Every White House has had its intellectuals, but very few presidents have been intellectuals themselves besides Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Woodrow Wilson.
Much of the nightmare of the last eight years arose from the fact that one of the least intellectually curious or gifted presidents in history was controlled by a group of passionate, but second-rate, neoconservative intellectuals, whose agenda for the U.S. was lost on the man they guided and advised.
Some may believe that we ought to be wary of an intellectual in power, and, though he tried his best to veil his agendas while on the forefront, Obama is an intellectual.
At the University of Chicago, he taught constitutional law, the most demanding and most challenging area of study in U.S. law schools. His education at Columbia and Harvard made him an even smarter individual through training. In the Illinois State Senate as well as in the U.S. Senate, his habit as a legislator has been to solicit counterarguments against his own position, to deploy his unusual talent as a close and sympathetic listener, to probe, to doubt, to adapt, to change.
Early in the campaign, he was painted as an optimist, a description that couldn’t be more wrong. For every rousing “Yes, we can!” there was the doubt of “It won’t be easy” and, uniquely among the raft of candidates in the primaries, Obama brought to the election a clear-sighted grasp of the tragic aspect of U.S. history.
His most uplifting speeches were grounded in images of the shame of slavery, the national agony of the Civil War and the intimate humiliations of poverty in America, and it was by reminding his audiences of the depths to which the country is prone to sink that he was able to give them to hope.
In one of his speeches, Obama said, “I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree.”
After eight years of an administration whose trademark agendas have been secrecy, dishonesty and a refusal to listen to any voice outside its own administration, this promise of Obama to the people was probably the most important policy statement that he could make as president-elect.
You will not find Obama on YouTube making a fool out of himself playing golf while he is needed at the White House. You will not find Obama in a classroom reading “My Pet Goat” while our country is under attack, and when he is informed about this continues on and reads to school children.
How many times have we seen Bush make a fool out of himself during his speeches while Obama is known for giving great speeches?
We needed a president who can inspire our citizens and our global partners to forgo narrow self-interest and embrace the possibilities we can achieve if we work together to build a better future.
Barack Obama is that president. He is a man of intelligence, but also a man whose character and temperament seem suited to the problems of our age. He is optimistic even in the face of adversity, willing to speak the truth about subjects that have long been put on hold.
We need fresh thinking, not a pendulum-swing from one idea to another. And despite claims to the contrary by his opponents, it is believed that Obama isn’t afraid to take the best economic ideas from any part of the political spectrum.
We have elected someone who cares for the American people, cautious, and yet unusually sure of his own judgment when he makes it, which is often slowly. The bottom line is that Obama is able to comprehend and develop ideas to help the country unlike the previous pretender who held office for a grueling eight years.
