Barack, We Hardly Know Ye: A Question For Sen. Obama

By RJ Eskow
Created Jan 17 2007 - 9:31am

It's Candidacy as Celebrity, as reported by our "American Idol" political
press. The resemblance to another Presidential candidate is striking: The
good looks, the swooning crowds, the swooning reporters, and the eloquence
all bring to mind another charismatic Democrat. Unfortunately it's not John
or Bobby Kennedy.

It's Jerry Brown.

When Brown ran in for President he drew the same screaming fans and the same
enthusiastic coverage. He was a late entrant in 1976 but was given more of a
real chance in 1980. Still, but at some point his campaign failed to
coalesce on the ground. Voters weren't able to get a grasp of who this
enigmatic candidate was, or what he stood for.

Is Jerry Brown's experience a cautionary tale for Barack Obama? It's too
early to tell, and of course there are significant differences between these
two intelligent and compelling politicians. But, like Obama, Brown had a
knack for defying left-right differences. He replaced ideology with enigma
and liberalism with language. In the end, it didn't work.