A Paucity of Hope (A “Mendacity of Hope”?)

In “Barack Obama’s nouvelle vague,” Salon’s Walter Shapiro interviews an Iowan who says, “‘[A]fter hearing Obama today, I’m in awe‘.” Shapiro himself says, “We know he’s a ‘hope monger’, but the rest of Obama’s unconventional message is elusive.” Most of Obama’s support comes from the very young, 40% from independents, and 5% from Republicans. (Taylor Marsh dissects this odd grouping here and here.)

I stopped being “in awe” of candidates a long time ago. I don’t want a symbol. I don’t think any candidate is above the fray, nor can be — and probably shouldn’t be. I’m left cold by “elusive” messages. I just want the one who does the work and knows her stuff. And, I’ll tell you, if I were for Obama, I’d be feeling very uncomfortable about reports like these:

• “The Mendacity of Hope: What We Want to Believe About Obama,” by Washington Post’s Richard Cohen, Jan. 1, 2008
• “The Delusional Style in American Punditry,” by the New Republic’s Sean Wilentz, Dec. 19, 2007 (”Forget experience: Opinion-slingers are mooning over Barack Obama’s instincts. Don’t they remember how badly that worked out last time?“)
• “Democrats are Not Choosing Obama,” by radio host Taylor Marsh, Jan. 1, 2008
• “Obama slams Gore,” by Kos — yes, the founder of Daily Kos who recently backed Obama
• “Obama goes Harry and Louise: The audio,” by Jedreport at Daily Kos, Jan. 1, 2008
• “Obama-labor relationship tense in Iowa,” by Politico’s Ben Smith, Jan. 1, 2008

Let’s see: Forty-five percent of Obama’s support comes from non-Democrats. And a bedrock Democratic group, labor, is royally pissed at Obama — as are (I’ve been told) the worker bees and leaders of Iowa’s Democratic party who are very worried about his use of GOP talking points on Social Security and more. Then we have more and more writers pointing out the “mendacity” (a polite word for “lie”) in Obama’s speeches and in his advertisements.

Have you heard any other Democratic candidate — any of them — pull a “Harry and Louise” GOP-like attack in a false, smear-laden ad defending his or her health care plan? I need to ask this: Do any of those awe-struck non-Democrats supporting him even know who Harry and Louise are, or why that history matters?

Real Democrats know better than to fall for those kinds of tactics. But those 40% independents and 5% Republicans who want to vote for Obama? How can we know about them? What have they bothered to learn? Or are they in a state of rapture, not worried about those Democratic bedrock constituencies and issues?

And where do I begin to tell you? I can’t quote from every one of those important reports above. But you can read them. And you must. Then you must tell others about what you’ve read. Before it’s too late.

I will quote from the New Republic piece — which is a must-read in its entirety — about that “delusional” Boston Globe endorsement of Obama, because I have read more about what the TNR author is referring to:

The Boston Globe, in an ideal specimen of the delusional style, ran an editorial that endorsed Obama because he is biracial and grew up in “multi-ethnic cultures”–adequate substitutes, by the editorial’s lights, for serious background and expertise in foreign affairs. Obama, according to the Globe, has engaged in “a search for identity” and taken “a roots pilgrimage to Kenya,” all of which supposedly displays a “level of introspection, honesty, and maturity” that the newspaper longs for in a president. “Obama’s story is America’s story,” the Globe intoned–a sentence that comes as close as any distinguished newspaper ever has to perfect emptiness.

Let us hold aside that the book the Globe relied on in discovering these singular Obamaesque virtues, Dreams From My Father, contains composite characters and other fictionalized elements–not exactly a portrait of sterling honesty or authenticity. What is especially delusional is the Globe’s confidence that its own projections about Obama’s character and personality, as well as the mystical conclusions it draws from his ethnicity, are serious grounds for endorsing any candidate for any office, much less the presidency. … (From “The Delusional Style in American Punditry.”)

When the TNR author referred to Obama’s book, Dreams From My Father, which “contains composite characters and other fictionalized elements–not exactly a portrait of sterling honesty or authenticity,” I recalled my recent reading of the very lengthy Chicago Tribune biography of Obama that pointed out many stories that Obama regularly recounts about his youth that — when Chicago Tribune reporters checked them out — simply weren’t true. In one story he tells often, Obama brags that he learned the Indonesian language rapidly and easily, but the Tribune reporters talked to his former teacher who remembers how much he struggled and how his schoolwork suffered because he couldn’t grasp the language. (I’m not faulting him for struggling with a new language, but it worries me that he brags about mastering it easily when that’s not what happened.) There are more similar instances in the Chicago Tribune bio series.

Then there’s a truly fine diary by Jedreport today at Daily Kos: “Obama goes Harry and Louise: The audio.” It’s another must-read in full, but here’s just a bit of it:

… Krugman’s post was about a friend who had heard an ad by Obama attacking Edwards and Hillary on their universal health care plans. At the time, there was considerable skepticism amongst Kossacks that any such ad existed, and if it did exist, whether it actually evoked the conservative “fear big government” theme of the Harry and Louise commercials from 1994.

Well, Ben Smith at politico.com has obtained an audio recording of the radio ad and I can report to you that unfortunately Krugman and his friend were right. Although the ad is partially a defense of Obama’s plan, it does savage Hillary and Edwards on universal health care — specifically mandates — and it even evokes the style, and more importantly, the theme, of the Harry and Louise ads.

Jedreport then quotes from Krugman’s post last week:

Obama goes Harry and Louise

A friend sends me this:

Have you seen or heard about the radio ad that Obama is running in Iowa about health care?

It has a man and a woman talking, with the man leading off saying that health care mandates “force those who cannot afford health care insurance to buy it, punishing those who don’t fall in line.”

This is what I’ve been complaining about. I was willing to cut Obama slack on the lack of mandates in his plan, even though the economics says they’re necessary; I figured that in practice, if elected, he’d end up doing the right thing.*

I started ramping up the criticism when he started attacking his opponents from the right, making the lack of mandates a principle rather than a compromise — because that was poisoning the well, making it much harder for any future Democratic president to implement a plan that will work.

Jedreports provides a YouTube of the ad, and part of the transcript:

MALE: Here’s the big difference on health care: Senators Edwards and Clinton favor mandates, which the Daily Iowan says would “force those who could not afford health insurance to buy it, punishing those who don’t fall in line.”

FEMALE: Barack Obama believes the solution isn’t making it illegal not to have health care, it’s making it affordable.

The kicker? Jedreport points out that “The Daily Iowan is the newspaper of the University of Iowa.” He adds, “I knew Obama had a lot of support from college kids, but now he’s quoting them on health care policy?”

JedReport also corrects misleading or false information in the ad.

But I’m just floored that Obama would quote a student newspaper as an authoritative source on health care. Well, I guess that’s how far his ad people had to look after an internationally renowned economist and New York Times columnist like Paul Krugman has reluctantly had to expose the problems with Obama’s health plan.

I ASK YOU AGAIN: Do any of those young people, those 40% independents, and those 5% Republicans who support Obama — do any of them know who Harry and Louise are, or why that history matters?

Real Democrats remember. Remember it well.

Don’t give me “hope.” Don’t leave me in “awe.” If your health care plan sucks, improve it! If your plan leaves out 15,000,000 people, say that you’re taking steps to correct it. But don’t attempt to smear your opponents’ plans when both John Edwards’ and Hillary Clinton’s plans are vastly better than yours.

I’ll stick with the REAL Democrats who’ll be voting in these primaries. The majority of them are behind the other candidates.