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libertangoHere's a roundup of items I've noticed recently that I think illustrate the character of Barack Obama.
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From the New York Times, a few days ago ("Barack Obama, Forever Sizing Up," by Jodi Kantor):
Anyone who's read Thirteen Days should recognize this style -- and the value of getting everyone's input when the crunch comes.
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Also from the Times, comes this write-up of Obama's break in campaigning to visit his ill grandmother ("For Obama, a Melancholy Biography Tour," by Jeff Zeleny).
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From Dirck Halstead's The Digital Journalist comes this portfolio of images by Callie Shell of Time magazine.
The images are great -- one semi-famous one of Obama's worn-through shoes -- but I wanted to call out some of the captions (you'll have to click on the link "Show More Images" -- multiple times -- at the bottom of the page to get these to display):
That, ladies and gentlemen, is an X'er. Aways cleaning up messes.
It's also worth seeing the images of Obama and his family.
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Bruce Schneier had a post titled, "Barack Obama Discusses Security Trade-Offs." It's a tough one to pull out quotes from. But it's extraordinary in showing Obama's thought processes about security, and how each layer of management has to consider all the resources at their disposal, and weigh the benefits from using or putting aside each one, all the way up the chain (with larger pools at each link) culminating with the president overseeing the trade-offs for the entire country. Quoth Bruce, "Security is a trade-off, and that trade-off has to be made by someone with responsibility over all aspects of that trade-off. I don't think I've ever heard a politician make this point so explicitly."
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I end with a rhetorical question: Who was the most recent public figure of whom you could say, The more you learned about them, the more impressed you were?
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From the New York Times, a few days ago ("Barack Obama, Forever Sizing Up," by Jodi Kantor):
From his days leading The Harvard Law Review to his presidential campaign, Barack Obama has always run meetings by a particular set of rules.
Everyone contributes; silent lurkers will be interrogated. (He wants to “suck the room of every idea,” said Valerie Jarrett, a close adviser.) Mention a theory and Mr. Obama asks how it translates on the ground. He orchestrates debate, playing participants off each other — and then highlights their areas of agreement. He constantly restates others’ contributions in his own invariably more eloquent words. But when the session ends, his view can remain a mystery, and his ultimate call is sometimes a surprise to everyone who was present.
Anyone who's read Thirteen Days should recognize this style -- and the value of getting everyone's input when the crunch comes.
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Also from the Times, comes this write-up of Obama's break in campaigning to visit his ill grandmother ("For Obama, a Melancholy Biography Tour," by Jeff Zeleny).
“She can’t travel,” Mr. Obama said of his grandmother during the flight to Kansas in late January. “She has a bad back. She has pretty severe osteoporosis, but she’s glued to CNN.” A smile washed over his face as he spoke about the woman he calls “Toot,” his own shorthand for grandparent, which in Hawaii is Tutu.
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From Dirck Halstead's The Digital Journalist comes this portfolio of images by Callie Shell of Time magazine.
The images are great -- one semi-famous one of Obama's worn-through shoes -- but I wanted to call out some of the captions (you'll have to click on the link "Show More Images" -- multiple times -- at the bottom of the page to get these to display):
Waiting: Obama listens from a back stairwell as he is introduced in Muscatine, Iowa. It was his second or third speech of the day. Unlike many of the politicians I have photographed in the past, I find it is easy to get a photograph of Obama alone. He lets his staff do their jobs and not fuss over him. Nov. 7, 2007.
..
I loved that he cleaned up after himself before leaving an ice cream shop in Wapello, Iowa. He didn't have to. The event was over and the press had left. He is used to taking care of things himself and I think this is one of the qualities that makes Obama different from so many other political candidates I've encountered. Nov. 7, 2007.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is an X'er. Aways cleaning up messes.
It's also worth seeing the images of Obama and his family.
*^*^*
Bruce Schneier had a post titled, "Barack Obama Discusses Security Trade-Offs." It's a tough one to pull out quotes from. But it's extraordinary in showing Obama's thought processes about security, and how each layer of management has to consider all the resources at their disposal, and weigh the benefits from using or putting aside each one, all the way up the chain (with larger pools at each link) culminating with the president overseeing the trade-offs for the entire country. Quoth Bruce, "Security is a trade-off, and that trade-off has to be made by someone with responsibility over all aspects of that trade-off. I don't think I've ever heard a politician make this point so explicitly."
*^*^*
I end with a rhetorical question: Who was the most recent public figure of whom you could say, The more you learned about them, the more impressed you were?
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Books?
Date: 2008-11-01 04:51 pm (UTC)Re: Books?
Date: 2008-11-03 09:54 pm (UTC)Looking at the quote above, Obama clearly appears to be working off of that model. Looking at the Bush administration, one gets a feel for the feel of the top-down "decider" insisting on a loyalty-only based approach to getting advice (a "tell me what I want to hear" method), and the risks therein. (Ironically, one can also say the same for Saddam Hussein.)
no subject
Date: 2008-11-01 07:18 pm (UTC)MKK
no subject
Date: 2008-11-01 08:54 pm (UTC)The Content Of His Character. I woke up this morning, thinking that: free at last, thank god almighty.
Dancing soon? I am gonna hold my breath.