Frontline

The biggest complaint from most of us who oppose The One is his demonstrable lack of experience, his opaque track record, and the fact he seemingly hasn’t done anything of consequence during his four years in the Senate — and that would be the US Senate, not the Illinois State House. Well… it’s come to light that this didn’t just happen, it’s by design. Here’s Tom Daschle, speaking about His Boy Barack:

In 2006 ... he talks to you about the possibility of running for the presidency. What do you tell him?

I tell him he should do it. We went to my favorite restaurant and took the kitchen table in the back where nobody could see us. We had a bottle of wine and a great meal and what was supposed to be a conversation that lasted about an hour I think went over three.

And during that time I told him that I thought his lack of Washington experience was one of his greatest assets. And I argued that windows of opportunity for running for the presidency close quickly. And that he shouldn't assume, if he passes up this window, that there will be another. I had that experience, and I wouldn't want him to see the same thing happen to him.

Why the 2008 window for Obama?

I think the window is important for a couple of reasons. One, it was an open opportunity -- that is, he wasn't running against an incumbent; and secondly, because the longer he's in Washington, the more history he has, and the more history he has, the more he's going to be explaining his votes and his actions and his statements and his positions that undermine his message. His message is one of change, his message is one of new direction, and it's harder to do that after you've been in Washington for a long time.

The passages above were taken from the PBS/Frontline web site, specifically from the text of the interview with former senator Daschle. The web site is an adjunct to the Frontline program “The Choice 2008,” a two-hour show that ran last evening. I watched the whole thing and was more than a little surprised at the even-handedness and objectivity of the program. Frontline tends to have a decidedly Left point of view, and I expected the program to be a puff-piece for The One. And it wasn’t… much to my surprise.

But… back to the main point. There was also another interview during the program last evening where a Talking Head claimed a conscious decision was made by Obama and his staff to keep the junior Senator from Illinois away from any and all issues that might be the least little bit controversial. I looked high and low for that quote, but it’s either been edited out of the interviews, or eliminated entirely. But… the point remains: The One’s track record is thin, by design. I find that particularly troubling.

I really liked “The Choice 2008.” Frontline usually re-runs its Tuesday show on Thursday evenings (in my market, anyway) and oftentimes again on Saturday. I heartily recommend watching the show if you haven’t made up your mind about who you’ll vote for on November 4^th. MY mind has been made up for months now, and I think it’s a testimony to the quality of the Frontline presentation that I felt my decision was reinforced by watching that show. In other words, Frontline’s “The Choice 2008” validated my judgment… and that’s no small feat for a bunch of left-wing documentary producers. You can also watch the program in its entirety on the web site… but I don’t know anyone who has the patience to watch two hours of teevee on a computer screen. I certainly don’t, but your mileage may vary.