather than the past, I agree. But whenever he moves on to anything of substance, he has nothing to offer but the typical Democratic platform of moving resources from productive corporations and successful individuals into more layers of bureaucracy and more programs to save people from themselves.

This sentiment is articulated by Robert Samuelson in today's op-ed piece in the Washington Post. He describes Obama as intelligent and forceful but lacking original ideas to transcend the problems in Washington. Neither the sheer force of his will, nor his ability to raise money online, nor his rhetoric of hope and change can end partisan bickering. This will only be possible through innovative ideas and compromise, neither of which have featured strongly in Obama's message.