The Provocateur: Obama/McCain...Rhetoric Vs. Reality

From our friends @ The Provocateur Blog:

Barack Obama is now famous for his rhetoric of rising above partisanship and reaching across and ending partisan politics. While Obama has certainly been able to say these things with a charisma that is not usually found, he is not the first politician to say it. Here is some of the high minded rhetoric that Barack Obama says...

We're tired of being divided. We are tired of running into ideological walls and partisan roadblocks. We're tired of appeals to our worst instincts and our greatest fears. So I say this to you guys, that America is desperate for leadership. I absolutely feel it everywhere I go. They are longing for direction and they want to believe again.

and...

And it is because of these failures that we not only have a moment of great challenge, but also a moment of great opportunity. We have a chance to bring the country together in a new majority -- to finally tackle problems that George Bush made far worse but that had festered long before George Bush ever took office -- problems that we've talked about year after year after year after year.

And that is why the same old Washington textbook campaigns just won't do in this election. That's why not answering questions because we are afraid our answers won't be popular just won't do.

That's why telling the American people what we think they want to hear instead of telling the American people what they need to hear just won't do. Triangulating and poll-driven positions because we're worried about what Mitt or Rudy might say about us just won't do. If we are really serious about winning this election, Democrats, we can't live in fear of losing it.

So, clearly, Obama has built his campaign as a politician that transcends politics as usual. He makes himself out to be an agent of change. He makes himself out to be the individual to finally shake things up in Washington so that it is a government that takes care of people rather than takes from them.

While this is noble and lofty rhetoric, one has to
ask if Obama has any accomplishments that go with this.

Sean Hannity is fond of challenging Obama supporters to name one thing he has actually accomplished. One time, he asked a Democratic group of voters in a focus group led by Frank Luntz what Obama has accomplished. None of them could actually name anything.

In fact, In fact, when asked on television, Obama supporter Kirk Watson repeatedly couldn't name one accomplishment. In fact, Obama's lack of leadership on any substantive issues is the focus of this New York Times article.

Even those with knowledge of Obama's accomplishment point vaguely to "work" on bills regarding ethics reform and even more nebulous work on health care reform in the Illinois Senate.

The reality is that Obama's actual accomplishments are very bare, but more importantly, he has never shown the kind of courage necessary to really bridge partisan divides. His rhetoric maybe lofty, but it is backed up with absolutely nothing that tells anyone that he will be able to deliver.

While Obama talks about transcending politics, reaching across the aisle, and being able to transcend partisanship, there is one candidate in this race with a history of actually accomplishing these lofty goals: John McCain.

In fact, on issue after issue, John McCain has become the scourge of die hard Republicans and Conservatives for doing what Obama says he will do. On the issue of campaign finance reform, John McCain reached deep across the ideological aisle to Russ Feingold.

Campaign finance reform was a long and arduous struggle from concept to completion. It was first introduced in 1995 and it didn't become law until 2002. It went through many stages and evolutions. During that time, McCain had to reach out to many Democrats in order to make his vision a law. In fact, in its final version, it was voted on by more Democrats then members of his own party.

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