An Attack on Democracy Itself

Friends,
Republican politics is shown at its ruthless best.
Obama/Biden '08

Peace and Love,
Rev O

Convicted Of Charisma Washington Post
"On Thursday, as the convention moves from the indoor Pepsi Center to Mile High, an open-air football stadium, Democrats will have to balance their desire to spotlight Obama's enthusiastic following with concern that images of a cheering throng will ratify Republican attacks on the candidate as a glitzy but untested celebrity."
-- The Post, Aug. 14

"But nothing can be too American for American political parties at convention time. So the notion that "images of a cheering throng" could backfire on the Democrats is pretty remarkable. As a matter of logic, it's hard to see any connection at all between Obama's ability to attract a crowd and the question of whether he has been sufficiently "tested." And yet, it's true. Even though Ronald Reagan might have found it hard to believe that there was something wrong with cheering throngs, Republicans are making an issue of Obama's popularity, and the Democrats have to be careful not to overdo things.

With so much going their way in this election, the biggest challenge the Democrats face is simple: The Republicans just play the game of presidential politics so much better. They play it with genius, courage, creativity and utter ruthlessness.

"The greatest strength of this year's Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, is his eloquence, his charisma, his ability to create excitement and draw a crowd. This could be a legitimate debating point if the Republicans were saying that, on some particular issue or even many, Obama is using his charm and way with words to disguise a lack of substance in what he says. But Republican ambitions are grander: They are attacking Obama's charisma, as if popularity itself were a disqualifying factor and whoever draws the larger crowds is by definition the lesser candidate. This is truly perverse. It comes close to being an attack on democracy itself. Can the Republicans possibly score with such a preposterous argument?"

"Oh, probably."
The writer is a columnist for Time magazine and an occasional contributor to The Post.