Can someone please tell my why the folks at
Saturday Night Live seem to be the only ones willing to call
Barack Obama on his empty statements and courtship of the media? Honestly, I just don't get it. I don't understand
Barack Obama as a candidate. I don't think it's a matter of disagreeing with his political views, but more that I don't feel like I know any of them. From what I can gather he's a strong advocate for change, but unless he's saying he wants to abolish all paper money I have no idea what that means. My biggest
problem with him is that he lacks the experience that a Presidential candidate will typically have and so far he hasn't given us much to fill in the blanks. He rarely gives a direct answer to the questions he is given, nor will he clarify his vague policies. Don't get me wrong, I think war in general is bad and I would love to see changes in the U.S., but simply wishing things were different isn't going to make them so. To me his platform lacks substance. It would be one thing if he was just another easily dismissed, empty candidate (See
Bill Richardson). Unfortunately that's not the case at all. People are going for him in a big way. (Thanks,
Oprah.) I can't make sense of it.
There have been candidates in the past that I didn't like but could at least understand the appeal they had to others. Not so in this case. I don't get it at all. I don't find him to be charismatic or a particularly good public speaker. I hear no discernible message and I'm at a loss.
Throughout this whole process I kept thinking that sooner or later the fad surrounding Barack Obama would lose steam as most fads inevitably do. Sadly it shows no signs of stopping and that leaves me a.) very confused and b.) seriously concerned for the future of our country. It seems to me that people take his well researched applause lines for thoughtfulness and leadership capability. Clearly he is resonating with a large portion of Democrats, but being likeable doesn't necessarily translate into running a country.
SNL's return from the writer's strike has given me much needed hope that there are others out there who see through the empty mantras and soft-ball questions. That is at least changing the conversation on some level. Will it be enough to snatch the nomination away from him? Probably not, but hopefully it will make people think twice. The stakes for the American people are huge. We are talking about the highest office in the land. I just hope the country isn't heading towards a dangerous nosedive.
SNL and I will be watching.
