Barack Obama: Putting Meat on the Bone

[illinoisprogressive]

For the first few months of his presidential candidacy, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was criticized for being all rhetoric and no depth. His rivals took subtle jabs at him for the lightness of the campaign, insisting that "hope" was not a policy.

No longer.

On Wednesday Obama rolled out what his campaign called a "comprehensive strategy to fight global terrorism", a plan that includes removing American troops from Iraq, the deployment of at least two more brigades to Afghanistan, increasing non-military aid to Afghanistan by $1 billion and creating "Mobile Development Teams" designed to tamp down the strains of extremism around the world. (You can -- and should -- read the full speech here.)

Obama's terrorism speech Wednesday is part of a series of other policy addresses/proposals that he has made in recent weeks. He outlined his lobbying reform plan at the end of June and roughly a month earlier outlined his proposal to solve the health care crisis in America.

Taken in total, Obama has addressed the top foreign and domestic policy issues of the day as well as his own signature issue in a the space of three months. Remember that, unlike the political junkies who traffic on this site, many voters -- even in Iowa and New Hampshire -- are just now tuning in to the campaign and are likely unaware that there was ever a sense that Obama was light on policy proposals. What they're likely to see now is a candidate with some policy heft to back up his personal appeal.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/08/barack_obama_putting_meat_on_t.html

[Cha]

1. Recommended!

If I were in the military in Iraq and heard about this I would be encouraged to "hope" that somebody will come in as Commander-In-Chief and not be motivated by greed, oil and stupidity.

One who isn't a Commander-In-Thief.

[illinoisprogressive]

2. Or with ties to special interests

[DeepModem Mom]

3. Wow! That's quite a statement from Cillizza, about any candidate! nt

[mistertrickster]

4. K & R'ed. Damn right. Obama is saying the dead obvious--we need a president

who will bring Bin Laden's head in a bag.

Obviously, the current occupant of the White House lacks the will, and it's about time some Dem rubbed his face in it . . .

[file83]

5. Shouldn't that read "Stripping the meat of our soldier's bones"?

Depends on which way you look at it, I suppose.