The Hope of Audacity

By Kevin Robinson in News on Oct 23, 2006 12:30PM

Chicagoist almost choked on our coffee yesterday when we heard the words coming out of Barack Obama's mouth (you can see the actual video here). And we can't lie: we like Barry. A lot. A whole lot. Chicagoist gets all excited when we think about the implications of that skinny kid from the South Side roaming the halls of the White House. Especially when we consider who else is out there on the Democratic ticket.

The great thing about all this speculation is that nobody really knows what he would do if elected, and considering that he hasn't really pushed any legislation in the Senate since he won national office less than two years ago, anyone can graft their own belief system on to him. He goes to church regularly and publicly discusses his faith, diffusing the religious right. He comes off as a class act so the mud-slingers can't paint him with any swift-boat style dirty tricks. And the left gets to feel good about a black man that opposed the war in Iraq and comes off as being basically progressive in his values.

Chicagoist has been pretty amused trying to gauge the reaction to this non-announcement on the web. We've seen right-wingers try to call him Osama (bad move: it just reminds people that Bush still hasn't caught him), and apolitical centrists declare him the messiah that can save us from the terrible mess we are in. But can anyone say definitively what Obama stands for in a presidential run? His voting record in the Senate is pretty sparse, and he didn't even vote on an amendment that would have forced the president to include the cost of Iraq and Afghanistan in any future budgets given to the congress, giving us a true picture of the cost of war.

We here at Chicagoist like Obama. Hell, who doesn't? And the talk and speculation and rides on the bandwagagon are fun. That's why it breaks our heart to be a party pooper and urge caution. The adulation can be intoxicating, but serving a full term in the Senate hasn't held Hillary back. Or John McCain. Iowa '08 is a long way off, and if and when Obama goes down there to talk about factories and farming, football and feed, things will change exponentially. Who knows what issues will be kicking about then, or who will be running, with either party?