Barack Obama, Inspiration?

In his recent remarks of a controversial nature regarding the Clintons, Hollywood mogul David Geffen commented—somewhere in between all the anti-Clinton vituperation—that Sen. Barack Obama "is inspirational."

How so? What fundamental principles, innovative ideas, or wise doctrines does the Senator possess and promote that make him inspirational? What matter of substance would convince one that, unlike Sen. Clinton, he could unite the country, which Mr. Geffen implied? For that matter, what justifies the infatuation such a significant portion of the Democratic base has with him?

Is it his likeable nature only? His affability? His comfortable, skilled public speaking abilities? Is this alone enough to inspire? Is this why he and his supporters believe he should be the next President of the United States?

Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, two of our most inspirational presidents of the previous century, were also affable characters highly skilled and comfortable with public communication. But this alone is not why they inspired, and continue to inspire. There was so much more to them. President Roosevelt led a nation forced into war and inspired it to conquer its fears, confront it enemies, and, in "its righteous might", defeat them. President Reagan took a nation paralyzed by malaise and inspired it to believe in itself and in its greatness once again and to defeat an "evil empire" previous presidents had been too weak and unwilling to confront.

To be frank, Senator Obama does not have anything on these men. I personally like Senator Obama, and appreciate the generally non-partisan tone of his discourse, but when it comes to his credentials to be our president the cupboard is bare. That he is an attractive, likeable candidate makes him little more competent to be president of this nation—a nation at war—than Brad Pitt, who is also attractive and likeable (or at least he was before his decree nisi with Jennifer Aniston). He may make us feel warm inside, but he certainly is not an inspiration, nor ready to be president of the greatest nation in the history of man.

The senator may very well make a competent and effective president some day. He certainly has potential. But now is not his time. He has to have some experience, something of substance to offer the electorate that demonstrates that he can hold the highest—and in terms of importance and gravity, the heaviest—office in the land.

He has demonstrated no such modicum of competence yet, and if we were to elect him as our president next year only for such superficial reasons as his charm and likability—which alone are not enough to inspire—we would be a nation of shallow character. We would be no less shallow than the stereotypical teenager who dates the hot, busty, blonde cheerleader whose attributes penetrate only skin deep.

There simply is not anything to the senator that inspires or indicates he is ready for the presidency. Not now at least.