In
its cover story, Newsweek (12/27-1/3, Alter) profiles Sen.-elect Barack
Obama of Illinois. Newsweek reports that "desperate Democrats --
viewing Obama's electrifying speech at the Democratic convention and
landslide victory as about the only good news in a dismal election year
-- are already talking about him on the ticket in 2008. Although he
will inevitably make most shortlists for vice president (and at 43,
he's the same age JFK was when he was elected president), this
speculation is almost comically premature for an incoming senator. But
it does allow Obama to use what his Harvard Law School classmate Ken
Mehlman, soon to be chairman of the Republican Party, calls his 'star
power' to work with the GOP on bridging Red-Blue divisions and getting
some things done." Rep. Rahm Emanuel sees Obama "as a bridge from the
left to the center of the spectrum." Obama "isn't cocky but he is
confident, and fully prepared to step into a leadership role for the
Democrats. Incoming Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who calls Obama
'a gentleman and a scholar,' expects him to travel abroad as a member
of the Foreign Relations Committee and fit in well in the clubby
Senate, where Obama has hired defeated Senate Minority Leader Tom
Daschle's chief of staff to run his office." The Frontrunner December 20, 2004
Obama Does Not Want To Be Seen As A Leader Of Black America.
In its cover story, Newsweek (12/27-1/3, Alter) profiles Sen.-elect
Barack Obama of Illinois. Newsweek reports that some Democratic Party
activists "might be in for a surprise. Obama may be the only
African-American in the Senate, but this is not a man who wants to be
seen as the leader of black America. When he spoke at a Congressional
Black Caucus reception recently, Obama graciously thanked several
caucus leaders by name, then concluded with a short but telling
statement: 'I'm looking forward to working with you on behalf of all
Americans.'"
Manning Marable vs. Donna Brazile on the Future of the Democratic Party [more]
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