Is it just me, or does Barack Obama remind anyone else of Bobby Kennedy?

[MadProphetMargin]

He sure as hell speaks as well, has the same charisma, and good ideas.

I hope he fares better than poor Bobby did.

[Political_Junkie]

1. Yep,

I had been saying all along that the present times remind me of the peace movement and civil rights movements of the past, except that we don't seem to have any real leaders this time, we're on our own. Then I saw Obama at the DNC. After that I allowed myself to finally feel hope.

[MadProphetMargin]

3. Yep. Problem is, we also have another mayor Daley. :(

[calico1]

12. No, not at all.

I am old enough to remember Bobby Kennedy and I don't see any resemblance in style although I loved Bobby too. I'll tell you who does remind me of Bobby: Elliot Spitzer. Has that same pit bull fighting spirit and fire that Bobby had!

[JI7]

2. yes he does

[FlaIndie]

4. like you said...

I hope he fares better than poor Bobby did.
Well, Keyes is in favor of people having automatic weapons. Maybe that is his plan to keep Obama from the Senate. :o

[Minstrel Boy]

5. I had the same thought yesterday

and it made my heart sink.

I'm also hoping he stays off small aircraft.

[H2O Man]

6. No....

Not at all. Robert was many things, but never a good public speaker. His great speeches were not a result of his speaking ability, but rather was from his passion. As Jesse Jackson has noted, an audience loves a person who, even though they struggle at public presentations, has a passion about the subject matter.

Obama is a natural speaker. He does not struggle at all. He is more likely to be holding back, behind his handsome smile, hinting to the audience to pay very close attention as he delivers the message.

Malcolm X had been asked what he wanted to be when he grew up by a Jr. High School teacher. When he said a lawyer, the teacher laughed and said that "his kind" don't become lawyers, and that Malcolm should be realistic. It ruined school for the teen-aged Malcolm. Even in his last weeks of life, Malcolm X would think about what he might have been if that teacher encouraged him to become an attorney.

I think now we know.

[Julien Sorel]

7. Wow.

Just wow.

[enigmatic]

8. Excellent post.

[HootieMcBoob]

11. It's interesting that you say that H2O Man

Because I was thinking that there is bit of a resemblance between Obama and Malcolm.:thumbsup:

[H2O Man]

13. Yes, I think so.

His presentation is similar in several important ways. One is knowing how to build a foundation without being tedious. But it isn't simply the style .... there is the fascinating similarity in the physical presentation. Before I saw Obama, I thought it's going to be hard for this young man to live up to the expectations ..... and I was so happy when he did. He is a powerful man, and he will do good works for all Americans, not just a select group. This country will benefit from his talents.

[Swamp Rat]

9. Yes, this is a good post. Why was it moved from GD?

Wassup mods?

[theboss]

10. Not really....

I think he speaks better than Bobby, but I don't think he is the political street fighter Bobby was. What people forget about RFK is that he could get down and dirty with the best of them and was a real maverick on issues that a lot of people wouldn't touch, including his brother.

I don't really see those qualities in Obama yet. Actually, Obama reminds me of Clinton. Great ability to connect to a room. A knack of framing old progressive ideas in modern language. Good-looking and charismatic. Empathetic. Intelligent without being off-putting. Has a modern view of civil rights that does not seem stuck in the same old rhetoric of the 60s. Able to speak in the language of religion without being dogmatic. And sitll somewhat vague on his core principles.

[H2O Man]

14. I found myself

shaking my head in agreement with your comments on RFK. There is a great book that came out in 2003, "The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings," by Thomas Maier. I am not sure if you have read it, or just remember Robert correctly, (or both). But he was a tough man who had the natural inclination to engage in the street fighting. And you are exactly right in saying he went where JFK didn't. Good call.

[theboss]

18. Haven't read that one

But I've read enough about all the Kennedys (including Old Man Joe) that I understand them pretty well. The real key to understanding all of them is understanding their father. In some ways, Bobby was the son most like Joe and in some ways, he was the least like Joe. He was like Joe in that he would do pretty much absolutely anything to "win," regardless of what winning meant. Jack Kennedy obviously was tough too, but he took more pleasure in life and was less driven. It also made him a more attractive candidate. In any year other than 1968, Bobby wouldn't have been a good candidate because he really wasn't as charismatic as Jack and Teddy. (He also probably the least attractive member of the family, which goes along with it). But he had the name and the issue.

But he was the most competent member of the family in the sense that everything he did, he did amazingly well. He helped create Joe McCarthy, yet managed to bail out before the Senator blew up. He somehow managed to appease and in some ways control Daley and Hoover while still taking on organized crime and supporting civil rights (like I said, taking risks JFK probably wouldn't have taken). He went from being a strong anti-communist to anti-war candidate without sullying his credibility on any of the issues. He seemed to always know where the world was heading long before his opponents and was always in front of the major issues when they hit.

Back to Obama, he could be revolutionary in his own way. He could be the prototypical 21st-century candidate. A Multi-racial product of a meriticrocy, where candidates of color don't have to pigeon-holed. Jesse Jackson's first name became "Civil Rights Leader Jesse" decades ago. He was always going to be viewed as a "black" candidate. I don't see that happening with Obama, mainly because he doesn't seem interested in letting that happen.

[21winner]

15. Not at all.

I hope Barack lives longer too. He aint no pompus Kennedy. He is a real good man.

[H2O Man]

17. Many people resented

Kennedy because he knew how to spell words such as "pompous."

[TheDonkey]

16. I hope to God, that Obama someday will run for president

He's an amazing man.