Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Rudy and Obama....



We just like them. In general. Those who lean to the right, like Rudy. Those who lean to the left like Obama. The masses in between like both of them.

I meet young people all the time who just gush about Obama. It' easy to like him. He is graceful and well spoken. He has a bright ready smile. I admit that the part of me that remembers what it was like when blacks couldn't even vote, and when they could, they were intimidated not to, wants Obama to do well. Although he is wrong on every issue, it's nice to have a serious black candidate instead race baiters like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. And this candidate actually has a chance. Although I am of the mind that the Hillary Machine will soon crush him. I would love to be wrong about that. But I digress.

People in general like Obama for purely emotional reasons. It would be "cool" to have a black President. He comes across as genuine and sincere. He never attacks personally. In fact, he seems to have a gift for a phrasing criticism in such a way that your not even sure he did criticize. But let's face it, he's green and not ready to be President.

And then we have Rudy. Strong and manly. Rudy oozed leadership during the 9-11 tragedy. He is the kind of guy who just doesn't take crap from anyone. We just love that. He is like the stern father we all yearned for. He cleaned up NYC of crime. So what if he is wrong on most issues Republicans care about? He is a leader. And we want one.

I expect this kind of emotionalism from most people. Digging into politics and issues is boring. But what I see now is people who do dig into politics and issues still liking Obama and Rudy for purely emotional reasons. I read right leaning blogs all the time now excusing Rudy for his views on immigration, gun control, and campaign finance reform. They buy his justifications even though they disagree. Why? Because they like him.

I expect that from the left side. They have always been about "feelings" and emotions. But when the heck did we get there?