Being Obama

For someone who has repeatedly scoffed at mere words, Hillary Clinton has made sure that her campaign takes them dead-seriously when it suits her. A few weeks back, journalist David Schuster of MSNBC lost his job for using the generic phrase 8216;pimp out8217; as he mused on Chelsea Clinton8217;s place in her mother8217;s campaign. And now Samantha Power, Barack Obama8217;s prized foreign policy advisor, takes the fall for describing Clinton off the record, she had stressed as a 8216;monster8217; who would stoop to anything. Terrible words, but both terms, it could be argued, are nothing compared to the cloud of innuendo that the Clinton camp has directed at Obama. Her go-for-broke campaign for the Democratic nomination spares nothing by way of rumour or innuendo or sheer desperation. So it was totally in character that Power8217;s graceless remark was seized upon, as fresh ammo for the Clinton campaign.

But the key difference about Obama8217;s pitch, so far, is the way he shuns 8216;politics as usual8217;, the method of garnering votes by whipping up partisan resentments. But how long can he sustain this approach? With the Democratic race so close, emotions are bound to run high. And if Obama wins the nomination, he is going to have to deal with the entire force of the fearsome Republican smear machine.

Power8217;s resignation iterates Obama8217;s belief that 8220;these kinds of expressions should have no place in American politics8221; but he is also being pressed by his campaign to get along with it and resort to the same tough tactics as his opponent. So far, the rest of the world has been gripped by the singular drama of this American election and its protagonists, and by Obama8217;s audacious approach to leadership. It will probably lose a lot of that lustre if he ends up being the same as everyone else after all.