Candidate Obama's Sense Of Urgency

(CBS)  One thing you can say with certainty about Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is that there has never been another presidential candidate like him.

He has a foreign sounding name that rhymes with "Osama," his middle name is Hussein, and he has admitted to using marijuana and cocaine as a teenager. Racially he is half black, half white, and in terms of political experience, green.

With just seven years in the state legislature, and two in the United States Senate, it would be easy to dismiss him, were it not for the fact that he is running second in the polls behind Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. On Saturday, 17,000 people braved frigid weather to watch him declare his candidacy in Springfield Ill., where correspondent Steve Kroft joined him on the eve of his speech.

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"Three years ago, you were a state legislator here in Springfield. What makes you think that you're qualified to be president of the United States?" Kroft asks.

"You know, I think we're in a moment of history where probably the most important thing we need to do is to bring the country together and one of the skills that I bring to bear is being able to pull together the different strands of American life and focus on what we have in common," Obama replies

Obama says he has no doubts that he's ready to run. Asked where he gets all this confidence, the senator jokes, "My wife asks me that all the time.

As he gave 60 Minutes a tour of the old Illinois capitol where Abraham Lincoln served in the legislature and delivered the House Divided speech, there was much for Obama to be confident about. At age 45, he is one of only three black senators since Reconstruction, the first African-American President of the Harvard Law Review, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Chicago, and the author of two best selling books.

He is ambitious and just daring enough to invite comparisons to one of the few American presidents, who was elected with even less political experience than he has: Abraham Lincoln.

"He grew into the presidency in ways that I think no body would have anticipated," Obama tells Kroft.

"I know I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change," the senator told the crowd during his announcement speech.

On Saturday in Springfield he began a campaign that seems to have morphed out of his latest book tour.

Propelled by the media hungry for a fresh face and a good story, he has graced the covers of Time and Newsweek, the pages of Men's Vogue, and has been endorsed by Oprah.

But it has also been driven by his personal charisma and an ability to connect with people, especially young people, that is rarely seen in American politics.

He has challenged the post baby boom generation to cast aside its cynicism of politics and engage the system. In a speech at George Mason University earlier this month, he evoked Martin Luther King.

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. It bends towards justice," he told the students. "But here's the thing, young people, it doesn't bend on its own. It bends in that direction because you decide you're gonna stand up to a war that should have never been waged. It bends because you decide that we need a healthcare system for all Americans."

On the campaign trail he is routinely received like a rock star, a far cry from the way he is treated in the corridors of power in Washington, where he is 88th on the Senate's list of seniority.

"I wanna read you a quote from The St. Petersburg Times. 'The world is too complex and dangerous for this likeable, charismatic, African American neophyte to practice on-the-job training,'" Kroft reads.

Asked why he is in such a hurry to run, Obama tells Kroft, "You know the truth is I'm not. We have a narrow window to solve some of the problems that we face. Ten years from now, we may not be in a position to recover the sense of respect around the world that we've lost over the last six years. Certainly, when you look at our energy policy and environment and the prospects of climate change, we've gotta make some decisions right now. And so I feel a sense of urgency for the country."

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[jipoku]

I really miss Ed Bradley, especially after seeing this waste of an interview. Maybe he would have brought some sensitivity to this interview. Even caustic Andy Rooney could have done a better job. Seventy percent of the time Kroft was asking questions about race. It was infuriating. By the end of the interview, I felt nauseous. I wanted to hear an interview with hard hitting questions about what Obama thought concerning Iraq, the economy, health care, education, stem cell research or any number of issues. %u201CSixty Minutes%u201D should fire Kroft immediately and he should have his journalism license revoked for life. A fifth grader could have asked more thought-provoking questions than this race obsessed dimwit.

[thebird24]

I don't think I have ever viewed a more slanted, and offensive interview before on a TV news magazine. Mr. Kroft simply had the motives to try to make the entire interview all about Obama's race instead of focusing on all of his qualifications and platform he has for the country. Asking such ignorant questions like "what race do you choose", "what would you do if he was shot", are ignorant.

Moreover, to use a slanted statistic which stated 53% of Black Americans would vote for Clinton over Obama, is very misleading because he did not mention what the sample size were, and the date of this survey. For all we know, this survey could have been conducted way before Obama declared his run. Quite frankly, I never plan on watching 60 minutes ever again since it is obviously acceptable to their station to air overly racially motivated interviews. Moreover, it appears that not only 60 minutes, but also the evening program with Couric is just as bad because she decides to talk about Howard from Australia slamming Obama without even playing Obama's rebuttal. So clearly that station is unfairly portraying Obama in a negative light, and then painting Clinton to be some sort of saint for the Democrats.

In my opinion, the views of Mr. Kroft and Katie Couric did not represent as many people as they're attempting to brainwash. If I wanted to watch such a racially motivated interview, I would tune into Fox News.

[randalds]

Well his wife is hot. How long, if ever, have we ever had a hot first lady? Not since Jackie and even she was a bit brittle.

[patience1234]

Rhymes with Osama----
are you serious?! Kroft (or whomever wrote that) needs to apologize for that one. Seriously. No guessing what his agenda is. In one sentence he linked Obama with 2 of Americans biggest enemies. Whatever happened to good journalism?

[drdest]

When did you decide you were black? Are you kidding me?

I can understand somebody asking this question out of ignorance. What I do not understand is how a question like that makes it through the editorial process onto a prestigious news program.

Did no one stop and think about how offensive that question is? While some of us may choose to identify with a particular set of cultural norms, we can no more choose our race than our height.

By asking the Senator when he decided to be black, Kroft implied that Obama is somehow not legitimately African American; as if he woke up one day and decided to stop being white.

I just hope Kroft realizes the ignorance that such a question reveals.

[williams2647]

I as an African American was a bit insulted by your interview with Senator Obama. Does he not deserve the right to be judged by his character, not just the color of his skin? I am interested in his position on the issues that I face as an American. The future of this country is too important to emphasize solely on his skin complexion. Too much focus was placed on his race; it is obvious by the skin color where he fits in. My children have a stake in the future and if Obama using a different perspective than %u201Csame ol same ol%u201D politics that have us stuck in a bad war, increased deficit, and given us less medical coverage than the citizens of Cuba; let him do the work. President Bush had very little experience, which did not affect his bid for the white house, just because his daddy did it first was enough to get him in. In my opinion if Hillary Clinton had a different last name and her husbands back to piggyback on she would not have the position in the %u201Cpolls%u201D she has. I believe this country needs a change to improve the chances for this nation to regain its position as a leading nation not a hated nation by so many. African Americans in this country are interested in the all issues not only black issues. Go Obama!

[lilvinnyb]

Is the media EVER going to ask this guy some specific policy questions. How about questions regarding some his votes while in the Illinois Senate. What a FREE ride he is getting.

[ilejuloding]

No any media outlet or individual said president Reagan%u2019s name had %u2018a foreign sounding name that rhymes%u2019 %u201CRonga%u201D (Kuku name in South Sudan) and no where did we see or hear any media similarly made any hysterical noises when President Bush (I & II) declared their candidacy for president to sound like a foreign name, Busi (also a Kuku name). Clearly some media outlets have veered to racial overtone and hate rather than focus on the issues that are of significance to the American people. Have some of the media outlets all of a sudden forgotten that the greatness of America is based on immigrants besides the Native Americans? It is best that some of these outlets cover real issues, not infinitesimal foreign names and race (white, black, yellow, brown etc). When GW Bush declared his candidacy for president, these same media outlets where there but never bothered to question Bush%u2019s race, foreignness of name and inexperience. Why not? Isn%u2019t something wrong here? Why is it hard for these media outlets to join the other respected ones in covering issues the presidential aspirants (democrats and republicans alike) have to address?

Let us not forget that the greatness and pride of American is intertwined with its roots from Europe, Africa and Asia. So, let us fairly embrace every talented American, regardless of race, name, experience etc who wants to serve our country as president.

Isaac Leju-Loding
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

[abyglass]

I too was impressed with Barack Obama at the Democratic Convention and said to myself he would be a great presidential candidate in the future. I worry that it may be too soon, but I have decided to support him all the way.
I pray that this presidential race will focus on the real issues of war, terrorism, health care, global warming, our dependence on oil, and the future for our children, not wether he/she is black, white, old, young, man or woman!

It is up to the news media to HELP keep this election on track. Please don't try and divert the public from the real issues!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mayfield1970]

Remember, those that question Obama's blackness are those that are turning this into a racial thing. Since we are going to take it there, lets.....

White media is running television and asking questions about Obama's blackness (or lack of blackness by some people). This is their way to basically have him eliminated or have negatives against him when he shouldn't. On a similar note, Hillary Clinton's womanhood may be put to question by the White male media so she would be chastized by women in general and basically making her a lesser threat for the presidency. I would strongly like the candidates running for office regardless of gender or ethnicity to have a fair and decent chance to run for office. Unfortunately, too many uncover racist and sexist exist for fairness to really make this a run on legitimate issues.