I'm worried that Barack Obama is going to peak too soon

[zulchzulu]

Poll question: I'm worried that Barack Obama is going to peak too soon

The Republican opposition researchers and other potential candidate's opposition reseach teams are busy looking for ways to smack Obama down hard after he gets lifted up in media hype popularity.

Remember. The mainstream corporate media is lazy. They get bored quickly. They would rather have a story where someone is in a scandal versus how great someone is.

Although he's not my personal top candidate, I definitely like Obama. I'm in the present camp that thinks he needs to get some more experience before becoming president. After all, Obama will be 54 in 2012. Of course, I've heard how Abraham Lincoln only served one term as a congressman before running.

I just worry that Obama will get branded as something he is not and will be hurt in any future chances where he can run again. The political gunslingers from the right as well as various factions within the Democratic party see Obama as a threat. And since the adage that people don't really get into the primaries until after the World Series is done (such as next October), having Obama in the spotlight just seems to me to be a bit dangerous for his career and future as a leader.

Is Obama going to peak too soon?

[WI_DEM]

1. Heck, we don't even know if he's going to run

He's on a book tour and all the publicity certainly is helping. A friend bought me a copy of his book as a Christmas present--it's good.

[longship]

2. This is what happens when you grab for the ring way too soon.

That's why I think this Obama deal is just an exploratory for 2012 or 2016. During his second or third Senate term--does anybody doubt that he'll get re-elected as many times as he wants?--he'll have robust credentials and would be a helluva good follow-on to Gore or whomever wins in 2008.

[Debi]

3. I didn't even know he was running for president

:eyes:

[zulchzulu]

5. I know he's not declared his candidacy...

I just worry that he will be like Icarus that flew too high... the MSM will want to destroy him after they lift him up.

Frontrunners like Edmund Muskie come to mind. Muskie was destroyed after he shed a tear in a speech. They propped him up and then branded him as a "softie".

Perhaps when Edwards announces tomorrow, the blinding light of the media will ease off Obama for a while.

[Debi]

8. I didn't think Edwards was announcing until after Christmas

(the 28th?) I'm just WAY behind! x(

[cali]

12. Good. I want him to be attacked

Let's see how he handles the slings and arrows cast his way. Personally, my bet's that he'll do just fine. And comparing him to Muskie just doesn't work.

[zulchzulu]

13. I wasn't comparing Obama to Muskie...

I was just saying that some frontrunners who seem invincible one month get turned into yesterday's news the next... Muskie was a classic example of that.

[messiah]

4. No, but charisma wins elections

[damntexdem]

6. Stop buying into the 'peak too soon' bullshit, ...

and all the other b.s. the media and 'pundits' spew about the celebrity of candidates.

Yes, this nonsense does have real effects on politics; but we don't have to contribute to it.

[zulchzulu]

7. If you follow politics, you can't help yourself but see the trends

If you think the media and the Royal Punditry Class don't affect political opinion nationally, then...well... (insert echo chamber sound here)...

[shaniqua6392]

9. He may wait until 2012 to run.

He does not have much experience to run a country with only two years in the Senate. I like him but I am just not sure he can do it. The media seems to want him to run. They talk about him all the time. There are more qualified candidates out there for the Dems to run. The next Prez will have a huge job to try to fix this country. Go ahead and flame me. I know everyone just loves Obama but I really want the White House and I don't want us to make a "Kerry" mistake again.

[rep the dems]

14. Hopefully if he doesn't run in 2008, then he won't run in 2012 either.

With any luck, that will be the year our Democratic President will run for a 2nd term.

[jefferson_dem]

10. The Obama train has just started rollin'. The more people learn, the more they will like...

Corporate media or no corporate media. This one's for real.

[Bjorn Against]

11. It is difficult to predict because we know far less about Obama than we do about other candidates.

The guy was virtually unknown less than three years ago, he has risen to be a top contender in an extremely short period of time and it is hard to know what kind of things will be dug up about him.

I am guessing there is something out there he has screwed up on at one time or another, most people don't have squeaky clean records in every way imaginable. The question is will they be able to find something that sticks? If all they can find are little tiny things, then even bringing them up would make their opponents look too nitpicky and it could actually backfire on Obama's opponents.

If however there is something that really does make him look bad people will drop him quick because most of them do not know him well yet, and while he may be popular at the moment I don't think he is to the point of popularity yet where he can really shake off bad press effectively.