Kerwick's Corner: Obama Brings Chicago-Style Politics to the Campaign

Last week, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama announced he was going to get tough and take a very quick, very aggressive response to any attack launched at him from the campaign of Republican nominee John McCain.

What has transpired, however, has not been response-motivated aggression. It has simply been aggression. From personal attacks to negative campaign ads (one of which even Biden says was "terrible"), Obama has been engaging in the same old political sniping that has characterized campaigns since Lyndon Johns dropped the "Daisy" television ad on Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential campaign. This wouldn't be so reprehensible if it weren't for the fact that Obama proclaimed way back in the primary that these types of tactis were "not my style." Obama promised a different tone to his campaign, one that emphasized his achievements and qualifications.

It's hard to build a house on a foundation of sand, I guess, which is why Obama has done such an about-face lately.

In a recent speech, Obama urged his supporters to "get in the faces" of their friends, neighbors and relatives to get him elected. Was this call-to-confrontation over the top, even for negative campaigning? Or was this simply an innocent turn of phrase? Even if it was, could it be misinterpreted by his supporters? About.com guest writer Jack Kerwick examines this issue and weighs in with his opinion.

From the column:

Peaceful co-existence, to say nothing of genuine “unity,” necessarily presupposes civility. In a society such as our own where individuality is prized, there will always be disagreements, often fierce, between citizens. It is precisely in order to preserve this freedom, along with the order (without which it will, before long, collapse into chaos) that such conflicts be articulated civilly. “Jumping into the faces” of those with whom one disagrees is emphatically uncivil ...

In beckoning his supporters to appropriate confrontational, Chicago-style, “community organizing” tactics, Obama has proven himself thoroughly unworthy to be even the mayor of a small town (like Wasilla, Alaska), let alone president of the United States of America.