FOR SEN. CLINTON

Note to a policy wonkette: Solutions aren't
worth much if you can't sell them. We saw
that on your first attempt at health care reform,
which you formulated in secret, back in the
90's. As Robert Creamer has pointed out in
The Huffington Post: "To villify Obama for his
ability to inspire is to ignore the principal
lesson of the last 30 years."

Solutions are not enough. To be successful
they need moral force and fervor that give
meaning to people's lives. Where there is no
vision, the people perish, says the Scripture.
It takes persuasion, idealism, passion,
inspiration, and reason to bring about change.
For 30 years the Demos have offered voters
superior policies, and have been beaten by a
"conservative agenda" wrapped in the flag,
religion, and "traditional values."

Something new is afoot. Hillary is as non-
plussed by it as the professional pundits, who
are usually the last folks to know what's going
on, but can sense now that a sea change is
coming. As I wrote in a previous blog, the
religious right has lost its relevance along with
much of its leadership. (Jim Dobson says he
will not vote for Sen. McCain.) With that
Republican base eroding, and the rest of the
party split, NOW thunders Barack ("Blessing"
in Swahili) is the time for change! It certainly
is the time and the place, but it won't happen
without a seismic struggle. Entrenched power
never lets go of that power without a fight.

And this brings us back to the warriors on the
Democratic side: what he lacks, he can get;
what she lacks, she can't get. It's as simple as
that. (Thank you, Alec Baldwin, for pointing
this out.) She lacks the leadership qualities
of speech and personality needed to mobilize
a movement. That's why she's behind. Geo.
Washington was not a captivating speaker,
but he was inspirational by example. Lincoln
was an eloquent speaker as well as a deep
thinker. But he had little political experience.
When elected president, Lincoln had served
two years in the U. S. House of Representatives.
That's it! He had been defeated for reelection
because he opposed the Mexican war! That
caused people to question his patriotism.
Deja vu?

F. D. R. and J. F. K. were both gifted speakers,
as were Ronald Reagan and M. L. King. That's
not a liability! And it shouldn't be discounted.
Nor is it an either/or. Nowhere is it written
that you can't have good solutions and fiery
speeches. Our greatest presidents often had
both. May it be so again!

jgoodwin004@centurytel.net

Sen. Obama should, in my opinion, immediately
set up an advisory council of distinguished
military experts, such as Colin Powell and Anthony
Zinni and Brent Scowcroft. This panel should be
conspicuously non-partisan. Zinni is on a first-
name basis with both Mubarak and Musharraf,
as well as leaders in Jordan and S. Arabia. He
played golf with many of them, when he headed
Central Command. He is a student of the Middle
East, its people and history.