Fertile Ground for a President Obama

I want to build on a case made by PsyFighter37 in a diary here.

The case is that the ground is fertile for an Obama presidency, not because he differs substantively from Hillary Clinton on major policy issues, but because his approach is different.

Take just the following:

*There is a large and growing consensus that America needs to move toward single payer Universal healthcare.

*There is a large and growing consensus that we must take dramatic steps towards reducing global warming.

*There is broad consensus that embryonic stem cell research should be funded by the federal government.

*There is broad and growing consensus that we should withdraw US troops from Iraq.

*There is broad consensus that we need to reform Washington and reduce the influence of corporate lobbyists, and that one inevitable step in that direction is to increase transparency.

I wouldn't argue that Obama's positions on these issues are vastly superior to Hillary Clinton's -- they're probably closer to indistinguishable than to, say, John McCain's.

The difference is that Hillary is built for trench warfare, and would have to fight tooth and nail for each of these reforms.

Obama, on the other hand, has a unique opportunity to capitalize on the broad national consensus on many of these issues and, with the help of a diverse coalition, starting at the grassroots level, pass them through congress. Although Washington may be gridlocked and Republicans may be experts at stalling and stifling change, Obama has a unique appeal to empower the people to make their voices heard -- and on these critical issues, the will of the people is clear.

There are no guarantees -- and obviously the GOP and the Conservative Movement will try to obstruct a President Obama in any way possible. But as I said at the beginning, and echoing PsyFighter37, the ground is fertile for Obama's brand of politics. And I believe that I am one of a growing consensus of millions of people in this country who are eager to give him a chance to make change happen -- by empowering the people's voices that are manipulated, exploited, and ignored. Yes. We. Can.